Tom Marino (R-Pa.)

U.S. Representative (since January 2011)

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Why He Matters

In the 2010 midterms, former DA and federal prosecutor Marino captured Pennsylvania's 10th Congressional District for the Republican Party from sophomore Rep. Chris Carney (D). (Full results here.)

A fiscal and social conservative, Marino believes in promoting small government, business-led job creation and a need to reduce the federal eficit and shrink the national debt as well as gun owners' rights and immigration law enforcement. He is opposed to President Obama's health-care reform law.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: Business Law Attorney, DeNaples Management (2007-2009); United States Attorney, Middle District of Pennsylvania (2002-2007); District Attorney, Lycoming County (1992-2002); Attorney, McNerney, Page, Vanderlin & Hall
Birthday: Aug. 15, 1952
Hometown: Williamsport, Pa.
Alma Mater: Williamsport Area Community College, A.A.; Lycoming College, B.A.; Dickinson School of Law, J.D.
Spouse: Edie
Religion: Roman Catholic
Committees: House Judiciary Committee , House Homeland Security Committee

Path To Power

Marino was born and raised in Williamsport, Pa. He worked as a manager at two factory bakeries from the time he graduated high school in 1970 until the age of 30, when he realized his career would not advance without a college degree.

He went on to earn an associate's degree from Williamsport Area Community College, a bachelor's degree from Lycoming College and a law degree from Dickinson School of Law. While in law school, Marino studied abroad in Italy, Austria and France and financed his education by selling the house he shared with his wife, Edie, his truck and various antiques.

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Law Career

In 1988, Marino joined the local law firm McNerney, Page, Vanderlin & Hall, where he was made a partner in 1992. In 1991, he was elected Lycoming County district attorney, which at the time was a part-time job. He was reelected as a full-time DA in 1995 and 1998.

While serving as a DA, Marino was diagnosed with kidney cancer twice, nine years apart. The second time, he lost a kidney.

Bush Administration U.S. Attorney

In 2002, Marino was appointed by former President George W. Bush to be U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. In that role, he was part of a prominent fraud case that successfully prosecuted top managers at Rite Aid Corp., and he targeted drug traffickers and organized crime.

After five years as a U.S. attorney, Marino resigned following the revelation that he allowed businessman Louis DeNaples to use Marino as a personal reference in his ultimately successful bid for a casino license, at a time when Marino's office was investigating DeNaples for alleged ties to organized crime. (Those charges were dropped in April 2009, although DeNaples has a prior felony conviction from 1978.) Marino claimed he had received permission from the Department of Justice to act as a reference for DeNaples - a claim the DOJ denied in September 2010.

A few months after his resignation, Marino took a job as the in-house attorney for DeNaples' company.

2010 House Campaign

Marino resigned from DeNaples Management in late 2009 to focus on his bid for the House seat in Pennsylvania's 10th district. He noted in January 2010 that "Louis DeNaples is still a very good friend of mine, and if some people do not want to vote for me because of my friendship with him, then so be it."

He also said that month, "I am incredibly, for the first time in my life, afraid of the direction in which this country is traveling. I'm afraid of what my kids are going to have to be faced with and my grandchildren are going to have to be faced with."

Marino sought to recapture the district for Republicans after incumbent Rep. Chris Carney's wins in 2006 and 2008. He defeated two Republican challengers in the May 2010 primary with 41 percent of the vote. While campaigning for the general election, Marino worked hard to tie his opponent to President Obama, who was relatively unpopular in the 10th district, according to October 2010 polls.

The National Republican Congressional Committee named Marino an "on the radar" Young Guns candidate in April 2010.

In June 2010, Marino took a few days off from the campaign trail after he was in a head-on car accident with an allegedly drunk driver.

The Issues

Marino is a conservative who believes first and foremost in small government, business-led job creation and a need to reduce the federal budget deficit and shrink the national debt.

Marino opposes abortion rights.

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The Network

Marino is close friends with wealthy Pennsylvania businessman Louis DeNaples.

He was appointed a U.S. Attorney by former President George W. Bush and was endorsed in his 2010 House bid by former Republican primary opponent Malcolm Derk, as well as pro-business groups the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business.

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Additional Resources