David Cheston Rouzer (; born February 16, 1972) is an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
politician who is the U.S. representative for
North Carolina's 7th congressional district
North Carolina's 7th congressional district stretches from Wilmington and the South Carolina border to the southern suburbs of Raleigh.
The district is represented by Rep. David Rouzer, a Republican. He has been in office since 2015.
From ...
. Previously he was a
Republican member of the
North Carolina General Assembly
The North Carolina General Assembly is the bicameral legislature of the State government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The General Assembly meets in the North Caroli ...
, representing
Johnston County and
Wayne County in the 12th district of the
North Carolina Senate
The North Carolina Senate is the upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The term of office for e ...
.
Early life, education, and business career
Rouzer was born at
Landstuhl Army Medical Center in
Landstuhl, West Germany, where his father was based, in 1972.
["David Rouzer". ''The News & Observer'' (Raleigh, North Carolina). October 25, 2008. p. G22.] He was raised in
Durham, North Carolina
Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County and Wake County. With a population of 283,506 in the 2020 Census, Durham is the 4th- ...
, where he attended
Northern High School.
Rouzer attended
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The univers ...
, where he was a member of the
Phi Delta Theta Fraternity
Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta ...
. In 1994, he earned a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
degree in
agricultural business management, agricultural
economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...
, and
chemistry
Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...
.
[ Rouzer is also a graduate of the ]Fund for American Studies
The Fund for American Studies is a conservative non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1967, the organization's mission is "to win over each new generation to the ideas of liberty, limited government and free markets."
Hist ...
' Institutes on Business and Government Affairs and American Economic and Political Systems.["Voter's Guide". ''The News & Observer'' (Raleigh, North Carolina). May 3, 2014. p. 9E.]
Rouzer has been a small business owner of The Rouzer Company and the Warehouse Distribution. From 2001 to 2002, he was assistant to the dean at the North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The univers ...
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. From 2005 to 2006, he was an associate-rural administrator for the U.S. Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of comme ...
.
Early political career
From 1996 to 2001, Rouzer was a legislative aid and Senior Policy Adviser for U.S. Senators Jesse Helms
Jesse Alexander Helms Jr. (October 18, 1921 – July 4, 2008) was an American politician. A leader in the conservative movement, he served as a senator from North Carolina from 1973 to 2003. As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committe ...
and Elizabeth Dole
Mary Elizabeth Alexander Hanford Dole (née Hanford; born July 29, 1936)Mary Ella Cathey Hanford, "Asbury and Hanford Families: Newly Discovered Genealogical Information" ''The Historical Trail'' 33 (1996), pp. 44–45, 49. is an American attorn ...
. In 2000, he ran for North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture
The Commissioner of Agriculture is a statewide elected office in the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. The commissioner is a state constitutional officer, constitutional officer who serves as the head of the state's North Carolina Dep ...
and lost the Republican primary.
North Carolina Senate
Elections
In 2008, incumbent Republican State Senator Fred Smith decided to retire in order to run for governor of North Carolina
The governor of North Carolina is the head of government of the U.S. state of North Carolina. The governor directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander in chief of the military forces of the state. The current governor, ...
. Rouzer ran for Smith's old seat and defeated Nena Reeves in the Republican primary, 68%–32%. In the general election, he defeated Kay Carroll, 52%–48%. In 2010, he was reelected with 70% of the vote.
Issues
He worked on strengthening laws allowing youths to obtain driver's licenses. He was also a proponent of the 2012 "sea-level rise" legislation that sought to mandate that only historical data be used to predict future trends.
Rouzer favors repealing the Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Pres ...
. In his 2012 campaign he released a TV ad in which his grandmother promised that he would not cut Medicare if elected. He believes immigrants should be fluent in English before being granted U.S. citizenship. He is pro-life.
Tenure
In his four years, he has sponsored 17 bills that have become signed into law.
Committee assignments
;Standing/Select Committees
* Agriculture/Environment/Natural Resources (Co-chairman)
* Appropriations on Natural and Economic Resources (Co-chairman)
* Finance
* Health Care
* Insurance
* Judiciary I
* Program Evaluation
* Select Committee on UNC UNC is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to:
Education
* University of Northern California (disambiguation), which may refer to:
** University of Northern California (Santa Rosa), in Petaluma, California, United States
** University of No ...
Board of Governors
;Non-Standing Committees
* Agriculture and Forestry Awareness Study Commission (Chairman)
* Consolidated Environmental Commission Committee
* Joint Legislative Task Force on Diabetes Prevention and Awareness
* Environmental Review Commission (Chairman)
* Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Information Technology
* Joint Regulatory Reform Committee (Chairman)
* Revenue Laws Study Committee
* Joint Select Committee on Tornado Damage Response
Rouzer is a member of the Republican Study Committee
The Republican Study Committee (RSC) is a study group of conservative members of the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives. As of 2021, the Chairman of the RSC is Representative Jim Banks of Indiana.
Although the prima ...
.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2012
After Republican-controlled redistricting, Rouzer gave up his State Senate seat to run in the newly redrawn North Carolina's 7th congressional district
North Carolina's 7th congressional district stretches from Wilmington and the South Carolina border to the southern suburbs of Raleigh.
