Bob Bennett (politician)
Bob Bennett | |
---|---|
United States Senator from Utah | |
In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2011 | |
Preceded by | Jake Garn |
Succeeded by | Mike Lee |
Personal details | |
Born | Robert Foster Bennett September 18, 1933 Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. |
Died | May 4, 2016 Arlington, Virginia, U.S. | (aged 82)
Resting place | Salt Lake City Cemetery |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse |
Joyce McKay (m. 1962) |
Children | 6 |
Parent |
|
Education | University of Utah (BS) |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | United States Army |
Years of service | 1957–1969 |
Unit | Utah Army National Guard Army Chaplain Corps |
Robert Foster Bennett (September 18, 1933 – May 4, 2016) was an American politician and businessman who served as a United States Senator from Utah from 1993 to 2011. A member of the Republican Party, Bennett held chairmanships and senior positions on various key Senate committees, including the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee; Appropriations Committee; Rules and Administration Committee; Energy and Natural Resources Committee; and Joint Economic Committee.
Bennett was a popular and reliably
Following his exit from the Senate, Bennett joined the law firm
Early life, education, and business career
This section relies largely or entirely on a single source. (September 2016) |
Born on September 18, 1933, in
Bennett attended high school at East High, and he earned his
In 1963 he went to Washington as press secretary to a Utah Congressman,
Bennett's principal client was the CIA-aligned Summa Corporation, the holding company of billionaire Howard Hughes. In 1974, after his CIA ties and those of the Mullen Company had been revealed by the Watergate scandal,[11][a] he closed the Company and joined Summa full-time as the public relations director for the parent firm and Vice President for Public Affairs for Hughes Airwest, the airline. After Hughes' death, Bennett left Summa Corporation to become president of Osmond Communications.[citation needed]
He subsequently became chairman of American Computer Corporation, and then president of the Microsonics Corporation, a public firm listed on
U.S. Senate (1993–2011)
Elections
A Senate seat opened up in 1992, when Jake Garn declined to enter the race for a fourth term. Bennett narrowly won the heavily contested Republican Party primary election (with 51% of the votes cast) in 1992, his primary opponent being Joseph A. Cannon, another millionaire with prominent LDS forebears. Bennett then went on to defeat his Democratic opponent, Congressman Wayne Owens, in the general election. He was re-elected in 1998 and 2004. His Democratic opponent in 2004 was the former state Attorney General Paul Van Dam, and Bennett won by a vote total of 68% to 29%.[citation needed]
Bennett was challenged by seven other Republicans and two Democrats in his
Despite a strong approval rating among statewide voters, Bennett was defeated on May 8, 2010, at the Utah Republican Convention after finishing third in the second round of balloting, to Mike Lee and Tim Bridgewater.[15]
After the convention, Senator Bennett was widely encouraged by his constituents and colleagues to pursue a write-in bid to retain his U.S. Senate seat, but ultimately declined, citing the toxic atmosphere such a bid would bring to the state's political environment.[16]
Tenure
During the
Abortion
Bennett was a strong opponent of
LGBT issues
On March 25, 2010, during the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 debate, the U.S. Senate defeated an attempt by Bennett[19] to "suspend the issuance of marriage licenses to any couple of the same sex until the people of the District of Columbia have the opportunity to hold a referendum or initiative on the question".[20]
Civil Liberties
Bennett supported
Economy
Bennett was a supporter of a
A
Health care
Bennett was an opponent of public health care and blamed government policies for the high cost of insurance. He voted against proposals to expand government health care, such as those that would let
Bennett was the lead Republican sponsor of the
]Immigration
Bennett had a mixed record on immigration control. He voted in favor of the fence along the
National security
Bennett was a supporter of the
Energy
Bennett earned a lifetime score of 6% from the League of Conservation Voters.
Committee assignments
- Committee on Appropriations
- Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on Defense
- Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development (Ranking Member)
- Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
- Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
- Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
- Subcommittee on Financial Institutions
- Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance and Investment
- Subcommittee on Security and International Trade and Finance
- Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
- Subcommittee on Energy
- Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests
- Subcommittee on Water and Power
- Committee on Rules and Administration (Ranking Member)
- Joint Committee on the Library
- Joint Committee on Printing
- Joint Economic Committee
Personal life
In 1962, Bennett married Joyce McKay, a granddaughter of David O. McKay, the ninth president of the LDS Church. This couple has six children: Julie, Robert, James, Wendy, Heather, and Heidi. Bob and Joyce together have 20 grandchildren.
