Rep. John Boozman (R) Elected Nov. 2001, 2d full term
Born:	Dec. 10, 1950, Shreveport, LA
Home:	Rogers
Education:	U. of AR, 1969-72, Southern Col. of Optometry, O.D. 1977
Religion:	Baptist
Marital Status:	married (Cathy)
Elected  Office:	Rogers School Bd., 1994-2001.
Professional Career:	Optometrist, 1977-2001.
DC Office	1519 LHOB20515, 202-225-4301; Fax: 202-225-5713; Web site: www.boozman.house.gov
State Offices	Fayetteville, 479-442-5258; Ft. Smith, 479-782-7787; Harrison, 870-741-6900.
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The northwest corner of Arkansas has become one of America's boom areas--the nation's number one growth area in 2003, according to the Milken Institute--with major corporate headquarters and dozens of small factories, tourist attractions and retirement developments in the Ozarks, some of America's richest families and growing numbers of hard-working Hispanic immigrants--about 20% of the population of Springdale and Rogers in 2000. It is one of the fastest-growing populations in the nation and home to the handsome University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and the mountain-bound resort town of Eureka Springs. All this would have seemed unlikely during most of the 20th century, when these rounded green mountains and pleasant wide valleys, farmhouses and small towns seemed left behind. But the friendly atmosphere and strong religious faith of these communities have proved to be assets, not liabilities, conducive to economic creativity and personal serenity. There have also been touches of genius. Sam Walton, who opened his first Wal-Mart on the town square of Bentonville (it's now a small museum), had the inspiration to build a retail chain in tradition-minded small towns and rural areas using sophisticated computerized management; it made him the richest man in America, though he still drove a pickup truck and kept the corporate headquarters in a deliberately unsnazzy building in Bentonville. Don Tyson took his family chicken business and made Tyson Foods, in its sparkling headquarters outside Springdale, the world's leading chicken producer and processor. Other firms have flocked in, especially to do business with Wal-Mart, and the area is attracting a diverse group of new residents, from upscale executives buying lavish homes in gated communities to 20,000 Hispanics and 6,000 Marshall Islanders seeking work in booming local industries.

The 3d Congressional District covers Northwest Arkansas, including Bentonville, Fayetteville and Springdale, plus Fort Smith on the Oklahoma line. It extends as far east as Marion County, home to Ranger Boats, the renowned manufacturer of tournament-quality fishing boats. Its population rose 30% in the 1990s and another 7% from 2000 to 2003--more than Arkansas's other three districts. Politically, this area has been the most Republican part of Arkansas since the Civil War, for there were few slaves here and much suspicion of planters. The area became more Republican in the 1950s, and a Republican congressman, John Paul Hammerschmidt, was elected here in 1966. He was strong enough even in Democratic 1974 to beat Bill Clinton, then 28, in his first election, though Clinton did get an impressive 48% of the vote. Lately this area has become even more Republican, as Christian conservatives have entered politics and new migrants and millionaires have voted heavily Republican. After voting narrowly for Clinton in 1992 and narrowly against him in 1996, the 3d twice voted strongly for George W. Bush.

The congressman from the 3d District is John Boozman (it's pronounced like Bozeman, Montana), a Republican who won a special election in November 2001. He replaced Asa Hutchinson, who had resigned in August to head the Drug Enforcement Administration. A graduate of the University of Arkansas, where he was an offensive guard for the football team, Boozman became an optometrist in Rogers, part of rapidly growing Benton County. He served two terms on the local school board, and he worked for his brother Fay's unsuccessful campaign for the U.S. Senate in 1998.

To win the House seat, Boozman prevailed in three close contests in two months, even though he was outspent in each. In the wide-open primary, Boozman had the endorsement of Governor Mike Huckabee and was the only Republican to support George W. Bush's decision to permit limited federal funding of stem-cell research. His chief opponent initially, former state Representative Jim Hendren, was damaged by revelations that he had a lengthy extramarital affair; Boozman ended up in a runoff against state Senator Gunner DeLay, who raised little funds and had little support from local politicians (but is a cousin of then-House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, who stayed neutral). In the three-week runoff, neither candidate spent heavily and turnout remained low. With a stronger grass-roots organization, Boozman won 57%-43%. The winner of the Democratic runoff was state Representative Mike Hathorn, a 28-year-old lawyer who, local Democrats hoped, could prevail with his Clinton-like personality. But House Democrats did little to help his campaign and only in the closing days of the campaign ran TV and radio ads that criticized Boozman's support for Social Security "privatization" and, despite his endorsement by the NRA, his allegedly weak support of the right to bear arms. Boozman ran ads emphasizing his "guarantee" of Social Security benefits. He won 56%-42%, with help from a sophisticated Republican voter-turnout operation.

