Mac Thornberry

Infobox_Congressman
name = Mac Thornberry


date of birth = birth date and age|1958|07|15
place of birth = Clarendon, Texas
state = Texas
district = 13th
term = 1995–present
preceded = Bill Sarpalius
succeeded = Incumbent
party = Republican
spouse = Sally Thornberry
religion = Presbyterian
occupation= attorney, rancher
residence= Clarendon, Texas
alma_mater= Texas Tech University, University of Texas

William McClellan "Mac" Thornberry (born July 15, 1958), an American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1995. He represents the 13th congressional district of Texas, which includes much of the Panhandle and stretches as far east as Wichita Falls ( [http://nationalatlas.gov/printable/images/preview/congdist/tx13_109.gifmap] ). He currently serves on the Armed Services Committee and the Intelligence Committee. He is a candidate for renomination in the Republican primary scheduled for March 4, 2008.

Thornberry is a lifelong resident of Clarendon, the seat of Donley County, some 60 miles (97 km) east of Amarillo. His family has operated a ranch in the area since 1881. He received his bachelor's degree in history from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. He obtained his Juris Doctor from the University of Texas Law School. He served as a staffer to two other Texas Republican congressmen, Tom Loeffler and Larry Combest, and as deputy Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs under Ronald Regan before joining his brothers on the family ranch. He also has been involved in an Amarillo law firm, which he founded in 1993.

Thornberry defeated Democratic Congressman Bill Sarpalius in the 1994 general election, a heavily Republican year nationwide. He polled 79,416 votes (55.41 percent) to Sarpalius' 63,923 ballots (44.18 percent). Two years earlier in a much higher turnout election, Sarpalius had polled nearly double the votes that he received in 1994. The 13th has always been a somewhat conservative district, but Thornberry's victory is still regarded as an upset.

Since his initial election, Thornberry has consolidated his hold on the district and routinely wins by large majorities in an area that was historically Democratic as recently as the 1970s. Thornberry is only the third Republican to represent the district since Reconstruction. The previous GOP representatives were Robert D. "Bob" Price of Pampa (1967–1975) and Beau Boulter of Amarillo (1985–1989).

Following the September 11 attacks, Thornberry created the original bill that would later lead to the founding of the Department of Homeland Security. He has also worked on nuclear policy, both for military and energy purposes.

In the 2006 election, Thornberry defeated former Intelligence Officer and Professor Roger Waun. In the 2008 cycle, his Democratic opponent will once again be Waun.

External links

* [http://www.house.gov/thornberry/ U.S. Representative Mac Thornberry] official House site
*CongBio|t000238
* [http://herndon1.sdrdc.com/cgi-bin/can_detail/H4TX13014 Federal Election Commission — Mac Thornberry] campaign finance reports and data
* [http://www.ontheissues.org/TX/Mac_Thornberry.htm On the Issues — Mac Thornberry] issue positions and quotes
* [http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.asp?CID=N00006052 OpenSecrets.org — Mac Thornberry] campaign contributions
* [http://www.vote-smart.org/bio.php?can_id=CNIP0591 Project Vote Smart — Representative William M. 'Mac' Thornberry (TX)] profile
* [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Mac_Thornberry SourceWatch Congresspedia — Mac Thornberry] profile
* [http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/t000238/ Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Mac Thornberry] voting record