Education: Jacksonville St. U., B.A. 1981, M.P.A. 1984, Birmingham Schl. of Law, J.D. 1991
Professional Career: Practicing atty., 1991-2002.
Political Career: Calhoun Cnty. Commission, 1986-90; AL House of Reps., 1994-2002, Min. ldr., 1998-2000.
Ethnicity: White/Caucasian
Religion: Baptist
Family: Married (Beth); 3 children
The congressman from the 3rd District is Mike Rogers, a Republican elected in 2002. He is a fifth-generation resident of Calhoun County who, at the age of 28 in 1986, was the first Republican elected to the county commission. In 1994, he won a seat in the Alabama House, and in his second term, he became minority leader. In 2002, after Republican Bob Riley gave up the 3rd District seat to run for governor, Rogers easily won the GOP nomination to succeed him. But in the general election, he had stiff competition from Democrat Joe Turnham Jr., who served three years as state party chairman and challenged Riley unsuccessfully in 1998. Turnham and Rogers tried to “out-bubba” each other, with Turnham calling for a congressional auto racing caucus and demanding that Rogers prove he had hunting and fishing licenses. Rogers touted his working-class values and support from the National Rifle Association. He also emphasized his opposition to abortion rights and support for a constitutional amendment permitting prayer in the public schools. Read More
The congressman from the 3rd District is Mike Rogers, a Republican elected in 2002. He is a fifth-generation resident of Calhoun County who, at the age of 28 in 1986, was the first Republican elected to the county commission. In 1994, he won a seat in the Alabama House, and in his second term, he became minority leader. In 2002, after Republican Bob Riley gave up the 3rd District seat to run for governor, Rogers easily won the GOP nomination to succeed him. But in the general election, he had stiff competition from Democrat Joe Turnham Jr., who served three years as state party chairman and challenged Riley unsuccessfully in 1998. Turnham and Rogers tried to “out-bubba” each other, with Turnham calling for a congressional auto racing caucus and demanding that Rogers prove he had hunting and fishing licenses. Rogers touted his working-class values and support from the National Rifle Association. He also emphasized his opposition to abortion rights and support for a constitutional amendment permitting prayer in the public schools.
Though both national parties targeted the district, Turnham did not risk bringing in national Democrats to campaign for him in this socially conservative district, while Rogers got frequent visits from national Republican leaders. The contrast in national party support was evident in Rogers’s big fundraising advantage. Still, Rogers won, but only 50%-48%. He did well in his base, Calhoun County, where he got 60% of the vote. In contrast, Turnham lost Lee County, his home, 52%-46%, but carried the district’s portion of Montgomery County 57%-42%.
Rogers is one of two Republicans of the same name in the House; the other is from the 8th District of Michigan. Alabama’s Mike Rogers has a conservative voting record, and his views occasionally light up the liberal blogosphere. He told a local audience in 2009 that Speaker Nancy Pelosi is “crazy” and “mean as a snake,” and in 2010 was an early supporter of Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann’s bill to repeal the health care overhaul law. Rogers is more centrist on economic issues. He bucked the Bush administration and won local praise by opposing the free-trade agreement with Morocco on the grounds that it would reduce local textile and apparel jobs. In 2009, he proposed allowing new car buyers a tax deduction of up to $7,500. On the Armed Services Committee, he won House passage of a bill to ensure that universities provide access to their facilities for military recruiters and ROTC personnel. He took over in 2009 as ranking Republican on the Subcommittee on Emergency Communications, Preparedness and Response. The following year, he attacked as “indefensible” the Obama administration’s proposal to reduce Federal Emergency Management Agency grants for firefighter personnel and equipment by 25%.
In this ancestrally Democratic district, Rogers has worked hard to entrench himself and raise money to discourage strong Democratic opposition. In his first two re-election campaigns, his Democratic challengers were inadequately funded and never posed serious threats. But in 2008, Rogers faced a serious contest with Josh Segall, a 29-year-old Montgomery bankruptcy lawyer who stuck with Democratic doctrine on most issues except gay rights and gun control, spent over $1 million, and had the support of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He attacked Rogers for backing the $700 billion government rescue of the financial markets, and also accused him of harming the local textile industry with his support of the Central America Free Trade Agreement. Rogers attacked Segall for his “Hollywood and New York” campaign contributions and his liberal views that “don’t reflect east Alabama’s conservative values.” Segall took Montgomery County 62%-38% and three nearby counties, but Rogers won 53%-47% overall.
National Journal’s rating system is an objective method of analyzing voting. The liberal score means that the lawmaker’s votes were more liberal than that percentage of his colleagues’ votes. The conservative score means his votes were more conservative than that percentage of his colleagues’ votes. The composite score is an average of a lawmaker’s six issue-based scores. See all NJ Voting
More Liberal
More Conservative
2012
2011
2010
Economic
38
(L) : 60 (C)
27
(L) : 73 (C)
22
(L) : 77 (C)
Social
30
(L) : 68 (C)
39
(L) : 58 (C)
23
(L) : 77 (C)
Foreign
27
(L) : 72 (C)
43
(L) : 54 (C)
12
(L) : 79 (C)
Composite
32.5
(L) : 67.5 (C)
37.3
(L) : 62.7 (C)
20.7
(L) : 79.3 (C)
Interest Group Ratings
The vote ratings by 10 special interest groups provide insight into a lawmaker’s general ideology and the degree to which he or she agrees with the group’s point of view. Some organizations provide just one combined rating for 2009 and 2010, the two sessions of the 111th Congress. About the interest groups.
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The first Almanac of American Politics was published in 1971, and it hasn’t missed an election since.
The nation’s most authoritative source of information about members of Congress, their districts,
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