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Harold Ford Jr.

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"Harold Ford" redirects here. For his father, the congressman from Tennessee from 1975 to 1997, see Harold Ford, Sr.
Harold Ford, Jr.
File:Harold Ford of Tennessee.jpg
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Tennessee's 9th district
In office
1997 - present (retiring 2007 to run for US Senate seat from Tennessee)
Preceded byHarold Ford, Sr.
Personal details
Political partyDemocratic

Harold Eugene Ford, Jr. (born May 11, 1970) is a member of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee, representing the state's 9th congressional district, centered on Memphis. He is a member of the Democratic Party and is currently the party's candidate for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Majority Leader Bill Frist. Ford is a centrist and a member of the center-right Blue Dog Coalition.

Early life

Ford is the son of former Congressman Harold Ford, Sr. and Dorothy Ford. He has three brothers—Jake, Isaac, and Andrew—and one sister, Ava [1]. His family has long been prominent in Memphis' black community; the Fords' influence dates back to the mid-20th century when E.H. Crump, a prominent white Democrat, dominated city and state politics and befriended N.J. Ford by ordering that all black deceased persons otherwise not directed by the family be sent to Ford Funeral Homes. [2].

Ford was baptized at his church, Mt. Moriah-East Baptist Church in Memphis, TN. He attended Double Tree Elementary School, a public school in Memphis, and he graduated from St. Albans School for Boys in Washington, D.C.. He received a B.A. in American history from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in 1992. [3]

In 1992, he was a staff aide to the Senate Budget Committee, and in 1993 he was special assistant to the United States Department of Commerce. [4]

Ford received a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1996. During his campaign for the House of Representatives, he sat for and failed the Tennessee Bar Exam, but he has publicly acknowledged that he will try again. [5]

House of Representatives

When Harold, Sr. decided not to seek a 12th term in Congress in 1996, Harold, Jr. wasted little time entering the race. Ford arranged his schedule for his last semester at Michigan so he would not have Monday or Friday classes. [6] He was thus able to fly home to Memphis for an extended weekend each week to continue his campaign. As expected, he easily won the Democratic primary, which was tantamount to election in the heavily Democratic, black-majority 9th. He has been reelected four times without serious Republican opposition by an average of 80% of the vote.[7]

In 2000, Ford was the keynote speaker for the 2000 Democratic National Convention supporting then Vice President Al Gore for the Democratic nomination for President. [8]

After the 2002 elections resulted in Democrats losing Congressional seats, Ford announced his candidacy for House Democratic Leader, challenging then-House Minority Whip Nancy Pelosi, arguing that current leadership was ineffective.[9] Ford was defeated but exceeded initial expectations in terms of the amount of support he received.[10]

A few pundits suggested that he might be nominated as the Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate in 2004; [11] however, he was ineligible for the office because he would be four months short of turning 35 on Inauguration Day (January 20, 2005).

In November 2005, when Ohio Republican Congresswoman Jean Schmidt implied that Pennsylvania Democrat John Murtha was a "coward" in response to Murtha's proposal for a redeployment of American forces in Iraq, Ford charged across the House floor to the Republican side during the resulting uproar in the chamber, shouting "Say it to Murtha!" (or "Say Murtha's name!" depending on the source) while waving his finger at Schmidt. Like many Congressmen, Ford believed Schmidt's remarks (which she later withdrew) were an unwarranted "cheap shot" against Murtha, a veteran of the Marine Corps. [12]

Ford's voting record is considered much more conservative on some issues than conventional wisdom would suggest for a district like the 9th, even though Republicans have not seriously contested the district since 1978 (Harold, Sr. ran unopposed in 1980, and the district was redrawn as a black-majority district after that year's census). He supported a ban on benefits for same-sex couples, as well as the Federal Marriage Amendment (which would ban same-sex marriage). He has told Democrats they should be more supportive of the Iraq War and criticized Senate Democrats who attempted to filibuster Samuel Alito. He was one of the few Democrats who voted for the Bankruptcy Bill, and he supports some restrictions on abortion, and defines himself as a "pro-life" candidate. However, he has also opposed Bush's energy proposals (including oil drilling in ANWR), has demonstrated support for adoption rights of same-sex couples, supports universal healthcare coverage, opposes the death penalty and indicates a willingness to reform illegal drug policy. [13] [14]

Ford supported a ban on intact dilation and extraction, called by its opponents, partial-birth abortion. He supports taxpayer funding of embryonic stem cell research. [15][16]

Ford sits on the House Budget Committee and the House Committee on Financial Services. He also serves on the Transformation Advisory Group, a group of political, military and academic leaders who work with the Department of Defense to assess the needs of the armed forces. Ford is a member of the New Democrat Coalition, the Congressional Black Caucus and the Blue Dog Coalition. [17]

His popularity among white voters in the Memphis area has steadily increased during his decade in Congress; in 2000, for instance, he won 40% of the white vote.[citation needed]

Ford is not running for reelection to the House of Representatives in 2006 because he is running for Tennessee's open Senate seat. His younger brother Jake Ford is running as an independent for the 9th district seat that Harold is leaving.[18]

2006 Senate campaign

Main article: Tennessee United States Senate election, 2006
File:Fordspeaking.jpg
Congressman Ford giving a speech

On April 6, 2005, during an interview on C-SPAN's call-in show Washington Journal, Ford confirmed that he would be running for the Senate. [19] He filed the papers necessary to officially begin his Senate campaign on May 25, 2005.

