Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R) Elected 2002, 2d term
Born:	Oct. 5, 1943, Albany, NY
Home:	Brooksville
Education:	S.U.N.Y. Albany, B.S. 1976, Russell Sage Col., M.S. 1984
Religion:	Catholic
Marital Status:	married (Harvey)
Elected  Office:	Hernando Cnty. Commissioner, 1990-92; FL Senate, 1992-2002.
Professional Career:	Small business owner; Legis. Dir., NY Senate, 1972-90.
DC Office	414 CHOB20515, 202-225-1002; Fax: 202-226-6559; Web site: www.house.gov/brown-waite/
State Offices	Brooksville, 352-799-8354; Dade City, 352-567-6707.
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Over the past quarter century, Florida's urban areas have grown in almost every direction, occupying the high ground between the swamps that still take up much of the state's peninsula. The pattern of development is evident in counties to the north and east of St. Petersburg and Tampa, where subdivisions, trailer parks and shopping centers with Eckerd drug stores and Publix and Winn-Dixie supermarkets sprang up in what previously were sleepy little towns and farm areas with low brick buildings baking in the Florida sun. This area--a haven for manatees, the unusual and beloved sea mammal--has seen suburban development run up the spines of U.S. 19, just off the Gulf Coast, and U.S. 41 and I-75 inland alongside orange groves. Though there are plenty of working people here, this is mainly retirement country; residents are comfortable though not usually affluent. One of every four residents is over 65, and Citrus and Hernando County have a higher percentage of military veterans than any other Florida county but one; Citrus County has the second-highest percentage of retirees (33%) in the state. Drawn by plenteous lakes, green scenery and a pleasant climate, retirees from Michigan, Indiana and Ohio flocked here by taking Interstate 75 south--a pattern distinct from the retirees who drove Interstate 95 from the Boston-Washington corridor to such destinations as Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

The 5th Congressional District of Florida occupies much of this fast-growing area. The beach areas in Levy, Citrus and Hernando Counties are largely undeveloped; the bulk of the population lives inland, in such places as Citrus Springs in Citrus County, Brooksville in Hernando County, Zephyrhills and Land o' Lakes in Pasco County, and Clermont in Lake County. More than two-thirds of the population is in Pasco, Hernando and Citrus Counties; Sumter County is growing rapidly in part due to a massive retirement community known as the "Villages," which is split between the 5th and 6th Districts. The district has 251,000 Social Security recipients, more than any other district in the country. Politically, this is marginal territory. The district lines were drawn by Republicans in 2002 to make the district more Republican; they raised the Bush 2000 percentage from 46% to 54%. That percentage went up to 58% in 2004, as volunteers in the Bush campaign registered new Republicans and made sure they voted absentee or on election day. The results are plain from the numbers. In Pasco County turnout was up 31% from 2000 to 2004, and the Bush percentage rose from a losing 48% to a winning 54%.

The congresswoman from the 5th District is Ginny Brown-Waite, a Republican first elected in 2002. She grew up in Albany, New York, and graduated from State University of New York at Albany and from Russell Sage College. She worked for two decades as a Republican staffer for the New York state Senate. She moved to Spring Hill in 1987, worked as a health care consultant and became active in politics. In 1990 she was elected to the Hernando County Commission. In 1992 she was elected to the state Senate, after attracting attention for her successful efforts to block a local mining company's controversial plan to burn hazardous waste. As a member of the Senate congressional redistricting committee, Brown-Waite was well positioned to shape the 5th District boundaries. Republican leaders had asked her to run for the House in 1996, but she didn't think the district was winnable; in 2002, she helped to draw a district that was, and she gave it a try.

