Frank Lucas (politician)

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Frank Lucas
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 3rd district
Incumbent
Assumed office  May 10, 1994–
Preceded by	Wes Watkins
Succeeded by	Incumbent
Born	January 06, 1960 (age 47) Cheyenne, Oklahoma
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Lynda Lucas
Religion	Baptist

Frank D. Lucas (b. January 6, 1960) is a politician from the state of Oklahoma, currently representing Oklahoma's 3rd Congressional district in the U.S. House (map). The district, the largest in the state and one of the largest in the country, stretches from the Panhandle to the fringes of the Tulsa suburbs.

Contents 1 Early life and career 1.1 Oklahoma House of Representatives 1.2 U.S. House of Representatives 2 Committee Membership 3 Oklahoma loses one seat in Congress 4 See also 5 External links

[edit] Early life and career

[edit] Oklahoma House of Representatives

Lucas was born in Cheyenne (Roger Mills County), Oklahoma. He graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1982 with a degree in Agricultural Economics. He first ran for the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 1984 as a Republican against the incumbent Democrat, narrowly losing. A second attempt in 1986 also fell short, but he won in 1988. Immediately after being seated, Lucas became very vocal for causes he supported (among other positions, he supports the death penalty and opposes abortion rights). The Democratic-controlled state house responded by redrawing his district in 1990 in such a way that ensured defeat^{[neutrality disputed]}. Lucas immediately began knocking on doors in his new district and was re-elected in 1992.

[edit] U.S. House of Representatives

In 1994 6th District Congressman Glenn English stepped down to become a lobbyist for rural electric cooperatives. Lucas won the Republican nomination for the special election on May 10. He faced Dan Webber, press secretary to former Oklahoma governor and U.S. Senator David L. Boren, now president of the University of Oklahoma. The 6th was already the largest in the state, stretching from the Panhandle to the town of Spencer, in the far northeastern Oklahoma City metropolitan area. However, the state legislature had redrawn it so that it included many poor Oklahoma City neighborhoods that had never voted Republican. Lucas scored a major upset; he won by eight percentage points, carrying 18 of the district's 24 counties. His victory has been seen by some pundits as an early sign of the wave six months later that saw the Republicans take control of the House for the first time in 40 years. Lucas himself won a full term in that wave and has been re-elected five times, never dropping below 59 percent of the vote. He faced no Democratic opposition in 2002 and 2004, and easily won reelection in 2006.

Lucas' district was renumbered as the 3rd after Oklahoma lost a district in the 2000 Census. The already huge district was made even larger, and now has as much territory as the state's other districts combined.

[edit] Committee Membership

Lucas is a member of the following committees:

• United States House Committee on Agriculture - third ranking Minority Member
  • Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management
  • Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Rural Development, and Research
• United States House Committee on Financial Services
  • Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade, and Technology
  • Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit
  • Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises
• United States House Committee on Science
  • Subcommittee on Research
  • Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics

[edit] Oklahoma loses one seat in Congress

Lucas continued to serve from Oklahoma's 6th Congressional district until after the U.S. Census of 2000; Oklahoma was one of a handful of states that lost one seat in Congress (from 6 seats to 5). So as part of the Congressional redistricting process, his district was renumbered the 3rd. While covering most of the same geographic area, more rural counties have been added so that now Lucas's district covers as much land as the other four Congressional districts combined.

[edit] See also

• Oklahoma Congressional Districts
• Politics of Oklahoma
• Oklahoma House of Representatives
• U.S. House of Representatives
• Republican Party
• Oklahoma Republican Party
• Glenn English
• Wes Watkins

[edit] External links

• U.S. Congressman Frank Lucas official House site
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Federal Election Commission - Frank D Lucas campaign finance reports and data
• On the Issues - Frank Lucas issue positions and quotes
• OpenSecrets.org - Frank D. Lucas campaign contributions
• Project Vote Smart - Representative Frank D. Lucas (OK) profile
• SourceWatch Congresspedia - Frank Lucas profile
• Washington Post - Congress Votes Database: Frank Lucas voting record

Political offices
Preceded by Glenn English	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 6th congressional district May 10, 1994–2003	Succeeded by District Dissolved after 2000 Census
Preceded by Wes Watkins	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 3rd congressional district 2003–Present	Succeeded by Incumbent

Oklahoma's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators: James Inhofe (R), Tom Coburn (R) Representative(s): John Sullivan (R), Dan Boren (D), Frank Lucas (R), Tom Cole (R), Mary Fallin (R) All delegations: Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming — American Samoa • District of Columbia • Guam • Puerto Rico • U.S. Virgin Islands