Gary Eugene Taylor (born September 17, 1953) is an American politician who was a member of the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
from 1989 to 2011 and previously a member of the
Mississippi Senate
The Mississippi Senate is the upper house of the Mississippi Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The Senate, along with the lower Mississippi House of Representatives, convenes at the Mississippi State Capitol ...
from 1983 to 1989. He was defeated for re-election in 2010 by
State Representative
A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system.
Two federations literally use the term "state legislature":
* The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...
Steven Palazzo
Steven McCarty Palazzo (; born February 21, 1970) is an American politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2023. The district included Mississippi's Gulf Coast, Biloxi, Gulfport, ...
. In 2014, he changed his long-time membership from the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
, becoming a
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
.
The same year, he ran for election against Palazzo to return to the House of Representatives. Securing only 43 percent of the vote, Taylor lost in the primary.
Following his congressional career, Taylor served on the
Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission until 2014. He consulted for the defense industry before becoming a director for
Overseas Shipholding Group
Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. (OSG - Overseas Shipping Group) () is the operator of a fleet of twenty-four oil tankers and oil tug-barges. It is based in Tampa, Florida, United States, and was founded in 1948.
In 1969, under the leadership o ...
in 2018.
Early life, education and career
Taylor was born in
on September 17, 1953. He attended
De La Salle High School, graduating in 1971.
He graduated from
Tulane University
Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...
in 1976 where he majored in political science and history.
He completed additional post-graduate work in business and economics at the
University of Southern Mississippi
The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...
from 1978 through 1980.
Taylor worked as a sales representative for Stone Container Corporation, working a territory from
to the
Florida panhandle
The Florida Panhandle (also West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida; it is a Salient (geography), salient roughly long and wide, lying between Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia (U. ...
, from 1977 through 1989.
From 1971 through 1984, Taylor served in the
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...
Reserve,
where he attained the rank petty officer first class. While in the coast guard, he commanded a search and rescue boat and earned several commendations.
Early political career
Taylor was elected to the
Bay St. Louis
Bay St. Louis is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Mississippi, Hancock County, Mississippi, in the United States. Located on the Gulf Coast on the west side of the Bay of St. Louis, it is part of the Gulfport, Mississippi, Gulfp ...
City Council in 1981,
and then to a vacant seat in the
Mississippi State Senate
The Mississippi Senate is the upper house of the Mississippi Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The Senate, along with the lower Mississippi House of Representatives, convenes at the Mississippi State Capitol ...
in 1983. As a State Senator, Taylor and fellow Senator Steven Hale filed a
lawsuit
-
A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...
challenging the Senate powers of Democratic
Lieutenant Governor
A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
Brad Dye
Bradford Johnson Dye Jr. (December 20, 1933 – July 1, 2018) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 27th Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi from 1980 until 1992. Dye was the only individual in state history to have served as Li ...
. Taylor and Hale claimed that Dye's control of committee appointments violated the state constitution's
separation of powers
Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typic ...
. The
Supreme Court of Mississippi
The Supreme Court of Mississippi is the highest court in the state of Mississippi. It was established in the first constitution of the state following its admission as a State of the Union in 1817 and was known as the High Court of Errors and Appe ...
sided with Dye, but the suit against a powerful leader from his own party helped establish Taylor's reputation for political independence.
U.S. House of Representatives
Tenure
Taylor was a member of the
Blue Dog Coalition
The Blue Dog Coalition (commonly known as the Blue Dogs or Blue Dog Democrats) is a caucus in the United States House of Representatives comprising centrist members from the Democratic Party. The caucus was founded as a group of conservative De ...
, and his voting record was one of the most conservative among Democrats in the House.
According to a 2011 survey by the ''
National Journal
''National Journal'' is an advisory services company based in Washington, D.C., offering services in government affairs, advocacy communications, stakeholder mapping, and policy brands research for government and business leaders. It publishes da ...
'', Taylor was the most conservative Democrat in the House.
