Curtis Jay Clawson (born September 28, 1959) is an American politician who served as the

United States representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...

for Florida's 19th congressional district from 2014 to 2017. He is the former chief executive of Hayes Lemmerz, a Michigan-based automobile wheel and brakes supplier.

Early life and education

Clawson attended Batesville High School in Batesville, Indiana. A high school basketball star, he was recruited by Gene Keady. At Purdue, he was a 2× All-Academic Big Ten selection (1982–83 and 1983–84). He was a team captain for the 1983–84 Big Ten Champions, was a member of 2× NCAA teams (1982–83 and 1983–84) and an NIT Finalist team (1981–82). He graduated in 1984 with a BA in Spanish and a BS from the

Krannert School of Management The Krannert School of Management is the school of management at Purdue University, a public research university in West Lafayette, Indiana. It offers instruction at the undergraduate, master's, and doctoral levels. History The School of ...

. He was named a "Purdue Old Master" in 2010 and received the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2014.Curtis J. Clawson : College of Liberal Arts : Purdue University
In 1990, he earned an MBA from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

;2014 special Clawson was the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

nominee in a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

to fill the seat being vacated by Trey Radel.Sullivan, Sean
Curt Clawson wins Republican nomination in Florida special election
''Washington Post'', April 23, 2014. and won the election on June 24, 2014. In the April 22, 2014 Republican primary—the real contest in this heavily Republican district—Clawson defeated State Senate Majority Leader

Lizbeth Benacquisto Lizbeth Benacquisto is a Republican politician from Florida who served as a member of the Florida Senate from 2010 to 2020. She was a candidate in the 2014 special election for Florida's 19th congressional district. History Benacquisto was ...

and former State Representative Paige Kreegel with 38% of the vote to Benacquisto's 26% and Kreegel's 25%. Clawson was endorsed in the primary by the

Tea Party Express The Tea Party Express is a California-based group founded in the summer of 2009 to support the Tea Party movement. Founded as a national bus tour to rally Tea Party activists, the group's leadership also endorses and promotes conservative candidat ...

. He spent $2 million on advertising and in one of his ads he challenged U.S. President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

to a game of one on one basketball. ;2014 general Clawson won a full term in November 2014 with 64 percent of the vote.

Tenure

Clawson delivered the Tea Party response to President Obama's

State of the Union Address The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of each calendar year on the current condi ...

in 2015. In May 2016, Clawson announced that he would not seek re-election that year, citing his desire to support his father in the aftermath of his mother's death the previous year. Clawson was a member of the Congressional Constitution Caucus.

Electoral history

2014 (special)

2014

References

External links

* * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Clawson, Curt 1959 births Latter Day Saints from Indiana Businesspeople from Florida Harvard Business School alumni Living people People from Batesville, Indiana People from Bonita Springs, Florida Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball players Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Florida Latter Day Saints from Florida 21st-century American politicians American men's basketball players Conservatism in the United States