Arriving in Washington for the first time in his life, Boozman was appointed to the Republican task force that prepared a bill for prescription drugs for seniors. With Roy Blunt of Missouri, he created a water quality committee to get money from the Environmental Protection Agency for the White and Elk Rivers, both vital to local tourism and economic development. He showed his independence of the White House by voting to remove the embargo on trade with Cuba and to import prescription drugs from Canada; he opposed Bush's immigration proposal as amnesty for illegal aliens. Boozman also sponsored bills to abolish the tax code and to display the Ten Commandments in the House and Senate chambers. A devout evangelical Christian, he wants to weaken restrictions on churches' political activities. On the Transportation Committee, he filed a proposal to give more flexibility to federal regulations setting maximum hours of service for truckers. He is an enthusiastic member of the I-49 caucus, who want to connect the existing I-540 from Fort Smith to Bentonville with interstates running north to Kansas City and south to Texarkana and New Orleans.

In the 2004 campaign, he was opposed by surprisingly well-funded Democratic state Representative Janice Judy, the owner of a pizza restaurant in Fayetteville, who sought to energize Democratic base voters. Boozman criticized her opposition to a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage and civil unions in Arkansas. He won comfortably, 59%-38%, running 3% behind George W. Bush. Unique in the new South, he is the only Republican in his state delegation.

Committees

• International Relations (22d of 27 R): Africa, Global Human Rights & International Operations; Middle East & Central Asia.
• Transportation & Infrastructure (26th of 41 R): Aviation; Highways, Transit & Pipelines; Water Resources & Environment.
• Veterans' Affairs (10th of 16 R): Economic Opportunity (Chmn.); Oversight & Investigations.

Group Ratings (More Info)
	ADA	ACLU	AFS	LCV	ITIC	NTU	COC	ACU	NTLC	CHC
2004	10	5	0	0	90	61	100	96	81	100	--
2003	10	--	0	5	--	60	97	88	--	--	--

National Journal Ratings (More Info)
	2003 LIB	--	2003 CONS		2004 LIB	--	2004 CONS
Economic	9%	--	84%		17%	--	80%
Social	17%	--	79%		0%	--	91%
Foreign	23%	--	71%		34%	--	63%
For National Journal's complete 2004 Vote Ratings, as well as previous ratings dating back to 1995, please click here.

Key Votes Of The 108th Congress (More Info)
1. Drilling in ANWR Y 2. Approve Bush Tax Cuts Y 3. Medicare/Rx Bill Y 4. Bar Overtime Pay Regs. N 5. DC School Vouchers Y 6. Ban Human Cloning Y		7. Restrict Gun Liability Y  8. Ban Partial-Birth Abortion Y  9. Ban Same-Sex Marriage Y 10. Fund Iraq War Y 11. Bar Cuba Embargo Funds Y 12. Intelligence Reorg. Y

Election Results (More Info)
	Candidate	Total Votes	Percent	Expenditures
2004 general	John Boozman (R)	160,629	59%	$543,281
	Janice Judy (D)	103,158	38%	$353,822
	Other	7,016	3%
2004 primary	John Boozman (R)	unopposed
2002 general	John Boozman (R)	141,478	99%	$651,062
Prior winning percentages: 2001 (56%)

2004 Presidential Vote Bush (R) 171,853 (62%) Kerry (D) 100,656 (36%)

2000 Presidential Vote Bush (R) 138,977 (60%) Gore (D) 86,739 (37%)

For 1992 and 1996 presidential results in the Third District, please see the Almanac 2000 online. Please note that these older returns reflect district lines as they existed prior to 2002 redistricting.

• Cook Partisan Voting Index: R +11
• District Size: 8,661 square miles
• Population in 2000: 672,756; 54.4% urban; 45.6% rural
• Median Household Income: $33,915; 13.7% are below the poverty line
• Occupation: 32.0% blue collar; 53.0% white collar; 14.9% gray collar; 14.3% military veterans
• Race/Ethnic Origin: 87.3% White, 2.0% Black, 1.4% Asian, 1.2% Amer. Indian, 0.2% Hawaiian, 1.6% Two+ races, 0.1% Other, 6.3% Hispanic origin
• Ancestry: 11.8% USA, 10.0% German, 8.8% Irish
• Click here for statewide demographic data.