Bennett died on May 4, 2016, aged 82, at his home in
Bennett spent the last days of his life apologizing to the Muslim community for controversial rhetoric from Republican presidential candidates, including the eventual nominee and overall victor, Donald Trump.[26]
Electoral history
Candidate | Pct | Candidate | Pct | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Robert F. Bennett | 51% | Joseph A. Cannon | 49% |
Year | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1992 | Wayne Owens | 301,228 | 40% | Robert F. Bennett | 420,069 | 55% | Anita R. Morrow | Populist
|
17,549 | 2% | Maury Modine | Libertarian | 14,341 | 2% | Patricia Grogan | Socialist Workers | 5,292 | 1% | ||||||
1998 | Scott Leckman | 163,172 | 33% | Robert F. Bennett | 316,652 | 64% | Gary R. Van Horn | Independent American | 15,073 | 3% | * | |||||||||||||
2004 | Paul Van Dam | 258,955 | 28% | Robert F. Bennett | 626,640 | 69% | Gary R. Van Horn | Constitution | 17,289 | 2% | Joe LaBonte | Personal Choice | 8,824 | 1% | * |
* Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 1998, write-ins received 12 votes. In 2004, write-ins received 18 votes.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Mike Lee | 982 | 28.75 | |
Republican | Tim Bridgewater | 917 | 26.84 | |
Republican | Bob Bennett | 885 | 25.91 | |
Republican | Cherilyn Eagar | 541 | 15.84 | |
Republican | Merrill Cook | 49 | 1.43 | |
Republican | Leonard Fabiano | 22 | 0.64 | |
Republican | Jeremy Friedbaum | 16 | 0.47 | |
Republican | David Chiu | 4 | 0.12 | |
Total votes | 3,416 | 100.00 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Tim Bridgewater | 1,274 | 37.42 | |
Republican | Mike Lee | 1,225 | 35.99 | |
Republican | Bob Bennett | 905 | 26.99 | |
Total votes | 3,404 | 100.00 |
Notes
- ^ Cited as appearing in "Strange Bedfellows", Howard Kohn, Rolling Stone, May 6, 1976
See also
References
- ^ Chris W. Cox (October 19, 2004). "Elect A Second Amendment Safe Senate". nrapvf.org. NRA-PVF. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014.
...in his two terms in the U.S. Senate, Bennett has cast 45 votes in defense of our Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and has an "A" rating from NRA-PVF.
- ^ Gardner, Amy (May 9, 2010). "Tea party wins victory in Utah as incumbent GOP senator loses bid for nomination". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
- ^ Zeleny, Jeff (March 25, 2010). "Political Tide Could Wash Away Utah Senator". The New York Times. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
- ^ Johnson, Kirk (May 8, 2010). "Utah Delegates Oust Three-Term G.O.P. Senator From Race". The New York Times. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
- ^ Kamen, Al (February 23, 2012). "John Ensign, Bob Bennett, dogs, cats and K Street". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
- ^ Canham, Matt (December 24, 2012). "Former Utah senator Bob Bennett will return to Capitol as lobbyist". Salt Lake Tribune.
- ^ "The Bipartisan Policy Center Welcomes Former Senator Bob Bennett".
- ^ "Former U.S. Senator Bob Bennett, Arun Chaudhary and P.J. Crowley Become Fellows". Archived from the original on September 23, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
- ^ Profile, genealogy.rootsweb.com; accessed May 5, 2016.
- ^ Rick Perlstein. Nixonland. p. 681.
- ^ "A Harlot High and Low: Reconnoitering through the Secret Government", Norman Mailer, New York Magazine, August 16, 1976
- ^ "Eagar officially announces Senate candidacy". Archived from the original on 2009-06-16. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
- ^ Davidson, Lee (2009-11-05). "Shurtleff drops out of U.S. Senate race". Deseret News. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
- ^ "Another Democratic Challenger to Bennett". January 2010.
- ^ "Sen. Bob Bennett ousted by Utah GOP". Washington Times. May 8, 2010. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
- ^ Raymond, Arthur (May 21, 2010). "Sen. Bob Bennett says he will not attempt write-in campaign". Deseret News. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
- ^ "Official Biography of Senator Bob Bennett". The Office of Senator Bennett. Archived from the original on 2011-01-06. Retrieved June 24, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f "Robert Bennett profile at". Ontheissues.org. Retrieved August 29, 2010.
- ^ "DC Marriage Amendment to Health Insurance Reform Bill Defeated in Senate". HRC Back Story. March 25, 2010. Retrieved August 29, 2010.
- ^ TEXT OF AMENDMENTS – (Senate), March 23, 2010.
- ^ "U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 109th Congress - 2nd Session". www.senate.gov.
- ^ Congressional Record. United States Government Printing Office, Washington: United States of America. 2007. p. 11596.
- ^ "Bob Bennett | League of Conservation Voters Scorecard". Scorecard.lcv.org. 2016-07-14. Retrieved 2016-09-18.
- ^ "Ex-Utah Sen. Bob Bennett, Ousted in Tea Party Wave, Has Died". NBC News. Associated Press. May 5, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
- ^ Burr, Thomas (May 4, 2016). "Bob Bennett, longtime Utah senator, dies at 82". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
- ^ Stevens, Scott (May 19, 2016). "Former Utah Sen. Bob Bennett's apology to Muslims receiving attention from news outlets worldwide". Deseret News. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
- ^ "Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Retrieved 2007-08-08.
- ^ Senate Race: 1st Round Results Archived 2010-10-10 at the Wayback Machine Accessed May 10, 2010
- ^ Senate Race: 2nd Round Results Archived 2011-03-13 at the Wayback Machine Accessed May 10, 2010