Jared Huffman

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Jared Huffman
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 2nd district
Assumed office
January 3, 2013
Preceded byLynn Woolsey
Member of the California State Assembly
from the 6th district
In office
December 4, 2006 – November 30, 2012
Preceded byJoe Nation
Succeeded byBeth Gaines
Personal details
Born
Jared William Huffman

(1964-02-18) February 18, 1964 (age 60)
Independence, Missouri, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseSusan Huffman
Children2
Residence(s)San Rafael, California, U.S.
EducationUniversity of California, Santa Barbara (BA)
Boston College (JD)
Signature
WebsiteHouse website

Jared William Huffman (born February 18, 1964) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for California's 2nd congressional district since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Huffman represented the 6th district in the California State Assembly from 2006 to 2012. He chaired the Assembly Water, Parks & Wildlife Committee and the Assembly Environmental Caucus. He was elected to Congress in 2012 with more than 70% of the vote, defeating Republican nominee Dan Roberts.[1] His congressional district covers the North Coast from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border.

Huffman is the only elected member of the

atheist member of Congress,[3][4] although she has rejected the label.[5]

Early life, education, and legal career

Huffman graduated from

magna cum laude from University of California, Santa Barbara, where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity.[6][7] At UCSB, Huffman was a three-time All-American volleyball player. He was a member of the USA Volleyball Team in 1987 when the team was top-ranked in the world and had recently won the World Championship. He graduated cum laude from Boston College Law School in 1990.[8]

Huffman became a consumer attorney specializing in public interest cases. Among his court victories was a case on behalf of the National Organization for Women, which required all California State University campuses to comply with Title IX.[9] Huffman was a senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council. He was also a publicly elected director of the Marin Municipal Water District for 12 years, including three terms as board president.[8]

California State Assembly

Elections

Huffman won the Democratic nomination for the 6th district, an open seat after incumbent

Marin County
Democratic Chairman John Alden, and sociologist Alex Easton-Brown.

Huffman defeated Republican nominee Michael Hartnett by a more than 2:1 margin in the 2006 general election.

Huffman faced two opponents in the 2008 general election: Republican Paul Lavery and Libertarian Timothy Hannan. He won with 70% of the vote, and the 137,873 votes he received were among the most by any California Assembly candidate in 2008. In the Democratic primary, Huffman was unopposed and received 57,213 votes—the most of any California Assemblymember in that election.

In the

June 2010 California primary, Huffman defeated[10] Patrick Connally.[11] He defeated Republican nominee Robert Stephens in the general election[10]
with more than 70% of the vote—the highest winning margin of any candidate on the ballot in the North Bay that year. Due to term limits, Huffman was unable to seek a fourth Assembly term in 2012.

Tenure

In his first four years as a legislator, Huffman authored and passed more than 40 pieces of legislation.[12] In 2008, he sponsored a bill (AB 2950), which he wrote with internet attorney Daniel Balsam, that aimed to close what its proponents characterized as loopholes in the CAN-SPAM Act that made it more difficult to bring lawsuits against deceptive spammers.[13] The bill passed the State Assembly and Senate, but Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed it.[14][15] On February 14, 2011, Huffman co-sponsored a bill with Paul Fong, California Assembly Bill 376, to make it illegal to possess, distribute, or sell shark fins, except for research or commercial purposes.[16]

Committee assignments

Upon his swearing-in on December 4, 2006, Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez named Huffman chair of the Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials. In August 2008, the new Assembly Speaker, Karen Bass, named Huffman to chair the Water, Parks & Wildlife Committee.

U.S. House of Representatives

Official 113th session photo

Elections

2012

After 20-year incumbent Lynn Woolsey announced her retirement, Huffman entered the race to run for her seat in the 2nd district, which had been renumbered from the 6th in redistricting.[17] California's 2nd congressional district now covers six counties: Marin, Sonoma, Mendocino, Trinity, Humboldt, and Del Norte.

Huffman finished first in the top-two primary, with 37% of the vote.[18] In November, he defeated Republican candidate Dan Roberts 71%–29%.[19][20]

2014

In his first reelection campaign, Huffman dominated the open primary, receiving 67.9% of the vote against 22.3% for second-place finisher Dale Mensing, a Republican. He defeated Mensing in the general election, 75% to 25%.[21]

2016

Huffman defeated Mensing again, receiving 68.3% of the primary vote to Mensing's 15.7% and 76.5% of the general election vote to Mensing's 23.5%.[22]

2018

Huffman defeated Mensing a third time, with 72.5% of the primary vote to Mensing's 20.9%[23] and 77.0% of the vote in the general election.[24]

2020

Huffman defeated Mensing a fourth time, with 67.7% of the primary vote to Mensing's 18.9% and 75.7% of the general election vote.[25]

