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Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)

House Majority Whip, 112th Congress (since January 2011)

Why He Matters

McCarthy is great at making friends. And those friends have given him a top spot in the House GOP majority as the majority whip in the GOP-majority 112th Congress.

McCarthy rose from chief deputy whip in the 110th Congress, as well as head of recruitment for the House GOP campaign arm in the 2010 election cycle.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: House Chief Deputy Republican Whip (since December 2008-January 2011); Member of the California Assembly (2002 to 2006); District Director for Rep. Bill Thomas (1987 to 2002); Owner of Kevin O's Deli (1986 to 1987)
Birthday: Jan. 26, 1965
Hometown: Bakersfield, Calif.
Alma Mater: Attended Bakersfield College, 1984-85; California State University, B.S., 1989; California State University, MBA, 1994
Spouse: Judy
Religion: Baptist
DC Office: 1523 Longworth House Office Building, 202-225-2915
District Office: Atascadero, 805-461-1034; Bakersfield, 661-327-3611

Path to Power

McCarthy was born in Bakersfield, Calif. He was chair of the California Young Republicans at California State University in Bakersfield. While in school, he also invested the $5,000 he won in the state lottery in the stock market, and used the profit he made to start his own deli, Kevin O's. He received his B.S. in 1989.

McCarthy began working for former House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-Calif.) in 1987. He quickly became Thomas' favorite staffer, working his way up from district office volunteer to director. McCarthy also chaired the National Young Republicans.

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He received his MBA from California State University in 1994.

McCarthy won his first elected position, to the Kern County Community College District Board, in 2000.

California Assemblyman

He was elected to the California Assembly in 2002. Though the freshman class was large, McCarthy distinguished himself as an affable and effective lawmaker. He built relationships with other legislators through games of pick-up basketball and visits to their districts.

He was so popular that he was elected Assembly minority leader during his first term. In that position, he helped Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) coordinate his transition into office. This gave him an inside line to the state's executive office; McCarthy helped Schwarzenegger cut the state budget deficit, reorganize the workers' compensation system, and draft a redistricting proposal that ensured that no party had more than a seven percent advantage among registered voters.

Making Friends in the House

Just four days before the filing deadline in 2006, Thomas announced he wouldn't seek reelection. McCarthy was the obvious choice to succeed the veteran GOP lawmaker. He faced no opposition in the primary, and in his heavily Republican district securing the GOP nomination all but guaranteed victory. He eventually garnered 71 percent of the vote.

Because McCarthy did not face a competitive general election, he spent much of his freshman House campaign helping fellow political neophytes running for House open seats. McCarthy traveled around the country and raised more than $1 million, which he divided among 12 Republican congressional candidates and the NRCC. Nine of the members he contributed to eventually won.

House Leadership

McCarthy's shrewd move made him immediately popular among House GOP leaders. During his first term, McCarthy scored seats on the House Administration and Agriculture committee and helped assign freshmen seats on the various committees.

McCarthy was also named an NRCC fundraiser, where he helped organize a campaign against Democratic freshmen. McCarthy's strategy called for radio, television and phone ads that linked the Democrats to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and highlighted their liberal records.

His ultimate goal was a speedy return to a House GOP majority. In the lead-up to the 2008 elections, McCarthy gave his fellow NRCC members watches engraved with the acronym TEAM, which stands for Time to Earn a Majority. "Every time they look at what time it is, it's time to earn a majority," he told the Weekly Standard.

McCarthy co-chaired the Republican Platform Committee during the 2008 Republican National Convention. After the 2008 elections, Cantor selected McCarthy as his chief deputy whip, which is the highest appointed position in the House Republican Conference. He will be responsible for counting votes and convincing Republicans to toe the party line on important votes.

The Issues

McCarthy is a conservative voter with a 100 percent rating from the American Conservative Union in 2007. He voted with his party 96 percent of the time during the 110th Congress.

But his legislative approach is more pragmatic than dogmatic. He emphasizes job creation, cutting government spending and developing better math and science programs in public schools. He would also like to figure out ways to use new technologies that will improve transparency and accountability in the federal government.

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The Network

McCarthy owes his political start to ex-Rep. Bill Thomas (R-Calif.), who groomed him beginning when McCarthy was in his early twenties. The two share an interest in cars and car shows.

As a member of the "Young Guns," McCarthy, Rep. Eric Cantor and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) have worked closely together. The trio sees itself as the future of the Republican Party in the House.

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Additional Resources