In the primary, health care consultant Don Gessner said he was the only "true conservative" and he criticized Brown-Waite's willingness to vote across party lines. His attacks had some resonance, but she won 58%-42%. In the general, she faced Democratic incumbent Karen Thurman, who won the district in 1992 after serving as chairman of the state Senate congressional redistricting committee. This was one of the most competitive contests in the country, targeted by both national parties. Abortion was a key area of disagreement. Both said they supported abortion rights, but Brown-Waite highlighted Thurman's vote against the partial-birth abortion ban as evidence of Thurman's fealty to the Democratic party line. Brown-Waite criticized Thurman for voting against the Republicans' prescription drug bill; Thurman called it a "sham." Thurman outspent Brown-Waite 2-to-1 but Brown-Waite benefited from a late visit by George W. Bush and the strong showing of Governor Jeb Bush, who carried every county in the district. Brown-Waite won 48%-46%. This was an election decided by redistricting: Thurman carried the parts of the district she had previously represented, which cast 49% of the votes, by a 52%-43% margin. But Brown-Waite carried the new parts of the district 53%-41%.

In the House, Brown-Waite had a mostly conservative voting record. On the Budget Committee, she styled herself as a fiscal hawk in demanding spending restraint. But she took a different approach at the Veterans' Affairs Committee, where she worked hard to expand benefits. The House passed her proposal to reduce long waits for veterans to get medical treatment, and she cosponsored another bill for faster filling of prescriptions. She helped to broker the deal to permit disabled retirees to receive both their pensions and their full veterans disability benefits. When France opposed military action in Iraq, Brown-Waite proposed removal of the remains of World War II veterans buried in France. As the Social Security debate opened in 2005, she was cautious as she told Bush that she "won't drink the Kool Aid;" she was one of five Republicans to vote against the bill to get federal courts to review the case of Terri Schiavo in March 2005.

Her narrow win in 2002 placed Brown-Waite high on the worry list for House Republicans campaign experts in 2004. But several prime candidates, including Thurman, decided not to run. Democrats nominated a former Republican who had never voted before and demanded that she return $14,000 in contributions from Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Brown-Waite won 66%-34%.

Committees

• Financial Services (27th of 37 R): Capital Markets, Insurance & Government Sponsored Enterprises; Financial Institutions & Consumer Credit; Housing & Community Opportunity.
• Government Reform (16th of 23 R): Criminal Justice, Drug Policy & Human Resources; Regulatory Affairs (Vice Chmn.).
• Veterans' Affairs (12th of 16 R): Disability Assistance & Memorial Affairs; Economic Opportunity (Vice Chmn.).

Group Ratings (More Info)
	ADA	ACLU	AFS	LCV	ITIC	NTU	COC	ACU	NTLC	CHC
2004	5	0	0	0	100	68	100	96	86	100	--
2003	10	--	0	5	--	56	87	88	--	--	--

National Journal Ratings (More Info)
	2003 LIB	--	2003 CONS		2004 LIB	--	2004 CONS
Economic	17%	--	81%		33%	--	67%
Social	13%	--	86%		15%	--	84%
Foreign	35%	--	64%		17%	--	78%
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 N 12. Intelligence Reorg. Y

Election Results (More Info)
	Candidate	Total Votes	Percent	Expenditures
2004 general	Ginny Brown-Waite (R)	240,315	66%	$787,436
	Robert Whittel (D)	124,140	34%	$140,742
2004 primary	Ginny Brown-Waite (R)	unopposed
2002 general	Ginny Brown-Waite (R)	121,998	48%	$922,944
	Karen Thurman (D)	117,758	46%	$1,907,181
	Other	14,915	6%

2004 Presidential Vote Bush (R) 221,259 (58%) Kerry (D) 156,632 (41%)

2000 Presidential Vote Bush (R) 147,231 (54%) Gore (D) 124,982 (46%)

For 1992 and 1996 presidential results in the Fifth 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 + 5
• District Size: 4,801 square miles
• Population in 2000: 639,295; 64.5% urban; 35.5% rural
• Median Household Income: $34,815; 10.6% are below the poverty line
• Occupation: 26.1% blue collar; 55.2% white collar; 18.7% gray collar; 21.5% military veterans
• Race/Ethnic Origin: 87.7% White, 4.5% Black, 0.8% Asian, 0.3% Amer. Indian, 0.0% Hawaiian, 0.9% Two+ races, 0.1% Other, 5.6% Hispanic origin
• Ancestry: 13.0% German, 10.5% Irish, 10.1% English
• Click here for statewide demographic data.