Alan Nunnelee

Alan Nunnelee

Republican Party

Prior offices

Mississippi State Senate District 6

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U.S. House Mississippi District 1

Successor: Trent Kelly

Predecessor: Travis Childers

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Education

Bachelor's

Mississippi State University

Personal

Religion

Christian: Baptist

Profession

Business executive

Patrick Alan Nunnelee (b. October 9, 1958, in Tupelo, MS) is a former Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives representing Mississippi's 1st Congressional District. Nunnelee was first elected to the House in 2010. He died on February 6, 2015, following a battle with brain cancer.

Nunnelee won re-election to the U.S. House to represent the 1st Congressional District of Mississippi. He defeated challengers Ron Dickey (D), Danny Bedwell (L) and Lajena Walley (RP) in the general election. He ran uncontested for the Republican nomination in the primary election on June 3, 2014.

Nunnelee previously served in the Mississippi State Senate, representing the 6th District.

Biography

Nunnelee was born in 1958 in Tupelo, Mississippi. He earned his B.S. from Mississippi State University in 1980. Prior to his political career, Nunnelee worked as the vice president of Allied Funeral Associates.

Career

Below is an abbreviated outline of Nunnelee's political career:

• 2011-2015: U.S. Representative from Mississippi's 1st Congressional District
• 1995-2010: Mississippi State Senate, District 6

Committee assignments

U.S. House

2013-2014

Nunnelee served on the following committees:

• Appropriations Committee
  • Subcommittee on Agriculture and Rural Development
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development Vice chairman
  • Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs
• Committee on Budget

2011-2012

Nunnelee served on the following House committees:

• Appropriations Committee
  • Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies

Mississippi Senate

Before his resignation from the Mississippi State Senate, Nunnelee served on the following committees:

• Appropriations Committee, Mississippi Senate
• Environment Prot, Cons and Water Res Committee, Mississippi Senate
• Ethics Committee, Mississippi Senate
• Insurance Committee, Mississippi Senate
• Investigate State Offices Committee, Mississippi Senate
• Judiciary, Division A Committee, Mississippi Senate
• Labor Committee, Mississippi Senate
• Legislative Budget Committee, Mississippi Senate
• Public Health and Welfare Committee, Mississippi Senate

Key votes

113th Congress

The second session of the 113th Congress enacted into law 224 out of the 3215 introduced bills (7 percent). Comparatively, the 112th Congress had 4.2 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the second session. For more information pertaining to Nunnelee's voting record in the 113th Congress, please see the below sections.

National security

HR 644

See also: Bowe Bergdahl exchange

On September 9, 2014, the Republican-run House approved H.R. 644, a resolution condemning President Barack Obama's act of exchanging five Guantanamo Bay prisoners for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. The House voted 249-163 for resolution, with all Republicans and 22 Democrats supporting the bill. Fourteen Democrats and five Republicans did not vote on the resolution, while all other Democrats opposed its passage. Nunnelee did not vote on the resolution.

American intervention in Syria

See also: United States involvement in Syria

Nunnelee signed a letter to President Obama on August 28, 2013. The letter encouraged Obama to "consult and receive authorization from Congress before ordering the use of U.S. military force in Syria. Your responsibility to do so is prescribed in the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution of 1973."

NDAA

Nunnelee supported HR 1960 - the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014. The bill passed the House on June 14, 2013, with a vote of 315 - 108. Both parties were somewhat divided on the vote.

DHS Appropriations

Nunnelee supported HR 2217 - the DHS Appropriations Act of 2014. The bill passed the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 245 - 182 and was largely along party lines.

Keystone Pipeline Amendment

Nunnelee opposed House Amendment 69, which would have amended HR 3 to "require that the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security, conduct a study of the vulnerabilities of the Keystone XL pipeline to a terrorist attack and certify that necessary protections have been put in place." The amendment failed on May 22, 2013, with a vote of 176 - 239 and was largely along party lines.

CISPA (2013)

Nunnelee supported HR 624 - the CISPA (2013). The bill passed the House on April 18, 2013, with a vote of 288 - 127. The bill permitted federal intelligence agencies to share cybersecurity intelligence and information with private entities and utilities. The bill was largely supported by Republicans, but divided the Democratic Party.

Economy

Farm Bill

See also: United States Farm Bill 2013

Nunnelee supported the Farm Bill on July 11, 2013. The bill passed in a 216-208 vote. The bill passed included farm policy, but did not include food stamps.

