Rep. Kevin Brady (R) Elected 1996, 5th term
Born:	Apr. 11, 1955, Vermillion, SD
Home:	The Woodlands, TX
Education:	U. of SD, B.S. 1990
Religion:	Catholic
Marital Status:	married (Cathy)
Elected  Office:	TX House of Reps., 1990-96.
Professional Career:	Exec., Woodlands Chamber of Commerce, 1978-96.
DC Office	428 CHOB20515, 202-225-4901; Fax: 202-225-5524; Web site: www.house.gov/brady
State Offices	Conroe, 936-441-5700; Huntsville, 936-439-9542; Orange, 409-883-4197.
Additional Info
Committees · Ratings · Key Votes · Election Results District Demographics
More On Texas
At A Glance · State Profile District Map Redistricting · Almanac Home
Recent News Coverage
Search the CongressDaily, Hotline, House Race Hotline, National Journal and Technology Daily archives using the form above:
[an error occurred while processing this directive]

When Houston Intercontinental Airport opened in 1969, it was located 25 miles away from downtown Houston or from just about any other concentration of population, at the northern edge of Harris County and just south of the Montgomery County line. What is known now as George Bush Intercontinental is still a jaunt from downtown Houston. But rapid expansion and growth of commercial office space and upscale residential subdivisions have continued even farther to the north in once rural Montgomery County, rising on land that once held roadside stands and barbecues and unpainted farmhouses with water pooling on low swampy fields. The arrival of railroads in the late 19th century made timber a production a major local industry, but much of the land was stripped by the 1920s and it was turned over to livestock. Fortunes rose again in 1931 when wildcattter George Strake struck oil near Conroe. Thousands of other wildcatters and roughnecks quickly joined in the boom; this became one of the richest oil producing areas in the nation, and active production continues. In 1972, construction began on a planned community called The Woodlands; development of this new city has barely slowed since then. Greater Houston has spread far out into this countryside, past the now mislabeled Farm-Market Route 1960, out past The Woodlands and Conroe. Montgomery County had just 49,000 people in 1970, just after the airport opened. Since then its population has risen to 128,000 in 1980, 182,000 in 1990, 293,000 in 2000 and 362,000 in 2004.

The 8th Congressional District includes all of Montgomery County, which contains about half its people. Before the 2003 redistricting 60% of its population was in Harris County; now none is, and it extends east to the Sabine River on the Louisiana border, including all of eight counties and parts of two others. It covers the Big Thicket National Preserve, a primeval swamp described as "America's Ark" because of its vast array of animals and plants; defenders fear encroachment by residential growth and off-road vehicles. It includes the town of Huntsville, with one of Texas's oldest prisons, and the oil refinery town of Orange on the Sabine River. The redistricting changes have made the district less affluent and metropolitan, and a little less Republican. The old 8th District voted 78% for George W. Bush in 2000, his highest figure in the nation. Within the new 8th District in 2004 he won a comparatively modest 72%.

The congressman from the 8th District is Kevin Brady, a Republican first elected in 1996. Brady grew up and went to college in South Dakota, moved to Montgomery County in 1978 and headed The Woodlands Chamber of Commerce for 18 years. In 1990 he was elected to the Texas House. When Congressman Jack Fields announced in 1995 he was retiring, Brady decided to run. His main opponent in the decisive Republican primary was Eugene Fontenot, a physician who wanted "to restore America to its Christian heritage." Brady was the choice of party regulars; Fontenot was endorsed by religious conservatives. Fontenot attacked Brady for being one of two Republicans to vote against the concealed weapons law. Brady had opposed most gun control bills, but not this one; when he was 12, his father was shot and killed while trying a case in a South Dakota courtroom. Brady and Fontenot ran against each other four separate times in that one year. After Fontenot led Brady in the March primary, Brady won the April runoff 53%-47%. After the U.S. Supreme Court in June ordered a redrawing of 13 districts, Brady led Fontenot 41%-39% in an all-party primary in November. Finally, in the December runoff, turnout was sharply down and party regular Brady won 59%-41%.

In the House, Brady has compiled a conservative voting record, though a bit less so on foreign issues. He gained a reputation as more of a pragmatist than other Texas Republicans. With the murder of his father always a fresh memory, he has been an advocate of victims' rights and the death penalty. In January 2001 he took Bill Archer's seat on Ways and Means; he is an advocate of abolishing the IRS and moving toward a consumption tax. But while waiting until that day arrives, Brady has tinkered successfully with the status quo. He strongly backed the Bush tax cuts and helped to win House passage of a scaled-back version of Bush's plan to give tax breaks for contributions to faith-based groups. He has been leading supporter of the Central America Free Trade Agreement; Texas would benefit, he argues, because it has become the nation's largest export state, with especially rapid growth in trade with Central America. Brady was a central figure in the successful effort in 2004 to make state and local sales taxes deductible in the seven states, including Texas, that have no personal income tax. In addition to his energetic work on Ways and Means, Brady has been a deputy whip to Roy Blunt. He has strongly defended Tom DeLay on ethics charges.

Since his four contests in 1996, Brady has had no problem winning reelection. In his radically redrawn district in 2004, he won 69%-30%.

Committees

• Ways & Means (16th of 24 R): Social Security; Trade.
• Joint Economic Committee (5th of 10 Reps.).

Group Ratings (More Info)
	ADA	ACLU	AFS	LCV	ITIC	NTU	COC	ACU	NTLC	CHC
2004	0	6	0	0	100	76	100	100	96	92	--
2003	10	--	0	5	--	64	97	88	--	--	--

National Journal Ratings (More Info)
	2003 LIB	--	2003 CONS		2004 LIB	--	2004 CONS
Economic	0%	--	91%		0%	--	95%
Social	22%	--	77%		17%	--	83%
Foreign	23%	--	71%		10%	--	86%
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	Kevin Brady (R)	179,599	69%	$670,875
	James Wright (D)	77,324	30%
	Other	3,705	1%
2004 primary	Kevin Brady (R)	unopposed
2002 general	Kevin Brady (R)	140,575	93%	$222,082
	Gil Guillory (Lib)	10,351	7%
Prior winning percentages: 2000 (92%); 1998 (93%); 1996 (59%)

2004 Presidential Vote Bush (R) 194,696 (72%) Kerry (D) 73,946 (28%)

2000 Presidential Vote Bush (R) 155,003 (69%) Gore (D) 68,522 (31%)

For 1992 and 1996 presidential results in the Eighth 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 +20
• District Size: 8,415 square miles
• Population in 2000: 651,620; 49.6% urban; 50.4% rural
• Median Household Income: $40,459; 12.6% are below the poverty line
• Occupation: 28.7% blue collar; 55.7% white collar; 15.6% gray collar; 13.8% military veterans
• Race/Ethnic Origin: 80.1% White, 8.7% Black, 0.7% Asian, 0.5% Amer. Indian, 0.0% Hawaiian, 0.9% Two+ races, 0.1% Other, 9.0% Hispanic origin
• Ancestry: 10.8% USA, 9.1% German, 8.4% Irish
• Click here for statewide demographic data.