He represented a district that had turned almost solidly Republican at the national level, though as late as 2010 most local offices were split between the two parties. The 4th has not supported the official Democratic
presidential candidate since
1956
Events
January
* January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan.
* January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...
(when the Democrats nominated
Adlai Stevenson). During Taylor's final term, it was the most Republican district in the nation to be represented by a Democrat, with a
Cook Partisan Voting Index
The Cook Partisan Voting Index, abbreviated Cook PVI, CPVI, or PVI, is a measurement of how strongly a United States congressional district or U.S. state leans toward the Democratic or Republican Party, compared to the nation as a whole, based ...
of R+20. In 2000, 2004, and 2008, it gave the Republican presidential candidate his best total in the state. It was a foregone conclusion that Taylor would be succeeded by a Republican once he retired.
A leading Democratic Member of the
House Armed Services Committee
The U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee or HASC, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for funding and oversight of the Department of Defe ...
, Taylor led committee and floor fights to improve the medical benefits of military retirees and extend
TRICARE
Tricare (styled TRICARE) is a health care program of the United States Department of Defense Military Health System. Tricare provides civilian health benefits for U.S Armed Forces military personnel, military retirees, and their dependents, in ...
health insurance to members of the
National Guard
National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards.
Nat ...
and Reserves. Taylor also focused on U.S. policy in
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
, sponsoring the successful cap on the number of U.S. troops that can be sent to
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
without explicit Congressional authorization. Taylor also was a leading critic of the
Base Realignment and Closure
Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) is a process by a United States federal government commission to increase United States Department of Defense efficiency by coordinating the realignment and closure of military installations following the end o ...
process, accusing the
Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to:
Current departments of defence
* Department of Defence (Australia)
* Department of National Defence (Canada)
* Department of Defence (Ireland)
* Department of National Defense (Philippin ...
of smuggling in policy changes that were unrelated to excess capacity or facilities. Taylor served as the Ranking Democrat on the Projection Forces Subcommittee in the 109th Congress, and became chairman of the renamed Subcommittee on Seapower and Expeditionary Forces in the 110th Congress. He and the previous subcommittee chairman
Roscoe Bartlett
Roscoe Gardner Bartlett Jr. (born June 3, 1926) is an American politician who was U.S. Representative for , serving from 1993 to 2013. He is a member of the Republican Party and was a member of the Tea Party Caucus. At the end of his tenure in ...
(R-
MD), who became the ranking member of the subcommittee, advocate for more
nuclear-powered
Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...
surface ships in order to reduce the
Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
's dependence on imported oil. Taylor was also a member of the Readiness subcommittee of the Armed Services committee in the 110th Congress.
In
House Armed Services Committee
The U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee or HASC, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for funding and oversight of the Department of Defe ...
hearings, Taylor was sharply critical of
Secretary of Defense
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Henry Rumsfeld (July 9, 1932 – June 29, 2021) was an American politician, government official and businessman who served as Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under president Gerald Ford, and again from 2001 to 2006 under Presi ...
and other administration witnesses, particularly regarding shortages of armor for troops and vehicles in
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
. He decried the lack of urgency to speed up production and procurement of armored vehicles and jammers to block the signals of
improvised explosive devices
An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechan ...
(IEDs).
He voted for all four articles of
impeachment against Bill Clinton in 1998—the only Democrat in Congress to do so. He was one of just five Democrats to support at least one article of impeachment. He refused to endorse Clinton's reelection bid in 1996, but refused to switch parties despite numerous overtures from the Republicans. In the 2004 Democratic primaries, Taylor endorsed
Wesley Clark
Wesley Kanne Clark (born December 23, 1944) is a retired United States Army officer. He graduated as valedictorian of the class of 1966 at West Point and was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford, where he obtained a degree ...
. He voted for
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
in 2008.
The Christian Coalition gave Taylor an overall rating of 76% and he has endorsed the
Federal Marriage Amendment
The Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA), also referred to by proponents as the Marriage Protection Amendment, was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that would legally define marriage as a union of one man and one woman. The FMA ...