Budget spending bill

See also: United States budget debate, 2013

Nunnelee released a statement on September 28, 2013 regarding the budget spending bill. He said, "Today, the House will amend the Senate continuing resolution to include a one-year delay of Obamacare and permanently repeal the job-killing Obamacare medical device tax. We will also pass a separate bill to make sure our troops get paid, no matter what."

"Even the strongest supporters of the Affordable Care Act admit implementation is a train wreck; the law is simply not ready for prime time. Therefore, the Democrat-controlled Senate will have choice: will they shut the government down to protect the President's health care law or agree to keep the government open while granting families and small businesses the same delay from Obamacare that the President has already given big business?"

Government shutdown

See also: United States budget debate, 2013

On September 30, 2013, the House passed a final stopgap spending bill before the shutdown went into effect. The bill included a one-year delay of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate and would have also stripped the bill of federal subsidies for congressional members and staff. It passed through the House with a vote of 228-201. At 1 a.m. on October 1, 2013, one hour after the shutdown officially began, the House voted to move forward with going to a conference. In short order, Sen. Harry Reid rejected the call to conference. Nunnelee voted to approve the stopgap spending bill that would have delayed the individual mandate.

The shutdown ended on October 16, 2013, when the House took a vote on HR 2775 after it was approved by the Senate. The bill to reopen the government lifted the $16.7 trillion debt limit and funded the government through January 15, 2014. Federal employees also received retroactive pay for the shutdown period. The only concession made by Senate Democrats was to require income verification for Obamacare subsidies. The House passed the legislation shortly after the Senate, by a vote of 285-144, with all 144 votes against the legislation coming from Republican members. Nunnelee voted against HR 2775.

Immigration

Morton Memos Prohibition

Nunnelee voted for House Amendment 136 - Prohibits the Enforcement of the Immigration Executive Order. The amendment was adopted by the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 224 - 201. The purpose of the amendment as stated on the official text is to "prohibit the use of funds to finalize, implement, administer, or enforce the Morton Memos." These memos would have granted administrative amnesty to certain individuals residing in the United States without legal status. The vote largely followed party lines.

Healthcare

Obamacare

Nunnelee has supported all attempts to repeal or delay the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Social issues

Abortion

Nunnelee supported HR 1797 - Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. The resolution passed the House on June 18, 2013, with a vote of 228 - 196. The purpose of the bill was to ban abortions that would take place 20 or more weeks after fertilization.

Government affairs

HR 676

See also: Boehner's lawsuit against the Obama administration

On July 30, 2014, the U.S. House approved a resolution 225 to 201 to sue President Barack Obama for exceeding his constitutional authority. Five Republicans--Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Paul Broun of Georgia, Scott Garrett of New Jersey, Walter Jones of North Carolina and Steve Stockman of Texas-- voted with Democrats against the lawsuit. Nunnelee did not vote on the resolution.

Previous congressional sessions

• Nunnelee voted for repealing ObamaCare.
• He sponsored a bill to prevent taxpayer money for funding abortions.
• He voted for the balanced budget amendment.

Fiscal Cliff

Nunnelee voted against the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was 1 of 151 Republicans that voted against the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257 - 167 vote on January 1, 2013.

Issues

Presidential preference

2012

See also: Endorsements by state officials of presidential candidates in the 2012 election

Alan Nunnelee endorsed Rick Santorum in the 2012 presidential election.

Elections

2014

See also: Mississippi's 1st Congressional District elections, 2014

Nunnelee won re-election to the U.S. House in 2014. He ran uncontested for the Republican nomination in the primary election on June 3, 2014, before defeating Ron Dickey (D), Danny Bedwell (Libertarian) and Lajena Walley (Reform) in the general election.

U.S. House, Mississippi District 1 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Alan Nunnelee Incumbent	67.9%	102,622
	Democratic	Ron Dickey	28.9%	43,713
	Libertarian	Danny Bedwell	2.5%	3,830
	Reform	Lajena Walley	0.6%	946
Total Votes				151,111
Source: Mississippi Secretary of State Official Results

2012

See also: Mississippi's 1st Congressional District elections, 2012

Nunnelee won re-election. Nunnelee ran for re-election to the 1st Congressional District in 2012. He defeated Henry Ross and Robert Estes in the March 13 primary election. Nunnelee faced Brad Morris (D), Jim R. Bourland (Constitution), Danny Bedwell (Libertarian) and Chris Potts (Reform) in the general election on November 6, 2012.

