People in the news

Travis Childers

Former U.S. Representative (May 2008 to January 2011)

(House web site)

Why He Matters

Childers' House seat did not come easy. The Mississippi Democrat spent virtually all of 2008 in campaign mode, first in a special and then a general election. He fended off competition from GOP opponent Greg Davis twice in Mississippi's heavily-Republican 1st district by running as a fiscally-conservative, pro-gun and anti-abortion rights Democrat.

Childers has lived up to his campaign persona. He has voted against the Democrats' marquee legislation, including health- care reform and cap-and-trade proposals.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: Chancery Clerk, Prentiss County (1991-2008); owner, Travis Childers Realty & Associates
Birthday: March 28, 1958
Hometown: Booneville, Miss.
Alma Mater: Northeast Mississippi Junior College, A.A., 1978; University of Mississippi, B.A. 1980
Spouse: Tami
Religion: Baptist

Committees: Financial Services; Agriculture
DC Office: 1708 Longworth House Office Building, 202-225-4306
District Offices: Tupelo, 662-841-8808; Hernando, 662-449-3090; Columbus, 662-327-0748
Email
Web site

Path to Power

Childers was born in 1958 in Prentiss County in northeast Mississippi, where he still lives.

When Childers was 16 and still in high school, his father died, forcing the teenager to work nights and weekends at a convenience store to support his mother and sister. "True conservatism was going to work full time when you're 16," Childers would say decades later during his first House campaign.

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A graduate of junior college, Childers earned a bachelor's in business administration from the University of Mississippi, during which time he earned his real- estate license. He would join a firm in his native Booneville before opening his own real- estate business.

In 1991, Childers won the Prentiss County chancery seat and would manage the county's finances through 2008.

2008 House Special Election

After then-Rep. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) was appointed to the vacated Senate seat of former Majority Leader Trent Lott established a special election for Wicker's seat for April 2008.

The 1st district was viewed as a GOP bastion since Wicker swiped it from Democrats in 1994. But Democrats took notice when Childers garnered the most votes of any candidates in both primaries. After defeating state Rep. Steve Holland (D) in the primary, he would faced Greg Davis (R), mayor of the Memphis suburb of Southaven.

Childers ran as a conservative versus Davis, who was seen as a district outsider. But Childers also supported a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. In a six-way election, Childers took 49 percent of the vote to Davis' 46 percent, which required a runoff the following month.

Both parties' congressional campaign committees invested heavily in the runoff, with Democrats spending more than $1.5 million while Republicans spent $1.3 million.

Ahead of the runoff, Republicans sought to tie Childers to the likely Democratic presidential nominee, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, claiming the two shared liberal values. A Davis ad said Childers accepted Obama's endorsement even "when Obama's pastor [the Rev. Jeremiah Wright] cursed America, blaming us for 9/11." Childers said Obama never endorsed him. In the waning days of the race, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent a mailer connecting the Ku Klux Klan to Davis for his support for erecting a statue in honor of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

Republicans enlisted the help of heavyweights like Barbour and Vice President Dick Cheney to campaign for Davis. Childers won the seat with 54 percent of the vote.

Months later, Childers defeated Davis in a general election rematch by ten percentage points.

Childers sits on the House Agriculture and Financial Services committees.

The Issues

Through April 2010, Childers has voted with House Democrats 81.9 percent of the time in the 111th Congress.

Childers voted against the fall 2008, $700-billion financial bailout bill.

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In June 2009, Childers voted against the climate change bill, saying the legislation would "have a disproportionately negative effect on Southern regions, as well as the agriculture industry."

In October 2009, Childers and Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.) were the only two Democrats who sided with House Republicans seeking to remove Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) from the House Ways and Means Committee chairmanship. Rangel was being probed by the House ethics committee for a number of alleged ethics breaches.

In March 2009, as co-chair of the Congressional Rural Caucus, Childers sent a letter to President Obama calling for an Office of Rural Policy in response to the administration's creation of an Office of Urban Policy.

Gun Rights

In September 2008, the House passed legislation penned by Childers that would have loosened restrictions on assault rifles and other rules implemented by the District of Columbia Council after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted Washington's handgun ban. Childers' measure was introduced to counter legislation by Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) to restrict gun ownership. The bill stalled in the Senate.

In April 2010, the D.C. voting-rights bill was scrapped after an amendment by Childers and Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.) was inserted that would have eliminated restrictions on concealed and openly-carried firearms.

Health-Care Reform

Childers voted against the health-care reform bill passed in March 2010, pointing to its costs. He said he would have preferred that measures reinforcing the Hyde Amendment, which bans federal funding of abortion procedures, be incorporated in the bill rather than through an executive order that president later signed.

Childers voted for an amendment by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) reinforcing the Hyde Amendment in the November 2009 health-care reform bill, but voted against the overall House bill, which contained a public option. Explaining his vote, he cited costs, a need for equal access to care for rural individuals and a desire for stronger anti-abortion rights language.

Financial Services

Childers voted against the $700-billion financial bailout bill in fall 2008, saying Bush Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson didn't assure him the plan would stabilize the U.S. economy.

In October 2009, Childers and Rep. Walt Minnick (D-Ida.) were the only two Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee to vote against establishing a federal agency intended to protect consumers from predatory lending and financial abuses.

Childers has supported a Republican alternative that would create a 12-member council that would not be part of a new stand-alone agency.

The Network

Childers is closely aligned with fellow Blue Dog Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.). Both voted against health -care reform and have co-sponsored anti-abortion legislation.

Childers reestablished the Congressional Rural Caucus, co-chairing the group with Rep. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.).

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Additional Resources