.
Taylor was a strong critic of the
Bush Administration's
fiscal policy
In economics and political science, fiscal policy is the use of government revenue collection (taxes or tax cuts) and expenditure to influence a country's economy. The use of government revenue expenditures to influence macroeconomic variables ...
. He voted against the tax cuts passed in 2001 and 2003, claiming that the cuts contained in those bills would only increase the
national debt
A country's gross government debt (also called public debt, or sovereign debt) is the financial liabilities of the government sector. Changes in government debt over time reflect primarily borrowing due to past government deficits. A deficit oc ...
. He derided the prescription drug plan passed in 2003 as a giveaway to companies that donate to the Republican Party. He was one of the House's most vehement opponents of free trade agreements and was strongly opposed to the Bush administration's proposals for reforming
Social Security
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...
. He also voted at times with more
liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
members of the House with regards to
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
. Since coming to the House, he voted in favor of most
campaign finance
Campaign finance, also known as election finance or political donations, refers to the funds raised to promote candidates, political parties, or policy initiatives and referendums. Political parties, charitable organizations, and political ac ...
laws and other laws favored by more
progressive elements of the Democratic Party to reform politics.
Taylor was a staunch and consistent opponent of most free trade agreements. He voted against
NAFTA
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA ; es, Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte, TLCAN; french: Accord de libre-échange nord-américain, ALÉNA) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that crea ...
and
GATT
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement between many countries, whose overall purpose was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas. According to its pre ...
. He voted against fast-track authority in 1998 and 2002. He also opposed
Permanent Normal Trade Relations
The status of permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) is a legal designation in the United States for free trade with a foreign nation. The designation was changed from '' most favored nation'' (MFN) to ''normal trade relations'' by Section 5003 of ...
(PNTR) with
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
in 2000.
Taylor has a mixed voting record on environmental issues; he has voted repeatedly against the ban on
drilling
Drilling is a cutting process where a drill bit is spun to cut a hole of circular cross-section in solid materials. The drill bit is usually a rotary cutting tool, often multi-point. The bit is pressed against the work-piece and rotated at ra ...
in Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (
ANWR
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR or Arctic Refuge) is a national wildlife refuge in northeastern Alaska, United States on traditional Gwich'in lands. It consists of in the Alaska North Slope region. It is the largest national wildlife ...
), while voting at other times with the mainstream of his party. He has also denounced
Vice President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former U ...
's ties to
Halliburton
Halliburton Company is an American multinational corporation responsible for most of the world's hydraulic fracturing operations. In 2009, it was the world's second largest oil field service company. It has operations in more than 70 countries ...
.
In 2006, Taylor was the only Democrat to support all four amendments to the bill to renew the
Voting Rights Act
The suffrage, Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of Federal government of the United States, federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President of the United ...
. However, Taylor did vote in favor of final passage of the unamended bill, as did all House Democrats.
Taylor has been a staunch advocate of maintaining the "Buy American" requirements in
Defense
Defense or defence may refer to:
Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups
* Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare
* Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks
* Defense industr ...
contracting, and of maintaining the
Jones Act requirements that vessels operating between U.S. ports must be American-flagged, American-made, owned by U.S. citizens, and crewed by U.S. citizens. In February 2007, he was one of two Democrats to oppose ''H CON RES 63'', which expressed opposition to a
troop surge in the
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
.
Much of Taylor's district took a direct hit from
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
, which destroyed his home in Bay St. Louis (27 miles west of Biloxi) as well as Lott's home in Pascagoula. He moved to
Kiln
A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay int ...
while he rebuilt his home in Bay St. Louis.
When former
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...