Alan Nunnelee, "Closing remarks on amendment to prevent taxpayer funding of abortion"

U.S. House, Mississippi District 1 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Brad Morris	36.9%	114,076
	Republican	Alan Nunnelee Incumbent	60.4%	186,760
	Libertarian	Danny Bedwell	1.2%	3,584
	Constitution	Jim R. Bourland	0.8%	2,390
	Reform	Chris Potts	0.8%	2,367
Total Votes				309,177
Source: Mississippi Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

Mississippi's 1st Congressional District Republican Primary, 2012

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Alan Nunnelee Incumbent	57.4%	43,487
Robert Estes	13.7%	10,390
Henry Ross	28.9%	21,944
Total Votes		75,821

Full history

To view the full congressional electoral history for Alan Nunnelee, click [show] to expand the section.

2010 On November 2, 2010, Alan Nunnelee won election to the United States House. He defeated Travis Childers (D), Wally Pang (I), Les Green (I), A.G. Baddley (I), Rick Hoskins (I), Barbara Washer (Reform), Harold Taylor (L) and Gail Giaramita (Constitution) in the general election. U.S. House, Mississippi District 1 General Election, 2010 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Alan Nunnelee 55.3% 121,074      Democratic Travis W. Childers incumbent 40.8% 89,388      Independent Wally Pang 1% 2,180      Independent Les Green 0.9% 2,020      Independent A. G. Baddley 0.9% 1,882      Independent Rick "Rico" Hoskins 0.2% 478      Reform Barbara Dale Washer 0.2% 389      Libertarian Harold M. Taylor 0.2% 447      Constitution Gail Giaramita 0.6% 1,235 Total Votes 219,093

2007

On November 6, 2007, Patrick Nunnelee ran for District 6 of the Mississippi State Senate, beating Johnathan Davis.

Patrick Nunnelee raised $187,894 for his campaign.

Mississippi Senate, District 6
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Patrick Nunnelee (R)		10,094	65.5%
Johnathan Davis (D)		5,314	34.5%

Campaign themes

2012

• Economy & Jobs

Excerpt: "I believe true economic growth comes from the private sector; the government cannot spend us into prosperity."

• Education

Excerpt: "We should allow states and schools to have the ability to set their own innovative priorities and receive maximum flexibility in advancing those priorities."

• Healthcare

Excerpt: "We need to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in order to clear the way for patient centered health care reform."

• Immigration

Excerpt: "We should first and foremost secure the borders and enforce existing laws. We also need to start dealing with the magnet that draws people here and that is the jobs."

• National Defense

Excerpt: "I support a strong national defense by providing our military with the resources it needs to keep our nation safe and maintain freedom."

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Alan Nunnelee campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2012	U.S. House (Mississippi, District 1)	Won	$1,467,759	N/A**
2010	U.S. House (Mississippi, District 1)	Won	$1,739,384	N/A**
2009	Mississippi State Senate, District 6	Won	$92,941	N/A**
2007	Mississippi State Senate, District 6	Won	$187,894	N/A**
2005	Mississippi State Senate, District 6	Won	$48,155	N/A**
2003	Mississippi State Senate, District 6	Won	$75,410	N/A**
1999	Mississippi State Senate, District 6	Won	$12,100	N/A**
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Personal Gain Index

See also: Personal Gain Index (U.S. Congress)

The Personal Gain Index (U.S. Congress) is a two-part measurement that illustrates the extent to which members of the U.S. Congress have prospered during their tenure as public servants.
It consists of two different metrics:

• Changes in Net Worth
• The Donation Concentration Metric

PGI: Change in net worth

See also: Changes in Net Worth of U.S. Senators and Representatives (Personal Gain Index) and Net worth of United States Senators and Representatives

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Nunnelee's net worth as of 2012 was estimated between $365,011 and $875,000. That averages to $620,005.50, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican representatives in 2012 of $7,614,097.96. Nunnelee ranked as the 252nd most wealthy representative in 2012. Between 2009 and 2012, Nunnelee's calculated net worth increased by an average of 17 percent per year. Between 2004 and 2012, the average annual percentage increase for a member of Congress was 15.4 percent.

Alan Nunnelee Yearly Net Worth
Year	Average Net Worth
2009	$408,813
2012	$620,005
Growth from 2009 to 2012:	52%
Average annual growth:	17%
Comparatively, the American citizen experienced a median yearly decline in net worth of -0.94%.

The data used to calculate changes in net worth may include changes resulting from assets gained through marriage, inheritance, changes in family estates and/or trusts, changes in family business ownership, and many other variables unrelated to a member's behavior in Congress.