Tenure

In April 2018, Huffman, Jerry McNerney, Jamie Raskin, and Dan Kildee launched the Congressional Freethought Caucus. Its stated goals include "pushing public policy formed on the basis of reason, science, and moral values"; promoting the "separation of church and state"; and opposing discrimination against "atheists, agnostics, humanists, seekers, religious and non-religious persons", among others. Huffman and Raskin are co-chairs.[26]

In the aftermath of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops's vote to draft a document regarding Catholic politicians' worthiness to receive Communion, Huffman accused the Church of "weaponizing" its religion, and suggested that it should lose its tax-exempt status.[27]

Huffman voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the 117th Congress, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis.[28]

Opposed legislation

  • Preventing Government Waste and Protecting Coal Mining Jobs in America – a bill that would "amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to require state programs for regulation of surface coal mining to incorporate the necessary rule concerning excess spoil, coal mine waste, and buffers for perennial and intermittent streams published by the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement on December 12, 2008."[29] Huffman opposed the bill, arguing that it should be opposed because the supporters "believe coal companies should be allowed to blow the tops off mountains and dump the waste into streams, no matter what the science says about the consequence for our environment and the public health."[30]
  • public lands.[31] The bill was a reaction to the United States Forest Service's decision to pursue a "new regulation to demand that water rights be transferred to the federal government as a condition for obtaining permits needed to operate 121 ski resorts that cross over federal lands."[32] Huffman opposed the bill and accused the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power of being unnecessarily "adversarial" and having "unfairly vilified" the Forest Service after a committee hearing about the bill.[32]

Committee assignments

For the 118th Congress:[33]

Caucus memberships

Political positions

Abortion

Huffman opposed the overturning of Roe v. Wade, calling it "sad, outrageous" and saying, "it's going to be tragic for millions of women in this country."[37] He described the U.S. Supreme Court as "extreme, out of touch" and "right-wing".[38]

Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023

Huffman was among the 46 Democrats who voted against final passage of the

Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.[39]

H. Res. 798

On November 2, 2023, after

members of Hamas stormed into Israel four weeks earlier, killing more than 1,400 people and taking hundreds of hostages, Huffman joined only 22 other Congressmembers in voting against H. Res. 798, a House resolution that condemned the support of Hamas and Hezbollah on university campuses and which passed with the bipartisan support of 213 Republicans and 183 Democrats.[40] After receiving swift criticism from Jewish American groups and other constituents, several days later Huffman disavowed his vote and issued a public apology.[41]

Personal life

Huffman lives in San Rafael with his wife, Susan, and their two children.[42] His hobby is winemaking.[43]

In a November 9, 2017, interview with The Washington Post's Michelle Boorstein, Huffman said, "I suppose you could say I don't believe in God."[44]

Electoral history

California State Assembly

2006 California State Assembly District 6 election[45][46]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jared Huffman 22,544 32.47
Democratic Pamela Torliatt 19,518 28.11
Democratic Cynthia L. Murray 12,617 18.17
Democratic Damon Connolly 8,470 12.20
Democratic John Alden 5,150 7.42
Democratic Alex Easton-Brown 1,135 1.63
Total votes 69,434 100.00
General election
Democratic Jared Huffman 106,589 65.84
Republican Michael Hartnett 43,864 27.09
Green Cat Woods 6,922 4.28
Libertarian Richard Olmstead 4,519 2.79
Total votes 161,894 100.00
Democratic hold
2008 California State Assembly District 6 election[47][48]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jared Huffman (incumbent) 57,213 100.00
Total votes 57,213 100.00
General election
Democratic Jared Huffman (incumbent) 145,142 69.48
Republican Paul Lavery 50,053 23.96
Libertarian Timothy J. Hannan 13,790 6.60
Total votes 208,895 100.00
Democratic hold
2010 California State Assembly District 6 election[49][50]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jared Huffman (incumbent) 53,534 81.77
Democratic Patrick WM. Connally 11,938 18.23
Total votes 65,472 100.00
General election
Democratic Jared Huffman (incumbent) 119,753 70.45
Republican Bob Stephens 50,218 29.55
Total votes 169,971 100.00
Democratic hold

