Russell Mark Fulcher (born March 9, 1962) is an American businessman and politician serving as the U.S. representative for

Idaho's 1st congressional district Idaho's 1st congressional district is one of two congressional districts in the U.S. state of Idaho. It comprises the western portion of the state. The 1st district is currently represented by Russ Fulcher, a Republican Party (United States), Re ...

since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he represented the 21st district in the

Idaho Senate The Idaho State Senate is the upper chamber of the Idaho Legislature. It consists of 35 senators elected to two-year terms, each representing a district of the state. The Senate meets at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise, Idaho. Composition of th ...

from 2005 to 2012 and the 22nd district from 2012 until 2014. Fulcher ran for governor of Idaho in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, unsuccessfully challenging incumbent

Butch Otter Clement Leroy "Butch" Otter (born May 3, 1942) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 32nd List of Governors of Idaho, governor of Idaho from 2007 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, h ...

in the primary. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, succeeding incumbent Raúl Labrador, who retired from Congress to run, unsuccessfully, for governor of Idaho. Fulcher is a member of the

Freedom Caucus The Freedom Caucus, also known as the House Freedom Caucus, is a congressional caucus consisting of Republican Party (United States), Republican members of the United States House of Representatives. It is generally considered to be the most Cons ...

Early life and education

A fourth-generation Idahoan, Fulcher was born in

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

, but grew up on a dairy farm in

Meridian, Idaho Meridian is a city located in Ada County, Idaho, Ada County, Idaho, United States. The population was 117,635 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Idaho, 2nd most populous city in the county and Idaho a ...

. He received both a bachelor's and master's degree in business administration from

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a Public university, public research university in Boise, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has b ...

in 1984 and 1988, respectively. He also completed a course on electronic engineering through

Micron Technology Micron Technology, Inc. is an American producer of computer memory and computer data storage including dynamic random-access memory, flash memory, and solid-state drives (SSDs). It is headquartered in Boise, Idaho. Micron's consumer produc ...

Career

While a member of the Idaho legislature, Fulcher worked as a broker in the commercial real estate business. Before that, he was involved in Idaho's technology industry. Fulcher spent much of that time working in international business development with

Idaho Senate

Idaho Senate District 21

In 2005, Governor Dirk Kempthorne appointed Fulcher to the Idaho State Senate, representing the 21st legislative district, which encompasses large parts of Boise, Meridian and Kuna, to replace Jack Noble, who resigned after a conflict of interest. Fulcher was first elected in 2006 and served through 2012.

Idaho Senate District 22

Fulcher represented District 22 in the Idaho Senate from 2012 to 2014. He served as Majority Caucus Leader from 2008 to 2012 and from 2013 to 2014.

=Committees

= Fulcher served on the following committees: * Senate Education Committee (Member) * Senate State Affairs Committee (Vice-chairman)

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018

On June 15, 2017, Fulcher announced that he would seek the Republican nomination for

in the 2018 election. He was endorsed by the incumbent representative, Raúl Labrador, and Texas Senator

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 ...

. Fulcher won the

Idaho Republican Party The Idaho Republican Party (IDGOP) is the Idaho state affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), United States Republican Party, headquartered in Boise, Idaho, Boise. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling both of I ...

primary with 43.1% of the vote, defeating David H. Leroy, Luke Malek, Christy Perry, Michael Snyder, Alex Gallegos, and Nick Henderson. Fulcher won 18 of 19 counties in Idaho's 1st congressional district. He was one of two candidates to win his home county. He won the general election in November with 62.7% of the vote, defeating Cristina McNeil (Democrat), W. Scott Howard (Libertarian), and Marvin "Pro-Life" Richardson (Constitution).

2020

Fulcher was reelected on November 3, 2020, with 67.8% of the vote, defeating Rudy Soto (Democrat) and Joe Evans (Libertarian).

Tenure

In December 2020, Fulcher 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 entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

to sign an

amicus brief An amicus curiae (; ) is an individual or organization that is not a party to a legal case, but that is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. Whether an ''amic ...

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 turn on question ...

contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

defeated incumbent

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

. 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 upright (orthostatic) position and supported only by the feet. Although seemingly static, the body rocks slightly back and forth from the ankle in the ...

under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state. On December 1, 2023, Fulcher voted against the expulsion of Representative George Santos.

Committee assignments

For the 118th Congress: *

Committee on Energy and Commerce A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

** Subcommittee on Communications and Technology ** Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Minerals ** Subcommittee on Innovation, Data, and Commerce * Committee on Natural Resources ** Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources ** Subcommittee on Federal Lands

Caucus memberships

* Republican Study Committee * Congressional Western Caucus

Political positions

Israel

Fulcher voted to provide Israel with support following 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

Big Tech

In 2022, Fulcher was one of 39 Republicans to vote for the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022, an antitrust package that would crack down on corporations for anti-competitive behavior.

Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023

Fulcher was among the 71 Republicans who voted against final passage of the

Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 On January 19, 2023, the United States hit its United States debt ceiling, debt ceiling, leading to a debt-ceiling crisis, part of an ongoing political debate within United States Congress, Congress about United States federal budget, federal ...

in the House.

Electoral history

Other political campaigns

2014 gubernatorial race

On November 23, 2013, Fulcher announced his intention to run against incumbent governor

in the 2014 Idaho gubernatorial election. He was endorsed by Congressman Raúl Labrador. Fulcher lost to Otter in the May 2014 Republican primary, earning 43.6% of the vote.

2016 presidential election

Fulcher was a

delegate at the

2016 Republican National Convention The 2016 Republican National Convention, in which delegates of the United States Republican Party (United States), Republican Party chose the party's nominees for President of the United States, president and Vice President of the United Sta ...

. He supported

in the general election.

2018 gubernatorial race

Fulcher announced on August 24, 2016, that he was running for governor. On June 15, 2017, he announced that he was dropping out of the 2018 Idaho gubernatorial election and would instead run for

in the 2018 cycle.

Personal life

Fulcher was married to Kara Fulcher from 1987 to 2018. They have three adult children. Fulcher is an

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

References

External links

Congressman Russ Fulcher
official U.S. House website
Close partner Brandi SwindellRuss Fulcher for Congress
*
Financial details
at

OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks and publishes data on campaign finance and lobbying, including a revolving door database which documents the individuals who have worked in both the public sector an ...

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fulcher, Russ 1963 births 20th-century evangelicals 21st-century evangelicals 21st-century Idaho politicians 21st-century members of the Idaho Legislature 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives American evangelicals Boise State University alumni Christians from Idaho Idaho Republicans Living people Politicians from Meridian, Idaho Republican Party Idaho state senators Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Idaho