Robert James Dold Jr. (born June 23, 1969) is an American politician who served as the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

for from 2011 to 2013 and again from 2015 to 2017. He is a member of the Republican Party. Prior to his election, Dold ran his family-owned business, Rose Pest Solutions. In

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, Dold defeated Democratic Party nominee

Dan Seals Danny Wayland Seals (February 8, 1948 – March 25, 2009), also known as England Dan, was an American musician. The younger brother of Seals and Crofts member Jim Seals, he first gained fame as one half of the soft rock duo England Dan & ...

to replace Republican incumbent

Mark Kirk Mark Steven Kirk (born September 15, 1959) is an American retired politician and attorney who served as a United States senator from Illinois from 2010 to 2017, and as the United States representative for Illinois's 10th congressional district f ...

in the U.S. House of Representatives. Dold was narrowly defeated by Democrat

Brad Schneider Bradley Scott Schneider (born August 20, 1961) is an American businessman and politician who has served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Illinois's 10th congressional district since 2017 and also served fro ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, but regained the seat 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 ...

, defeating Schneider in a rematch. He was again defeated by Schneider in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

in a third contest between the two.

Early life, education, and career

Dold was born in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

, the son of Judith Gail (née Kelley) and Robert James Dold. His ancestry includes German, Swedish, Irish, Scottish, and English. He graduated from

New Trier High School New Trier High School (, also known as New Trier Township High School or NTHS) is a public four-year high school whose main campus for sophomores through seniors is in Winnetka, Illinois, United States, with a campus in Northfield, Illinois, for ...

where he was quarterback of the football team and captain of the wrestling and lacrosse teams. He earned a BA degree from

Denison University Denison University is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio, United States. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. It was first called ...

where he served as President of the Campus Governance Association and was a member of

Beta Theta Pi Beta Theta Pi (), commonly known as Beta, is a North American social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. One of North America's oldest fraternities, , it consist ...

. Dold obtained a JD degree from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

where his classmates selected him to give the commencement address, and an MBA degree from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

Kellogg School of Management The Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management (branded as Northwestern Kellogg) is the graduate business school of Northwestern University, a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois. History Early ...

. Dold was an intern in the administration of Vice President

Dan Quayle James Danforth Quayle (; born February 4, 1947) is an American retired politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party (United States), ...

. He also clerked for a New York State Judge and served as an investigative counsel for the Republican-led House Government Reform and Oversight Committee.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2010

Dold ran for the open seat, as five-term incumbent

was retiring to run for the U.S. Senate. In his first radio ad of the general election campaign, Dold described himself as a small business owner, fiscal conservative, and social moderate. He won the primary election on February 2, 2010, and faced Democrat Dan Seals in the general election. Seals, a business consultant, had been the nominee for this seat in 2006 and 2008, losing both times to Kirk. Dold was endorsed by the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'', whose editorial page editor, R. Bruce Dold, is not related to Bob Dold. The

US Chamber of Commerce The United States Chamber of Commerce (USCC) is a business association advocacy group and is the largest lobbying group in the United States. The group was founded in April 1912 out of local chambers of commerce at the urging of President Willi ...

Pioneer Press The Pioneer Press publishes 32 local newspapers in the Chicago area. It is a division of Tribune Publishing, and is based in Chicago. The community newspapers are the main source of local news in Illinois communities such as Winnetka, Highland ...

'', September 13, 2010 and the Electrical Contractors' AssociationPolitical Briefs
''

Lake County News-Sun The ''Lake County News-Sun'' is a regional newspaper based in Gurnee, Illinois, United States, that predominantly covers news for Lake County, Illinois, a part of the Chicago metropolitan area. It is currently owned by the Chicago Tribune Medi ...

'', July 20, 2010 also endorsed him. Former New York City mayor

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani ( , ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and Disbarment, disbarred lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney ...

and

Americans for Tax Reform Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) is a politically conservative U.S. advocacy group whose stated goal is "a system in which taxes are simpler, flatter, more visible, and lower than they are today." According to ATR, "The government's power to contr ...

president

Grover Norquist Grover Glenn Norquist (born October 19, 1956) is an American political activist and anti-tax advocate who is founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform, an organization that opposes all tax increases. A Republican, he is the primary pro ...

campaigned for Dold. After reporting nearly equal fund-raising for the second quarter, Dold's fundraising outpaced Seals' in the third quarter, and he began the final quarter with more cash on hand. At the request of the

Federal Election Commission The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent agency of the United States government that enforces U.S. campaign finance laws and oversees U.S. federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Campaign ...