PGI: Donation Concentration Metric

See also: The Donation Concentration Metric (U.S. Congress Personal Gain Index)

Filings required by the Federal Election Commission report on the industries that give to each candidate. Using campaign filings and information calculated by OpenSecrets.org, Ballotpedia calculated the percentage of donations by industry received by each incumbent over the course of his or her career (or 1989 and later, if elected prior to 1988). Nunnelee received the most donations from individuals and PACs employed by the Health Professionals industry.

From 2009-2014, 27.45 percent of Nunnelee's career contributions came from the top five industries as listed below.

Alan Nunnelee Campaign Contributions
Total Raised	$3,959,837
Total Spent	$3,569,367
Top five industries that contributed to campaign committee
Health Professionals	$334,990
Retired	$219,798
Leadership PACs	$202,900
General Contractors	$165,250
Oil & Gas	$164,150
% total in top industry	8.46%
% total in top two industries	14.01%
% total in top five industries	27.45%

Analysis

Ideology and leadership

See also: GovTrack's Political Spectrum & Legislative Leadership ranking

Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Nunnelee was a "far-right Republican follower" as of July 2014. Nunnelee was rated as a "far-right Republican" in June 2013.

Like-minded colleagues

The website OpenCongress tracks the voting records of each member to determine with whom he or she votes most and least often. The results include a member from each party.

Nunnelee most often voted with:

• Steve Womack
• John Barrow

Nunnelee least often voted with:

• Walter Jones
• Barbara Lee

Lifetime voting record

See also: Lifetime voting records of United States Senators and Representatives

According to the website GovTrack, Nunnelee missed 275 of 2,703 roll call votes from January 2011 to July 2014. This amounts to 10.2 percent, which was worse than the median of 2.5 percent among current congressional representatives as of July 2014.

Congressional staff salaries

See also: Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Nunnelee paid his congressional staff a total of $721,470 in 2011. Overall, Mississippi ranked 41st in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.

National Journal vote ratings

See also: National Journal vote ratings

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year. Click the link above for the full ratings of all members of Congress.

2013

Nunnelee ranked 83rd in the conservative rankings in 2013.

2012

Nunnelee ranked 43rd in the conservative rankings in 2012.

2011

Nunnelee ranked 56th in the conservative rankings in 2011.

Voting with party

The website OpenCongress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of the chamber caucus.

2014

Nunnelee voted with the Republican Party 96.3 percent of the time, which ranked 21st among the 234 House Republican members as of July 2014.

2013

Nunnelee voted with the Republican Party 97.8 percent of the time, which ranked 41st among the 234 House Republican members as of June 2013.

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Nunnelee lived in Tupelo, Mississippi, with his wife, Tori (nee Bedels), and their three children. He was a member of Calvary Baptist Church, where he served as a deacon and a Sunday School teacher. In January 2015, it was reported that Nunnelee was at home in hospice care. His campaign manager said: "After seven months of bravely fighting brain cancer and a stroke, Congressman Alan Nunnelee was informed last Friday that a new tumor has developed and no further medical treatment is possible." Nunnelee died on February 6, 2015.

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term Alan + Nunnelee + Mississippi + House

Alan Nunnelee News Feed

See also

• United States House of Representatives
• Mississippi's 1st Congressional District elections, 2014
• Mississippi's 1st Congressional District

External links

• Social media:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
• Biographies:
  • U.S. Congress
  • NNDB
  • Wikipedia
• Political profiles:
  • GovTrack
  • CongressMerge
  • Project Vote Smart
• Financial (federal level):
  • FEC contributions
  • OpenSecrets.org
  • LegiStorm.com
• Financial (state level):
  • Follow The Money
• Interest group ratings:
  • Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions:
  • On The Issues
  • Project Vote Smart
• Legislation:
  • Congress.gov
• Public statements:
  • Project Vote Smart
• Voting record:
  • Project Vote Smart
  • Washington Post
• Media appearances:
  • C-SPAN
• Media coverage:
  • Washington Post

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Travis Childers	U.S. House of Representatives - Mississippi, District 1 2011–Present	Succeeded by '
Preceded by '	Mississippi State Senate, District 6 1995-2010	Succeeded by Nancy Adams Collins (R)

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Mississippi's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Cindy Hyde-Smith (R)

Roger Wicker (R)

Representatives

District 1

Trent Kelly (R)

District 2

Bennie Thompson (D)

District 3

Michael Guest (R)

District 4

Mike Ezell (R)

Republican Party (5)

Democratic Party (1)