Roger Wicker

Roger F. Wicker, a Republican, has represented the state of Mississippi in the U.S. Senate since December 2007 upon former Sen. Lott's resignation. Wicker was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995-2007.

Iraq War
Wicker voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 that started the Iraq War.

Environmental record
For more information on environmental legislation, see the Energy and Environment Policy Portal

Defense earmark
In 2007 Wicker obtained $6 million in earmarks for defense contractor Aurora Flight Science whose executives donated over $13,000 in 2006 to his campaign. Additionally, Aurora was represented by Wicker's former congressional chief of staff, John Keast. In April 2005 Aurora flew the congressman, Kearst, and another staffer on a private jet to a ribbon cutting of a manufacturing facility that opened in Wicker's Mississippi district one month after Aurora chief executive John Langford made his first contribution to Wicker.

Kearst registered to represent Aurora days after leaving Wicker's office and joining the lobbying firm Cornerstone Government Affairs in 2006. Wicker submitted the earmark request less than two months after the one-year cooling off period during which Kearst was barred from lobbying Wicker on Aurora's behalf. A spokeswoman for Aurora said that another lobbyist at the firm, Dan Fleming, took the lead in helping to obtain the federal funding.

Wicker said he saw no problem with earmarking money to Aurora. The junior senator said the money was meant to speed development of a new, unmanned aircraft that would fly for days at high altitudes, a military tool that would also created jobs in his home state. "The long and short of it is, Aurora is putting out a good product in return for these federal expenditures. it clearly passes any cost-benefit test," Wicker said. He also noted that he had been working with Aurora before Kearst left and that it is one of several companies that had donated money to him and benefited from defense appropriations when he was on the Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Defense. A spokesman for the Army command, John Cummings, said "It's a congressional add. It was not requested. It wasn't in the president's budget. Anything that comes in above that means it has not been requested by us."

Background
Wicker was born on July 5, 1951 in Pontotoc, Mississippi. He attended Pontotoc High School where he served as a Congressional page for Congressman Jamie Whitten. Wicker received a bachelor's degree in Political Science and Journalism from Ole Miss in 1973. He also earned his J.D. from the University of Mississippi in 1975. Following his education, Wicker served in the U.S. Air Force from 1976-1980 and attained the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He served as an Air Force Reservist until 2004. From 1980 to 1982 Wicker worked for Trent Lott on the House Rules Committee before returning to Mississippi to be the Lee County public defender.

Roger served in the Mississippi State Senate from 1987 to 1994, representing a district that included Tupelo.

Congressional career
In 1994, Democrat Jamie Whitten, who had represented the 1st District for 54 years, declined to seek re-election, and Wicker triumphed in the Republican primary. In the general election, Wicker defeated Fulton attorney Bill Wheeler, capturing 63 percent of the vote, making him the first Republican to represent the 1st District in over a century. The large victory margin was not surprising, since the 1st had been increasingly friendly to Republicans since the 1960s even though Democrats still have a substantial majority of registered voters. It has supported the official Democratic candidate for President only once since 1956.

In the subsequent five re-election campaigns, Wicker has cruised to re-election. Most recently, in 2004, he was reelected with 71 percent of the vote. He is currently a Deputy Majority Whip.

2006 elections
In 2006, the Democrats nominated James Kenneth Hurt to face Wicker in his November 2006 bid for reelection. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006) Wicker retained his seat.

Senate appointment
Gov. Haley Barbour appointed Wicker as Senator Lott's successor on December 31, 2007. The appointment by Barbour on the last day of the year was to prevent the need for a special election. In the announcement, Barbour said that "Congressman Roger Wicker made an enormous difference as Mississippi sought unprecedented federal assistance after Hurricane Katrina. Senator Cochran rightly gets first credit for leading the fight for our state in the Senate, but Congressman Wicker was indispensable in our prevailing in the House." Wicker would still need to run for re-election in 2008.

Special election
Barbour had set November 4 as the date for a special election to choose Lott's successor, but Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood filed a complaint that the governor has exceeded his constitutional authority. Hinds County Circuit Judge Bobby DeLaughter ruled on January 15, 2008 in Hood's favor. Barbour said the final decision would be made by the Mississippi Supreme Court.

Money in politics
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Committees

 * House Committee on Appropriations
 * Subcommittee on Defense
 * Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans’ Affairs, Ranking Member

Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)

 * House Appropriations Committee
 * House Budget Committee

Caucuses and coalitions

 * National Republican Policy Committee, 2001
 * Congressional Human Rights Caucus
 * Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus
 * House Task Force for a Drug-Free America
 * Co-Chair, Interstate 69 Caucus
 * National Republican Congressional Committee
 * Tennessee Valley Authority Congressional Caucus

Boards and other affiliations

 * Community Development Foundation
 * Chair of the Deacons, First Baptist Church
 * Former Vice-President, Lions Club
 * National Guard and Reserve Components Congressional Members Organization
 * Rural Health Care Coalition

Contact
DC Office: Washington, DC 20515 Phone: 202-224-6253 Fax: 202-228-0378 Web Email Preliminary Website Website

District Office - Columbus: 523 Main Street Columbus, MS 39701 Phone: 662-327-0748

District Office - Grenada: 1360 Sunset Drive, Suite 2 Grenada, MS 38901 Phone: 662-294-1321

District Office - Southaven: Post Office Box 70 8700 Northwest Drive, Suite 102 Southaven, MS 38671 Phone: 662-342-3942 Fax: 662-342-3883

District Office - Tupelo: Post Office Box 1482 500 West Main Street, Suite 210 Tupelo, MS 38802 Phone: 662-844-5437 Fax: 662-844-9096

Twitter
 Roger Wicker posts on Twitter at http://twitter.com/rogerwicker/

Latest posts: http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/rogerwicker.rss|title=none| max=3| short See all the members of Congress who Twitter

Resources

 * Official website
 * Open Secrets - 2006 congressional races database
 * See how you compare to Roger Wicker

Articles

 * Martin Kady II, "Barbour Taps Rep. Wicker To Replace Lott," CBS News, December 31, 2007.