(FEMA) director
Michael D. Brown
Michael DeWayne Brown (born November 8, 1954) is an American attorney and former government official who served as the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from 2003 to 2005. He joined FEMA as general counsel in 2001 an ...
appeared before the committee, Taylor reacted angrily to Brown's attempts to put primary responsibility for the failed response at the state and local level. Taylor seemed particularly upset that several
first responder
A first responder is a person with specialized training who is among the first to arrive and provide assistance or incident resolution at the scene of an emergency, such as an accident, disaster, medical emergency, structure fire, crime, or terr ...
s in
Hancock County, his home county, were forced to loot a
Wal-Mart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
to get food and supplies. They also had to wait several days after the storm before they got any help from FEMA workers. He told Brown that FEMA "fell on (its) face" in its response to Katrina, which he said rated "an F-minus in my book."
In April 2009, Taylor voted against the
.
Committee assignments
*
Committee on Armed Services
**
Subcommittee on Readiness
**
Subcommittee on Seapower and Expeditionary Forces (Chairman)
*
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
The U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives.
History
The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure was formerly known as the Committee on Public Works a ...
**
Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation
**
Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment
Caucus memberships
*Co-chair of the Coast Guard Caucus
*Co-chair of the National Guard and Reserve Caucus
*Co-chair of the Shipbuilding Caucus
Political campaigns
1988
After one term, he ran as the Democratic candidate to succeed
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
incumbent and
House Minority Whip
Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, also known as floor leaders, are congresspeople who coordinate legislative initiatives and serve as the chief spokespersons for their parties on the House floor. These leaders are ele ...
Trent Lott
Chester Trent Lott Sr. (born October 9, 1941) is an American lawyer, author, and politician. A former United States Senator from Mississippi, Lott served in numerous leadership positions in both the United States House of Representatives and the ...
in what was then the 5th District when Lott made a successful run for the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
. He lost to
Harrison County Sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
Larkin I. Smith
Larkin Irvin Smith (June 26, 1944 – August 13, 1989) was an American Congressman from Mississippi serving for seven months until he was killed in a plane crash in Perry County, Mississippi in 1989.
Smith was born in Poplarville, Mississippi ...
by almost 10 points. The
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is the United States Democratic Party, Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body. The DCCC recruits candidates, raises ...
offered very little help to Taylor, believing the district to be too heavily Republican.
Vice President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...
defeated
Michael Dukakis
Michael Stanley Dukakis (; born November 3, 1933) is an American retired lawyer and politician who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history a ...
by approximately a 70 to 30 margin in the district, and Lott beat
Wayne Dowdy
Charles Wayne Dowdy (born July 27, 1943) is an American politician, lawyer and jurist from Mississippi. He was first elected in a 1981 special election and served four terms in the United States House of Representatives. He later served as chai ...
by a similar margin in the Senate race. Although about 30,000 Bush and Lott voters split their tickets to vote for Taylor, he could not overcome the Republican tide in the district.
1989
Smith died in a plane crash eight months later. In the special election to fill Smith's seat, Taylor picked up 42 percent of the vote to lead Republican
Thomas H. Anderson, Jr. and Democrat
Mike Moore Michael Moore is an American filmmaker and author.
Michael Moore may also refer to:
Academia
* Michael G. Moore (fl. 1970s–2020s), professor of education
* Michael S. Moore (academic) (fl. 1960s–2020s), American law professor
* Michael Moore ...
in the first round. Some leading Democrats had tried to convince Taylor to stand aside and not seek the position in deference to Moore, who was the state's Attorney General and who was also a
Gulf Coast
The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Mississ ...
resident, but Taylor doubled Moore's vote total on the first ballot. Two weeks later, Taylor beat Anderson, Lott's Chief of Staff, with 65 percent of the vote. Taylor took office on October 24, 1989.
1990 through 2008
Taylor won a full term in 1990 with 81 percent of the vote against realtor Sheila Smith, the widow of his predecessor in the House. He easily turned back spirited reelection challenges in 1992, 1994 and 1996, taking over 60 percent of the vote each time. However, he was reelected in 1998 with 77 percent of the vote and was reelected five more times after that by an average of 70 percent of the vote. His district was renumbered the 4th after the 2000
redistricting
Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...
cost Mississippi a congressional seat.