, the Dold campaign amended its second quarter filing in September 2010 to reflect debts and expenditures that had been incurred in the second quarter but had not yet been billed when the filing period ended. Dold won the general election with 51% of the vote to Seals' 49%.

2012

The

Cook Political Report Amy Elizabeth Walter (born October 19, 1969)"Profile: Amy Walter"

named Dold one of the top 10 Republicans most vulnerable to redistricting in 2012; the 10th was already a Democratic-leaning district, and became even more so due to redistricting. The endorsement of Senator Mark Kirk, who was popular in the district at the time, was expected to help Dold. Dold had a strong cash-on-hand advantage over his opponent

. Dold earned the endorsement of the ''

'' and '' Daily Herald''. Schneider defeated Dold 51%–49%, a difference of just 3,000 votes.

2014

On May 8, 2013, Dold announced in an e-mail to supporters that he would run for his old seat in 2014. The

National Republican Congressional Committee The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is the United States Republican Party, Republican Hill committee which works to elect Republicans to the United States House of Representatives. The NRCC was formed in 1866, when the Repub ...

actively recruited him to run again. The race was expected to be one of the most competitive in the country, and was ranked by

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 c ...

as the seventh most likely flip for 2014 House rematches. Billionaire and former New York City mayor

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...

spent nearly $2 million to help Dold. Dold won the rematch by slightly more than 4,800 votes and took office at the start of the 114th Congress.

2016

Dold ran for re-election in 2016, facing a rematch with

in the general election. He was endorsed by the

Human Rights Campaign The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for L ...

, the nation's largest

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

civil rights organization, despite the organization having endorsed Schneider in 2014. Dold was also endorsed by ''The Chicago Tribune'' and ''The Chicago Sun-Times''. He refused to endorse Republican nominee

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 ...

in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and said he would instead write in an alternative candidate's name. In the general election, Dold lost to Schneider by 5 percentage points, as Democratic presidential nominee

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

won the district by nearly 30.

Tenure

Reputation

Dold is a moderate Republican who had a centrist voting record in Congress. The non-partisan organization

GovTrack GovTrack.us is a website developed by then-student Joshua Tauberer. It is based in Washington, D.C., and was launched as a hobby. It enables its users to track the bills and members of the United States Congress. Users can add trackers to certain ...

has ranked Dold in the political center of Congress. ''

National Journal ''National Journal'' is an advisory services company based in Washington, D.C., offering services in government affairs, advocacy communications, stakeholder mapping, and policy brands research for government and business leaders. It publishes ...

'' did a comprehensive study of key votes in the House, ranking Dold as one of the most independent members of Congress. The district had traditionally elected moderate Republicans, such as Dold and his predecessors

John Edward Porter John Edward Porter (June 1, 1935 – June 3, 2022) was an American lawyer and politician who served as U.S. representative for Illinois's 10th congressional district from 1980 to 2001. Career before Congress Before his election to Congress, ...

and

. Dold is an original member of the

No Labels No Labels is an Politics of the United States, American political organization whose stated mission is to support centrism and Bipartisanship in United States politics, bipartisanship through what it calls the "commonsense majority". No Labels w ...

movement which, Dold stated, he hoped would help to end the gridlock in Washington, DC. Dold is a member of the

Tuesday Group The Republican Governance Group, originally the Tuesday Lunch Bunch and then the Tuesday Group until 2020, is a group of moderate Republicans in the United States House of Representatives. It was founded in 1994 in the wake of the Republican ta ...

, an informal caucus of moderate Republicans in the U.S. House. In 2015, Dold was elected co-chair of the Tuesday Group. An editorial in ''The Daily Herald'' noted Dold's spirit of bipartisanship and called for more Bob Dolds in Congress. According to ''

'', Dold has moved further to the center during his second term in Congress. In fact, in 2015, The Lugar Center, a Washington, D.C.–based nonprofit founded by former Senator

Richard Lugar Richard Green Lugar ( ; April 4, 1932 – April 28, 2019) was an American politician who served as a United States Senate, United States Senator from Indiana from 1977 to 2013. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republ ...

released a Bipartisan Index in cooperation with Georgetown University, ranking Congressman Dold the fifth most bipartisan congressman (out of 438) in 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 ...