U.S. House of Representatives

2012 California U.S. Representative Congressional District 2 election[51][52]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jared Huffman 63,922 37.47
Republican Daniel W. Roberts 25,635 15.03
Democratic Norman Solomon 25,462 14.92
Democratic Stacey Lawson 16,946 9.93
Democratic Susan L. Adams 14,041 8.23
Republican Mike Halliwell 10,008 5.87
No party preference
Brooke Clarke 3,715 2.18
Democratic Tiffany Renée 3,033 1.78
No party preference
John Lewallen 2,488 1.46
Democratic William L. Courtney 2,385 1.40
Democratic Andy Caffrey 1,737 1.02
Democratic Larry Fritzlan 1,151 0.67
Total votes 170,603 100.00
General election
Democratic Jared Huffman 226,216 71.24
Republican Daniel W. Roberts 91,310 28,76
Total votes 317,526 100.00
Democratic gain from Republican
2014 California U.S. Representative Congressional District 2 election[53][54]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jared Huffman (incumbent) 99,186 67.91
Republican Dale K. Mensing 32,614 22.33
Democratic Andy Caffrey 14,245 9.75
Total votes 146,045 100.00
General election
Democratic Jared Huffman (incumbent) 163,124 74.99
Republican Dale K. Mensing 54,400 25.01
Total votes 217,524 100.00
Democratic hold
2016 California U.S. Representative Congressional District 2 election[55][56]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jared Huffman (incumbent) 157,897 68.30
Republican Dale K. Mensing 36,187 15.65
Democratic Erin A. Schrode 20,998 9.08
No party preference
Matthew Robert Wookey 16,092 6.96
Democratic Andrew Augustine Caffrey (
write-in
)
6 0.00
Total votes 231,180 100.00
General election
Democratic Jared Huffman (incumbent) 254,194 76.85
Republican Dale K. Mensing 76,572 23.15
Total votes 330,766 100.00
Democratic hold
2018 California U.S. Representative Congressional District 2 election[57][58]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jared Huffman (incumbent) 144,005 72.48
Republican Dale K. Mensing 41,608 20.94
Democratic Andy Caffrey 13,072 6.58
Total votes 198,685 100.00
General election
Democratic Jared Huffman (incumbent) 243,081 77.01
Republican Dale K. Mensing 72,576 22.99
Total votes 315,657 100.00
Democratic hold
2020 California U.S. Representative Congressional District 2 election[59][60]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jared Huffman (incumbent) 184,155 67.69
Republican Dale K. Mensing 51,287 18.85
Democratic Rachel Moniz 20,609 7.58
Green Melissa Bradley 12,412 4.56
American Independent Charles "Wally" Coppock 3,600 1.32
Total votes 272,063 100.00
General election
Democratic Jared Huffman (incumbent) 294,435 75.74
Republican Dale K. Mensing 94,320 24.26
Total votes 388,755 100.00
Democratic hold
2022 California U.S. Representative Congressional District 2 election
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jared Huffman (incumbent) 145,245 68.7
Republican Douglas Brower 18,102 8.6
Republican Chris Coulombe 17,498 8.3
Democratic Beth Hampson 14,262 6.7
Republican Archimedes Ramirez 12,202 5.8
Republican Darian J. Elizondo 4,012 1.9
Total votes 211,321 100.0
General election
Democratic Jared Huffman (incumbent) 229,720 74.4
Republican Douglas Brower 79,029 25.6
Total votes 308,749 100.0
Democratic hold