The district is represented by Rep. David Rouzer, a Republican. He has been in office since 2015.
From ...
and challenge incumbent Democratic U.S. Representative Mike McIntyre
Douglas Carmichael "Mike" McIntyre II (; born August 6, 1956) is an American attorney and politician who was first elected to represent North Carolina's 7th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1996. He served for 18 ...
. His home in Johnston County had been drawn into the district; it had previously been in the 2nd District. In the Republican primary, Rouzer defeated both 2010 nominee Ilario Pantano and Randy Crow, but won just four of the district's twelve counties: Johnston (82%), Sampson (49%), Lenoir (43%), and Hoke (38%). His margin in Johnston County, the second-largest in the reconfigured district, was enough for him to win.
The redrawn 7th is much more conservative and Republican than its predecessor. ''Roll Call
''Roll Call'' is a newspaper and website published in Washington, D.C., United States, when the United States Congress is in session, reporting news of legislative and political maneuverings on Capitol Hill, as well as political coverage of ...
'' rates the election as ''leans Republican''.
After an official tabulation showed that Rouzer had lost the election to McIntyre by 655 votes, Rouzer asked for a recount on November 21, 2012. After the recount, Rouzer conceded the race to McIntyre on November 28. It was the closest House race in the country. Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts ...
carried the district with 56% of the vote.
2014
Rouzer ran for the 7th district again in 2014. McIntyre retired rather than face a rematch. Most pundits believed that with McIntyre's retirement, the seat would be an easy GOP pickup. Even before his near miss in 2012, the 7th had been trending Republican for some time.
Rouzer won the general election with almost 60% of the vote. Upon taking office in January 2015, he became only the second Republican to represent a significant portion of eastern North Carolina in the House since Reconstruction
Reconstruction may refer to:
Politics, history, and sociology
* Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company
*''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...
.
2016
After court-ordered redistricting, Rouzer's district was made slightly more compact. It lost most of its share of Johnston County and was pushed slightly to the east, picking up all of Wilmington–long the district's largest city–as well as Goldsboro. Rouzer was unopposed for the Republican nomination and defeated Democrat J. Wesley Casteen in the general election with 60.9% of the vote.
2018
Rouzer won a third term to Congress with 55.5% of the vote over Democratic nominee Kyle Horton and Constitution Party nominee David Fallin, his narrowest margin of victory so far. Before the election, he sold his home in Benson and bought one in Wilmington, saying it was "a reflection of where I spend the vast majority of my time."
2020
Rouzer defeated Democratic nominee Christopher Ward with about 60% of the vote.
Tenure
Rouzer was sworn into office on January 3, 2015, for the 114th Congress
The 114th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States of America federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from Ja ...
. As of May 2019, he had sponsored 24 pieces of legislation during his tenure, of which 2 became public law. He also coauthored (with U.S. Senator Thom Tillis
Thomas Roland Tillis (born August 30, 1960) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from North Carolina since 2015. A Republican, he was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 2006, and began ser ...
) a provision to the that gave authority to the United States Secretary of the Interior
The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natur ...
to designate a World War II Heritage city each year. The provision went into effect when the legislation was signed into law by President Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
in 2019. Wilmington was expected to be among the first designated Heritage Cities.
In 2015, Rouzer cosponsored an amendment to amend the US constitution to ban same-sex marriage.
In December 2020, Rouzer was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
to sign an amicus brief
An ''amicus curiae'' (; ) is an individual or organization who is not a party to a legal case, but who is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. The decision on ...
in support of '' Texas v. Pennsylvania'', a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election
This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included.
January
*5 January:
** ...
, in which Joe Biden defeated Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing
Standing, also referred to as orthostasis, is a position in which the body is held in an ''erect'' ("orthostatic") position and supported only by the feet. Although seemingly static, the body rocks slightly back and forth from the ankle in the s ...
under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.
Committee assignments
* Committee on Transport and Infrastructure
** Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment
** Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
** Subcommittee on Aviation
* Committee on Agriculture
** Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture (Vice-chair)
** Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit
Caucus memberships
* Republican Study Committee
The Republican Study Committee (RSC) is a study group of conservative members of the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives. As of 2021, the Chairman of the RSC is Representative Jim Banks of Indiana.
Although the prima ...
''Texas vs. Pennsylvania''
After the 2020 presidential election, Rouzer was among 126 House Republicans who supported ''Texas v. Pennsylvania'', a December 2020 lawsuit that asked the Supreme Court to overturn Biden's electoral victories in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein joined other State Attorneys General in opposing Texas's suit, saying "This suit seeks to overturn the will of the people by throwing out the votes of tens of millions of Americans." The Supreme Court denied Texas's motion for lack of standing under Article III of the Constitution. On January 6, 2021, Rouzer was one of 147 Republican lawmakers who objected to the certification of electoral votes from the 2020 presidential election just hours after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol forcing an emergency recess of Congress.[
]
References
External links
Congressman David Rouzer
official U.S. House website
David Rouzer for Congress
*
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rouzer, David
1972 births
21st-century American politicians
Living people
Republican Party North Carolina state senators
North Carolina State University alumni
People from Durham, North Carolina
People from Johnston County, North Carolina
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina
Candidates in the 2012 United States elections
United States congressional aides