2010
Taylor was defeated by Republican state representative
Steven Palazzo
Steven McCarty Palazzo (; born February 21, 1970) is an American politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2023. The district included Mississippi's Gulf Coast, Biloxi, Gulfport, ...
on November 2, 2010. His vote against
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
for president in 2008 became a campaign issue when Taylor released campaign ads pointing to his support of McCain as evidence of his bipartisanship. However, Palazzo attacked Taylor for supporting Pelosi as Speaker and claimed Taylor voted with his party's leadership 82 percent of the time.
[ Taylor was endorsed by the ]National Right to Life Committee
The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) is the oldest and largest national anti-abortion organization in the United States with affiliates in all 50 states and more than 3,000 local chapters nationwide.
Since the 1980s, NRLC has influen ...
.
In the following lame duck session of Congress, Taylor dropped his opposition to the Navy's plan to buy both classes of Littoral combat ship
The littoral combat ship (LCS) is either of two classes of relatively small surface vessels designed for operations near shore by the United States Navy. It was "envisioned to be a networked, agile, stealthy surface combatant capable of defeat ...
, even though this greatly reduced the chances that a shipyard in his former district would then be able to bid for follow on contracts.
Proving just how Republican this district had become, no Democrat running in the district has cleared the 40 percent mark since Taylor left office, and only one has even cleared 30 percent.
2014
Taylor opposed Palazzo in the Republican primary in the June 2014 election. Taylor was seeking to become the first Mississippi U.S. Representative since 1884 to return to the House of Representatives after losing reelection. In an op-ed that ran in ''The Sun-Herald
''The Sun-Herald'' is an Australian newspaper published in tabloid or compact format on Sundays in Sydney by Nine Publishing. It is the Sunday counterpart of ''The Sydney Morning Herald''. In the 6 months to September 2005, ''The Sun-Herald' ...
,'' the largest newspaper in the district, Taylor said that when he began seriously considering a bid for his own seat, he never even considered running as a Democrat because he had always considered himself a conservative, and the Democrats' turn to the left made him realize that "my views and vision naturally fit in the Republican Party.
Taylor, who was out-raised by Palazzo by almost 6-to-1 and out-spent by over 10-to 1, ran a grassroots campaign, emphasizing his work to secure funding for the district in the wake of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
and his efforts to support veterans and funding for military bases in the district. He contrasted this with Palazzo's vote against funding for Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...
relief efforts and supporting sequestration which cut the defense budget. Taylor narrowly lost the primary, securing 43 percent of the vote to Palazzo's 50.5 percent.
Post-congressional career
Taylor was appointed to the Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission by District 3 Supervisor Lisa Cowand in March 2012 and served on the commission until 2014; he provided oversight for Stennis International Airport and Port Bienville Industrial Park. From September 2011 to December 2013, Taylor was a consultant at Navistar Defense, a defense firm.
Taylor has worked as a director for Overseas Shipholding Group
Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. (OSG - Overseas Shipping Group) () is the operator of a fleet of twenty-four oil tankers and oil tug-barges. It is based in Tampa, Florida, United States, and was founded in 1948.
In 1969, under the leadership o ...
since 2018.
Personal life
Taylor and his wife Margaret have three children. He holds a black belt in Taekwondo.
References
External links
Profile
at SourceWatch
Keeping His Promise
Post Hurricane Katrina interview by Perry Hicks For ''GulfCoastNews.com''
*
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Gene
1953 births
Living people
21st-century American politicians
De La Salle High School (New Orleans, Louisiana) alumni
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Mississippi
Mississippi city council members
Mississippi Republicans
People from Hancock County, Mississippi
Politicians from New Orleans
Tulane University alumni
United States Coast Guard non-commissioned officers
United States Coast Guard reservists
University of Southern Mississippi alumni