References

  1. ^ Halstead, Richard. "Assemblyman Jared Huffman easily defeats Roberts". Marin Independent Journal. Archived from the original on April 1, 2013. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
  2. ^ Nadeem, Reem (January 3, 2023). "Faith on the Hill: The religious composition of the 118th Congress". Pew Research Center. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  3. ^ Susskind, Jane (November 16, 2012). "Religious Diversity in Congress, A Year of 'Firsts'". Independent Voter Network. Archived from the original on May 27, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  4. ^ Winston, Kimberly (November 8, 2012). "Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona Democrat, To Replace Pete Stark As Sole Atheist In Congress". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on November 9, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  5. nonbeliever
    are not befitting of her life's work or personal character".
  6. ^ "Jared Huffman". Roll Call. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  7. ^ Thurlow, George (Winter 2018). "The Three Gauchos on the Hill". Coastlines. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Full Biography". Congressman Jared Huffman. Archived from the original on December 21, 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  9. ^ "Board Members". Central Valley Flood Protection Board. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  10. ^ a b Richard Halstead (June 8, 2010). "Huffman leads comfortably in early returns". Marin Independent Journal. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  11. ^ Huffman faces challenger in Democratic race Sonoma Index-Tribune (June 3, 2010) Archived June 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ "California State Assemblymember Jared Huffman - 6th Assembly District". July 4, 2008. Archived from the original on July 4, 2008.
  13. ^ Deborah Gage (April 18, 2008). "Bill toughening anti-spam law in works". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  14. ^ Nancy Isles Nation (August 18, 2008). "Huffman's anti-spam bill passes". Marin Independent Journal. Archived from the original on June 6, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  15. ^ Shane Goldmacher (October 1, 2008). "BillWatch: Action on the final bills". The Sacramento Bee Capitol Alert blog. Archived from the original on February 25, 2013. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  16. ^ "Bill Text: CA AB376 #124; 2011-2102 | Regular Session | Introduced". legiscan.com. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  17. ^ "Campaign News and Updates". Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved February 5, 2011.
  18. ^ "CA - District 02 - Open Primary". Our Campaigns. July 13, 2013. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  19. ^ "CA - District 02". Our Campaigns. December 14, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  20. ^ Halstead, Richard. "Assemblyman Jared Huffman easily defeats Roberts". Marin Independent Journal. Archived from the original on January 28, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2012.
  21. ^ "General Election - Statement of Vote - November 4, 2014" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  22. ^ Kovner, Guy (November 8, 2016). "Mike Thompson, Jared Huffman easily win re-election to Congress". Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  23. ^ "2018 Statement of Vote - June 5, 2018" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  24. ^ Almukhtar, Sarah; et al. (January 28, 2019). "California Election Results: Second House District". Election 2018. The New York Times. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  25. ^ "California Election Results: Second Congressional District". The New York Times. November 3, 2020. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  26. ^ Manchester, Julia. "Dem lawmakers launch 'Freethought' congressional caucus". The Hill. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  27. Independent.co.uk
    . June 23, 2021.
  28. ^ Bycoffe, Aaron; Wiederkehr, Anna (April 22, 2021). "Does Your Member Of Congress Vote With Or Against Biden?". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  29. ^ "H.R. 2824 - Summary". United States Congress. Retrieved February 28, 2014.
  30. ^ Beans, Laura (August 8, 2013). "House Republicans Use Fear Mongering In Fight for Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining". EcoWatch. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  31. ^ "H.R. 3189 - CBO". Congressional Budget Office. December 9, 2013. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
  32. ^ a b Hudson, Audrey (October 11, 2013). "Tipton Bill Seeks to Stop Feds from Trampling Water Rights". The Colorado Observer. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  33. ^ "Jared Huffman". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  34. ^ "Membership". Congressional Arts Caucus. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  35. ^ "Caucus Members". Congressional Progressive Caucus. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  36. ^ "Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute".
  37. ^ Huffman, Jared (June 24, 2022). "This decision by the radical SCOTUS goes against the will of the people and has hurled the U.S. down a terrifying path of stripping away fundamental freedoms. We cannot accept a world where our future generations have fewer rights than those that came before them". Twitter. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  38. ^ "Rep. Huffman Statement on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization | U.S. Congressman Jared Huffman". Jared Huffman. June 24, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  39. ^ Gans, Jared (May 31, 2023). "Republicans and Democrats who bucked party leaders by voting no". The Hill. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  40. ^ "Huffman disavows vote on campus Israel critics after uproar". Marin Independent Journal. November 6, 2023. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  41. ^ "Rep. Jared Huffman backtracks on vote concerning campus antisemitism". Santa Rosa Press Democrat. November 6, 2023. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  42. ^ "Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael)". jaredhuffman.com. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  43. ^ McCutcheon, Michael; Barone, Chuck (2013). 2014 Almanac of American Politics. The University of Chicago Press.
  44. ^ Michelle Boorstein (November 9, 2017). "This lawmaker isn't sure that God exists. Now, he's finally decided to tell people". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  45. ^ "Statement of Vote Gubernatorial Primary Election June 6, 2006" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  46. ^ "General Election - Statement of Vote, November 7, 2006" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  47. ^ "Statewide Direct Primary Election - Statement of Vote, June 3, 2008" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  48. ^ "Statement of Vote November 4, 2008, General Election" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  49. ^ "Statement of Vote June 8, 2010, Statewide Direct Primary Election" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  50. ^ "Statement of Vote November 2, 2010, General Election" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  51. ^ "Statement of Vote June 5, 2012, Presidential Primary Election" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  52. ^ "Statement of Vote November 6, 2012, General Election" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  53. ^ "Statement of Vote June 3, 2014, Statewide Direct Primary Election" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  54. ^ "Statement of Vote November 4, 2014, General Election" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  55. ^ "Statement of Vote June 7, 2016 Presidential Primary Election" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  56. ^ "Statement of Vote November 8, 2016 General Election" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  57. ^ "Statement of Vote June 5, 2018 Statewide Direct Primary Election" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  58. ^ "Statement of Vote November 6, 2018 General Election" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  59. ^ "Statement of Vote Presidential Primary Election March 3, 2020" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  60. ^ "Statement of Vote General Election November 3, 2020" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved April 14, 2021.

Further reading

  • Jim Wood (March 2009). "Jared Huffman". Marin Magazine. Retrieved March 10, 2013.

External links

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 2nd congressional district

2013–present
Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by United States representatives by seniority
129th
Succeeded by