Democratic State Senator Rosalind Kurita briefly challenged Ford for the nomination but dropped out of the primary because of inadequate fundraising, effectively handing Ford the nomination.[20] On August 3, 2006, Ford overwhelmingly won the Democratic primary. After the primary, Ford's supporters held a large victory celebration at Nashville's LP Field. Among the speakers was former U.S. President Bill Clinton.[21]

Ford will face Republican Bob Corker in the November election. Not long after Corker's primary victory was assured, Ford challenged Corker to seven televised debates across the state. In response, Corker said he will debate Ford, though he did not agree to seven debates. [22]

Corker and Ford participated in a televised debate in Memphis on October 7[23], in Chattanooga on October 10[24], and in Nashville on October 28. [25] NBC's Meet the Press extended an invitation for the candidates to debate on the nationally-televised show in January 2006. Ford accepted the invitation, stating that "any weekend would work for him." The Corker campaign, however, has not yet agreed on a date.[26]

On October 20, Ford confronted Corker while Corker was preparing for a press conference. [27]

If elected, Ford would be the first African-American Senator from the South since the end of Reconstruction and the first popularly elected in United States history.

In the general election, recent polls have, for the most part, shown Corker with a statistically insignificant lead, demonstrating that the race is very close. As of November 1, 2006, recent polls by Rasmussen Reports, Zogby, and CNN have shown Corker with between a 1% and 8% lead over Ford.[28] [29] [30]

Controversies

Conservatives have claimed that controversies involving Ford's extended family impact Ford's Senate campaign even though Ford is not involved in any of the controversies himself.[31]

Additionally, a June 7, 2005 article in conservative newspaper Washington Times, pointed out that from 1998 to 2003, Ford took 61 privately funded trips but did not file travel-disclosure forms with the House clerk for the trips as required by the chamber's ethics rules until August 2003. Ford's office called the late filing of the reports a "mere oversight," since Ford had filed the required financial-disclosure statements for the trips as they were taken.[32]

At a campaign rally he claimed that Australia, a staunch ally of the United States, was seeking nuclear weapons. "Today nine countries have it - more than ever before - and 40 are seeking it, including Argentina, Australia and South Africa". Australia has never had a nuclear weapons program, and no proof exists of Australia currently seeking nuclear weapons.[33] South Africa is the first and to date only country to build nuclear weapons and then entirely dismantle its nuclear weapons program. [34]

References

  1. ^ http://www.house.gov/ford/about/index.shtml
  2. ^ http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050801/NEWS0201/508010361/1010/NEWS02/
  3. ^ http://www.house.gov/ford/about/index.shtml
  4. ^ http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=F000262
  5. ^ http://www.metropulse.com/dir_zine/dir_2004/1423/t_cover.html
  6. ^ http://www.democrats.org/a/2006/08/harold_fords_ri.php
  7. ^ http://www.democrats.org/a/2006/08/harold_fords_ri.php
  8. ^ http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/08/16/ford.speech/index.html
  9. ^ http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20021125&s=lizza112502
  10. ^ http://archives.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/11/14/democrats.leadership/
  11. ^ http://www.nationalreview.com/miller/miller200402120825.asp
  12. ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10118733/site/newsweek/
  13. ^ http://www.ontheissues.org/House/Harold_Ford.htm
  14. ^ http://www.fordfortennessee.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=34
  15. ^ http://www.ontheissues.org/House/Harold_Ford.htm
  16. ^ http://www.fordfortennessee.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=34
  17. ^ http://www.house.gov/ford/about/index.shtml
  18. ^ http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/politics/article/0,1426,MCA_1496_4892409,00.html
  19. ^ http://www.c-span.org/search/basic.asp?ResultStart=1&ResultCount=10&BasicQueryText=harold+ford+senate&image1.x=0&image1.y=0&image1=Submit
  20. ^ http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_83648.asp
  21. ^ http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/politics/article/0,1426,MCA_1496_4892535,00.html
  22. ^ http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/politics/article/0,1426,MCA_1496_4892535,00.html
  23. ^ http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/politics/article/0,1426,MCA_1496_5051668,00.html
  24. ^ http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/politics/article/0,1426,MCA_1496_5057333,00.html
  25. ^ http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/politics/article/0,1426,MCA_1496_4973610,00.html
  26. ^ http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/politics/article/0,1426,MCA_1496_4973610,00.html
  27. ^ http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=5568609
  28. ^ http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2006/senate/tn/tennessee_senate_race-20.html
  29. ^ http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-elections06.html
  30. ^ http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2006/images/10/31/TOPSTATE.pdf
  31. ^ http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/local_news/article/0,1426,MCA_437_4328413,00.html
  32. ^ http://www.washtimes.com/national/20050607-121908-6262r.htm
  33. ^ http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20659192-401,00.html
  34. ^ http://cns.miis.edu/research/safrica/chron.htm
Preceded by U.S. Representative for Tennessee's 9th Congressional District
1997- 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
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