Political positions

Dold supports abortion rights. In 2012, Dold introduced H.R. 5650, the Protecting Women's Access to Health Care Act, which prevents lawmakers from blocking funds to

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is an American nonprofit organization

. He has voiced support for stem cell research. Dold voted for the

fiscal cliff The United States fiscal cliff refers to the combined effect of several previously-enacted laws that came into effect simultaneously in January 2013, increasing taxes and decreasing spending. The Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003, which had been ...

compromise bill, which permanently extended most of the Bush middle class tax cuts. He has stated his support for gay marriage and immigration reform. He became the first House Republican to support the Equality Act, which would amend the

Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...

to include a ban on discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Regarding the

Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and informally as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...

, he has stated his desire to improve the law rather than fight to repeal or defund it. Dold has said the Affordable Care Act was right to require insurance coverage for pre-existing conditions and to allow students to stay on a parent's insurance to age 26. Upon his return to the House in 2015, Dold became one of just three Republican Congressmen to vote against repeal of the Affordable Care Act – the first time any elected Republicans at the federal level voted against such a measure. Dold supports gun control measures. In 2015, he signed onto a bipartisan bill that would expand background checks for gun purchasers. He accepts the

scientific consensus on climate change There is a nearly unanimous scientific consensus that the Earth has been consistently warming since the start of the Industrial Revolution, that the rate of recent warming is largely unprecedented, and that this warming is mainly the result o ...

and believes steps should be taken to address the issue. In 2016, Dold introduced a bill to create a grant to expand the availability of

naloxone Naloxone, sold under the brand name Narcan among others, is an opioid antagonist, a medication used to reverse or reduce the effects of opioids. For example, it is used to restore breathing after an opioid overdose. Effects begin within two ...

, a heroin overdose antidote.

Personnel

Upon taking office in 2011, Dold hired former lobbyist Eric Burgeson, who grew up in Illinois' 10th district, as his congressional

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

. Burgeson and Dold had previously worked together on Sen.

Bob Dole Robert Joseph Dole (July 22, 1923 – December 5, 2021) was an American politician and attorney who represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was the Party leaders of the United States Senate, Republican Leader of th ...

's 1996 presidential campaign. Dold instituted a policy that "staff may not work on matters of substance with former clients." In his second term in office, his chief of staff was James Slepian.

Committee assignments

Dold was originally appointed to the Committee on Financial Services for the 114th Congress, but after the resignation of fellow Illinois Republican

Aaron Schock Aaron Jon Schock (born May 28, 1981) is a former American politician who was Republican Party (United States), Republican United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative for from 2009 until 2015. The district is based in Peoria, Illi ...

, Dold was chosen to replace him on the powerful Ways and Means Committee. *

Committee on Ways and Means The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other program ...

** Subcommittee on Human Resources ** Subcommittee on Social Security ;Previous *

Committee on Financial Services The United States House Committee on Financial Services, also referred to as the House Banking Committee and previously known as the Committee on Banking and Currency, is the United States congressional committee, committee of the United States ...

** Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises ** Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity

Post-congressional work

In 2018, Dold started an organization to promote and support moderate Republicans. In 2022, Dold joined other former Republican members of Congress to support the passage of federal legislation prohibiting discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals.

Personal life

Dold is married and has three children. He resides in

Kenilworth, Illinois Kenilworth is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, north of downtown Chicago. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census it had a population of 2,514. It is the newest of the nine suburban North Shore (Chicago), North Shore c ...

and runs Rose Pest Solutions, the oldest pest control company in the country.LinkedIn Profile
Retrieved August 18, 2010. Dold attends Kenilworth Union Church and is a scoutmaster for Kenilworth

Boy Scout A Scout, Boy Scout, Girl Scout or, in some countries, a Pathfinder is a participant in the Scout Movement, usually aged 10–18 years, who engage in learning scoutcraft and outdoor and other special interest activities. Some Scout organizatio ...

Troop No. 13.
Abdon M. Pallasch, ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'', September 28, 2010

Electoral history

References

External links

* * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Dold, Bob 1969 births 21st-century American businesspeople American people of English descent American people of German descent American people of Irish descent American people of Scottish descent American people of Swedish descent Businesspeople from Evanston, Illinois Denison University alumni Indiana University Maurer School of Law alumni Kellogg School of Management alumni Living people New Trier High School alumni People from Kenilworth, Illinois Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives