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Joseph Linus Barton (born September 15, 1949) is an American politician who represented in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1985 to 2019. The district included Arlington, part of
Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...
, and several small towns and rural areas south of the
Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is a conurbated metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas encompassing 11 counties and anchor ...
. He was also a member of the Tea Party Caucus. In 2014, Barton became the longest-serving member of the Texas congressional delegation. Barton described himself as "a constant defender of conservative ideals and values"."Battle for Texas’ 6th Congressional District,"
''Fort Worth Star-Telegram''.
He advocated for deregulation of the electricity and
natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon d ...
industries, and served as vice-chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committees. He denied that manmade
carbon emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and l ...
had contributed to
global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
,Andy Kroll, November 3, 2016, ''Rolling Stone''
Why Republicans Still Reject the Science of Global Warming
Retrieved May 21, 2017, "modern-day Republican Party, protecting fossil fuels ... was a religion ... didn't have a chance in hell of persuading someone like Barton to join his cause.... open hostility to science and evidence and facts...
Louis Jacobson, January 15, 2015, PolitFact
Widely shared meme oversimplifies Joe Barton's 2009 comment on wind energy, climate change
Retrieved May 21, 2017
was a proponent of the use of
fossil fuel A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. The main fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels ma ...
s,Jay Newton-Small and Katy Steinmetz, June 18, 2010, ''TIME''
Eight More Deep Thoughts from Rep. Joe Barton
Retrieved May 22, 2017, "in the mid-1980s, Barton took a hard Texan line against spies ... he said all spies should be given the death penalty as "retribution" to fellow citizens... "We wouldn't go through the legalities that we have to because of our due process."
voted in favor of the May 2017 GOP plan to replace Obamacare,Kim Soffen, Darla Cameron, Kevin Uhrmacher, May 4, 2017, ''Washington Post''
How the House voted to pass the GOP health-care bill
Retrieved May 22, 2017
supported President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
's ban on immigration from certain predominantly Muslim nations,ABBY LIVINGSTON AND BOBBY BLANCHARD, January 29, 2017, ''Texas Tribune''
Texas congressional delegation largely silent on Trump travel ban
Retrieved May 21, 2017, "Barton ... backed the ban..."
and supported the death penalty for people caught spying. Barton led a successful effort to repeal the oil export ban in the House in 2017. His environmental record of defending industries against tighter pollution controls earned him the nickname "Smokey Joe."
''Fort Worth Star-Telegram''.
Barton came to national prominence after telling a citizen at a town hall meeting to "shut up."Lindsay Bever, March 15, 2017, ''Washington Post''
‘You, sir, shut up!’: Republican congressman shouts down a constituent at tense town hall
Retrieved March 15, 2017, ""You, sir, shut up."... The crowd responded with a combination of apparent anger and applause, with one attendee screaming: "What is that? You don't tell anybody to shut up! You work for us!""
He came to national attention again when sexually explicit photos that he had shared with women surfaced online in 2017. In November 2017, Barton announced that he would not seek re-election in
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
.


Early life, education, and early career

Barton was born in
Waco Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the s ...
,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
, the son of Bess Wynell (née Buice) and Larry Linus Barton. He graduated from Waco High School. He attended
Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M Unive ...
in College Station on a Gifford-Hill Opportunity Award scholarship, and received a B.S. in
industrial engineering Industrial engineering is an engineering profession that is concerned with the optimization of complex processes, systems, or organizations by developing, improving and implementing integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information an ...
in 1972. An M.Sc. in industrial administration from
Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and ...
followed in 1973. Following college, Barton entered private industry until 1981, when he became a White House Fellow and served under United States Secretary of Energy
James B. Edwards James Burrows Edwards (June 24, 1927 – December 26, 2014) was an American politician and administrator from South Carolina. He was the first Republican to be elected governor of South Carolina since the post-Civil War Reconstruction Era in the ...
. Later, he began consulting for
Atlantic Richfield ARCO ( ) is a brand of gasoline stations currently owned by Marathon Petroleum after BP sold its rights. BP commercializes the brand in Northern California, Oregon and Washington, while Marathon has rights for the rest of the United States and ...
Oil and Gas Co., before being elected to the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
in 1984.


U.S. House of Representatives


Elections


1984–86

Barton made his first run for elected office in 1984, when he entered the Republican primary for Texas's 6th congressional district after three-term incumbent
Phil Gramm William Philip Gramm (born July 8, 1942) is an American economist and politician who represented Texas in both chambers of Congress. Though he began his political career as a Democrat, Gramm switched to the Republican Party in 1983. Gramm was a ...
left his seat to run for the
United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...
that year. He finished first in the five-candidate field with 42%, and very narrowly defeated Max Hoyt in the runoff with 50%. He then defeated Democratic nominee and former State Representative Dan Kubiak 57%–43%. Barton was one of six freshmen Republican U.S. congressmen elected from Texas in 1984, known as the Texas Six Pack. In 1986, Barton won re-election against Democratic candidate Pete Geren, who was later elected to Congress from a neighboring district. Barton defeated Geren 56%–44%.


1988–2010

During this period, Barton won each re-election with 60% of the vote or more. His worst general election performance was in 2006, when he defeated Democratic candidate David Harris 60%–37%, a 23-point margin. The 2008 election was his second-worst performance, defeating Democratic candidate Ludwig Otto by a 26-point margin, 62%–36%. He was only challenged in the primary twice in this time period: in 1992 and 1994. In 1992, he defeated Mike McGinn 79 to 21%. In 1994, he defeated Jerry Goode 89%–11%.


2012

Because of increasing controversy surrounding his record in office, election battles became increasingly contentious. In 2011, a Super PAC was formed by Texas conservative groups to remove him and several other long-time incumbents from office. The
Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well ...
used Barton's comments in political ads, shown nationally against all Republican candidates. Several websites were created and dedicated to simply removing Barton from office. DefeatJoeBarton.com/ was created by Democratic challengers. All content was later removed, though the site is still owned. Barton drew three primary challengers: Joe Chow, Mayor of Addison; Itamar Gelbman, a security consultant; and Frank C. Kuchar, a Dallas businessman and former preacher. Chow is Texas' first
Asian-American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous peopl ...
mayor. He called Barton "the most corrupt congressman in the State of Texas." At the end of March 2012, Barton had $1.3 million in cash on hand, compared with $28,800 for Chow, $178,000 for Gelbman, and $463 for Kuchar.


2014

In the Republican primary on March 4, Barton won re-nomination to a 16th term in the U.S. House. He polled 32,579 (72.7%); his 2012 primary opponent, Frank Kuchar, trailed with 12,260 votes (27.3%). On November 4, Barton handily won re-election over Democratic opponent David Cozad.


2016

Barton polled 55,197 votes (68.7%) in a three-candidate field for the Republican House nomination in the March 1 primary election. The runner-up, Steven Fowler, received 17,927 votes (22.3%). To win his 17th consecutive term in the House, Barton then defeated in the November 8 general election the Democrat Ruby Faye Woolridge (born 1948) of Arlington, who had polled 22,954 votes (69.7%) in her earlier three-candidate Democratic primary. Barton finished with 159,444 votes (58.3%) to Woolridge's 106,667 (39%); the most any Democrat had received against Barton in his three-decade career."What could happen to Texas Rep. Joe Barton's Congressional seat?" , The Kansas City Star
/ref> The remaining 7,185 votes (2.6%) went to the
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
candidate, Darrel Smith, Jr.


2018

Texas's filing deadline for the House seat held by Barton was December 11, 2017. The primary was held March 6, 2018. Barton initially said that he would run for reelection, but announced on November 30, 2017, that he would not seek reelection in 2018."Rep. Joe Barton: I will not seek re-election",
''Dallas News''.
If Barton resigned from his seat (as predicted by Austin Republican strategist Matt Mackowiak), there would be a special, open primary election in 2018, in which candidates from all parties would appear on a single ballot; if no candidate received more than 50% of the vote, then the top two vote-getters (regardless of party) will advance to a runoff. Democrat former educator Ruby Faye Woolridge had indicated she would run for the seat, as did Democrats Jana Lynne Sanchez (endorsed by the
New Democrat Coalition The New Democrat Coalition is a caucus in the House of Representatives of the United States Congress made up of Democrats, primarily centrists, who take a pro-business stance and a moderate-to-conservative approach to fiscal matters. As of ...
and the environmental group Climate Hawks Vote), party activist Justin Snider, Levii R. Shocklee of Arlington, and lawyer John Duncan."What could happen to Texas Rep. Joe Barton's Congressional seat?" , The News Tribune
/ref>
''Fort Worth Star-Telegram''.

''Fort Worth Star-Telegram''.
Republicans
Jake Ellzey John Kevin "Jake" Ellzey Sr. (born January 24, 1970) is an American politician and former military officer serving as the U.S. representative for Texas's 6th congressional district. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a me ...
(a retired U.S. Navy fighter pilot and commissioner on the Texas Veterans Commission) and Dr. Monte Mark Mitchell (a Fort Worth physician, attorney, and custom home builder) filed to oppose Barton, and other Republican candidates for Barton's seat may include State Representative Tony Tinderholt, State Senators
Brian Birdwell Brian D. Birdwell (born November 3, 1961) is an American politician who has served in the Texas Senate for District 22 since 2010. He is a survivor of the September 11, 2001 attacks against The Pentagon. Early life and education Born in Fort Wor ...
and Konni Burton, Ellis County Commissioner Paul Perry, and former Tarrant County Tax Assessor-Collector Ron Wright (Barton's former chief of staff and district director). The ''
Fort Worth Star-Telegram The ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'' is an American daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and Tarrant County, the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex. It is owned by The McClatchy Company. History In May 1905, Amon G. Carte ...
'' urged that Barton not seek re-election. Tim O'Hare, the Chairman of the Tarrant County Republican Party, called on Barton "to not seek re-election and to retire from Congress by the end of
017 Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese ...
" saying he is guilty of "sexual immorality." Republican State Senators Konni Burton and Brian Birdwell also urged Barton to not seek re-election. Brian Mayes, a Dallas political consultant, said Barton was vulnerable in his upcoming election battle "if he gets a motivated opponent", and that he risked getting lumped in "fairly or unfairly" with sexual misconduct allegations in Congress."Texas Rep. Joe Barton might be a victim, but he's also politically vulnerable, strategists say,"
''Dallas News''.
Barton announced on November 30, 2017, that he would not seek reelection.


Tenure

Barton voted against the
Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, often called the "bank bailout of 2008", was proposed by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, passed by the 110th United States Congress, and signed into law by President George W. Bush. It became ...
in both of its manifestations. In March 2011, Barton sponsored the Better Use of Light Bulbs Act, which would repeal the
Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007Pub.L. 110-140, originally named the Clean Energy Act of 2007, is an Act of Congress concerning the energy policy of the United States. As part of the Democratic Party's 100-Hour Plan during th ...
, signed by President George W. Bush. The 2007 law set energy efficiency standards for light bulbs, effectively eliminating most or all
incandescent light bulb An incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe is an electric light with a wire filament heated until it glows. The filament is enclosed in a glass bulb with a vacuum or inert gas to protect the filament from oxi ...
s. Barton said "People don't want Congress dictating what
light fixture A light fixture (US English), light fitting (UK English), or luminaire is an electrical device containing an electric lamp that provides illumination. All light fixtures have a fixture body and one or more lamps. The lamps may be in sockets for ...
s they can use." Barton was a member of the
Freedom Caucus The Freedom Caucus, also known as the House Freedom Caucus, is a congressional caucus consisting of conservative Republican members of the United States House of Representatives. It is generally considered to be the most conservative and far ...
and the United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus. In the first session of the
115th United States Congress The 115th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States of America federal government, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 2017, to January ...
, Barton was ranked the 42nd most bipartisan member of the
House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...
by the Bipartisan Index, a metric published by The Lugar Center and Georgetown's McCourt School of Public Policy to assess congressional bipartisanship. ;Congressional action * Former Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, House sponsor of the
Energy Policy Act of 2005 The Energy Policy Act of 2005 () is a federal law signed by President George W. Bush on August 8, 2005, at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The act, described by proponents as an attempt to combat growing energy probl ...
, and chairman of the House–Senate energy conference committee. On his website he speaks of his diligent work to promote a conservative agenda, and how "in his first legislative victory as Chairman, the House overwhelmingly passed legislation to limit indecency on the public airwaves." * Both initiated and eliminated "safe harbor" provision for MTBE (in Energy Policy Act of 2005). * Co-founded the Congressional Privacy Caucus, cosponsor of the anti-spyware SPY ACT, initiated National Institutes of Health Reform Act of 2006. * Opposed the extension of the
Voting Rights Act The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights m ...
in 2006 * Barton was a leading voice in Congress for forcing the switch from analog to digital TV. * Barton has supported the auctioning off the public airwaves to private companies.


Global warming

Prompted by a February 2005 ''
Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' article, Barton launched an investigation that year into two
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
studies from 1998 and 1999. In his letters to the authors of the studies he requested details on the studies and the sources of the authors grant funding. ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...
'' condemned Barton's investigation as a "
witch-hunt A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America took place in the Early Modern pe ...
". During former
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 ...
Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic ...
's testimony to the Energy and Commerce Committee in March 2007, Barton asserted to Gore that "You're not just off a little, you're totally wrong" (climate scientists have refuted Barton's assertion), stating that "
Global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
science is uneven and evolving." Upset with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's passage of global warming legislation in 2009, he said: "You can't regulate God.""Eight More Deep Thoughts from Congressman Joe Barton,"
''TIME'', June 18, 2010.
At the same time, Barton implied in 2009 that wind is a "finite resource," and there was a claim made that Barton was suggesting that greater use of wind turbines would "slow the winds down," which would "cause the temperature to go up," although a report in ''Snopes'' suggested that Barton was merely quoting an academic study which suggested that increased use of wind turbines might have unintended consequences for the environment, and that the claim about the linkage between increased use of wind turbines and slowing down the winds was incorrect.Snopes
Did Rep. Joe Barton Proclaim 'Wind Is a Finite Resource'? Texas Rep. Joe Barton supposedly once said that 'wind is a finite resource and harnessing it would slow the winds down, which would cause the temperature to go up.'
Retrieved December 16, 2017, "...he was quoting from a paper written by an academic that questioned whether increased use of wind turbines might have unintended environmental consequences..."
In 2013, when discussing the
Keystone XL The Keystone Pipeline System is an oil pipeline system in Canada and the United States, commissioned in 2010 and owned by TC Energy and as of 31 March 2020 the Government of Alberta. It runs from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Alberta ...
pipeline, he referred to the
Genesis flood narrative The Genesis flood narrative (chapters 6–9 of the Book of Genesis) is the Hebrew version of the universal flood myth. It tells of God's decision to return the universe to its pre- creation state of watery chaos and remake it through the micr ...
in the Bible to argue that current climate change isn't man-made. Barton rejects the
scientific consensus on climate change There is a strong scientific consensus that the Earth is warming and that this warming is mainly caused by human activities. This consensus is supported by various studies of scientists' opinions and by position statements of scientific org ...
that climate change is real and that human activity is the primary cause. Barton has "mocked human-caused climate change" according to ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', and is "a long-time denier of global warming" according to ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...
'' magazine, and "a longtime skeptic of human involvement in climate change" according to ''
HuffPost ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
''. In any event, he suggested that humans will "adapt" to climate change because we can "get shade." "Barton has made a reputation for his outspoken rejection of man-made climate change, and for his support for the oil industry," according to Suzanne Goldenberg in ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
''.


Autism bills controversy

Barton tried to block the bipartisan Combating Autism Act of 2006. He said that the money steered toward environmental causes of
autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
was not the reason he blocked passage of the bill. The controversy stemmed from the conflict between two bills in the House and Senate. Barton introduced the National Institutes of Health Reform Act of 2006, while Senator
Rick Santorum Richard John Santorum ( ; born May 10, 1958) is an American politician, attorney, and political commentator. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2007 and was the Senate's third ...
introduced the Autism bill. Santorum said in a CNN interview that the Senate bill was intended to be "fit into" Barton's bill in the House bill. He stated that "I was in constant conversation with him
arton Arton may refer to: People ;Given name * Arton Zekaj, Serbian footballer of Kosovo Albanian descent ;Surname * Anthony Bourne-Arton, British Conservative Party politician * Oliver Rendell Arton Places * ''Arton Mill'', Belgium; a protected place ...
and many House members all last week in an attempt to help the NIH bill come through the Senate, as well as try to move the Combating Autism bill through the Senate." Santorum stated that the Senate bill would investigate possible environmental causes, while the House bill would prevent that. Barton let the bill die in committee, which upset many people who were vocal about saying Barton had sacrificed the interests of autistic children in the interests of the oil and gas companies that donate heavily to his campaign.


BP oil spill controversy

In June 2010, Barton accused the Obama administration of a "$20 billion shakedown" of oil giant BP after the company reached an agreement with the administration to establish an
escrow An escrow is a contractual arrangement in which a third party (the stakeholder or escrow agent) receives and disburses money or property for the primary transacting parties, with the disbursement dependent on conditions agreed to by the transacti ...
account to pay the claims of people harmed by the ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill in the
Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...
. He made the accusation at the outset of a House hearing where BP's chief executive officer, Tony Hayward, appeared for the first time before Congress. Facing Hayward at the witness table, Barton said, "I apologize. I do not want to live in a country where any time a citizen or a corporation does something that is legitimately wrong, is subject to some sort of political pressure that is, again, in my words — amounts to a shakedown, so I apologize." Prior to the establishment of the agreement, the Obama administration had been public in their criticism of BP for the oil spill. Barton's remarks were criticized by White House spokesman Robert Gibbs and Vice President Joe Biden, GOP congressional leadership as well as by Barton's fellow Republicans, some of whom called on him to relinquish his leadership role in the House Energy Subcommittee. Barton later said that his earlier remarks had been "misconstrued" and that he believed BP was responsible for the accident. Later that day, he issued a statement apologizing for using the term "shakedown" and fully retracted his apology to BP.


Sodomy and abortion

In 2010, Barton backed a policy platform that called for re-criminalizing
sodomy Sodomy () or buggery (British English) is generally anal or oral sex between people, or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal ( bestiality), but it may also mean any non- procreative sexual activity. Originally, the term ''s ...
in Texas. He has 100% ratings from socially conservative groups such as the
Family Research Council The Family Research Council (FRC) is an American evangelical activist group and think-tank with an affiliated lobbying organization. FRC promotes what it considers to be family values. It opposes and lobbies against: access to pornography, emb ...
and the
Christian Coalition of America The Christian Coalition of America (CCA), a 501(c)(4) organization, is the successor to the original Christian Coalition created in 1987 by religious broadcaster and former presidential candidate Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson. This US Christia ...
for his opposition to
abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...
and
LGBTQ ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is ...
rights.


CREW report

The organization
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) and nonpartisan U.S. government ethics and accountability watchdog organization.''Washington Information Directory 2017-2018''; CQ Press; 2017; Pg. 327 Founded ...
(CREW) put Barton on its "CREW's Most Corrupt Report 2011". The article stated that on Barton's 2008 financial disclosure statement, he inaccurately reported on the source of a natural gas interest that he bought into. The share was purchased through a longtime donor and supporter, who later died. This was discovered by the ''
Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...
'' in 2010.Michaels, Dave (2010-02-03
"U.S. Rep. Joe Barton's gas well stake raises ethical questions"
''Dallas Morning News''.
According to the ''Dallas Morning News'' article, Barton made over $100,000 on the investment. The article and CREW Report both pointed out how Barton buying this undervalued asset from an "advisor" on energy issues could be a conflict of interest to the Congressman's position as the Chair of the House's Energy Subcommittee. It quoted
James Thurber James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894 – November 2, 1961) was an American cartoonist, writer, humorist, journalist and playwright. He was best known for his cartoons and short stories, published mainly in ''The New Yorker'' and collected ...
, a Distinguished Professor of Government at
American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was cha ...
, as saying: "If you are elected as a public servant to try to do what is right for the public generally and then you use that position to help bring in material wealth, I think it's unethical." CREW also reported that Barton paid his wife Terri $57,759 in salary and bonuses, from his campaign funds in the 2006 election cycle. A spokesman said that Terri served as the campaign's outreach director and planned fund raising and special events. in addition, Barton's daughter Kristin was paid $12,622 in salary and bonuses, and his mother, Nell Barton, was paid $7,000 for a car.


Crude oil ban

Barton expressed in September 2014 his full support of the U.S. lifting the 40-year-old ban on
crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...
exports – an issue that sparked controversy among members of the Republican Party. Several research reports had found that exporting the glut of shale oil would ultimately lower U.S. and global fuel prices, rather than raise them; U.S. public opinion was divided on the issue.


Online poker

Barton has sought to permit
online poker Online poker is the game of poker played over the Internet. It has been partly responsible for a huge increase in the number of poker players worldwide. Christiansen Capital Advisors stated online poker revenues grew from $82.7 million in 2001 t ...
, and regulate it on a federal level. To that end, he has introduced the Online Poker Act of 2011, the Internet Poker Freedom Act of 2013, and the Internet Poker Freedom Act of 2015.


Health care

Barton favored repealing the
Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Pres ...
(ACA, or Obamacare). Explaining why the American Health Care Act (the House Republicans' bill to repeal and replace for the Affordable Care Act) failed in March 2017, Barton said, "Sometimes you're playing fantasy football and sometimes you're in the real game. We knew the president, if we could get a repeal bill to his desk, would almost certainly veto it. This time we knew if it got to the president's desk it would be signed."


Hurricane Harvey relief

Barton voted against
Hurricane Harvey Hurricane Harvey was a devastating Category 4 hurricane that made landfall on Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest ...
relief in 2017. Barton said that he could not support an increase in the
debt ceiling A debt limit or debt ceiling is a legislative mechanism restricting the total amount that a country can borrow or how much debt it can be permitted to take on. Several countries have debt limitation restrictions. Description A debt limit is a l ...
.


Immigration

Barton supported President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
's 2017 Executive Order 13769 banning entry to the United States by nationals of seven Muslim-majority nations. In November 2017, Barton called on the House leadership to pass naturalization legislation for children who came across the border illegally with their parents.


Committee assignments

* Committee on Energy and Commerce (Chair ''emeritus'') ** Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade ** Subcommittee on Communications and Technology ** Subcommittee on Energy and Power ** Subcommittee on Environment and Economy **
Subcommittee on Health The U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health is a subcommittee within the Committee on Energy and Commerce. Jurisdiction The House Subcommittee on Health has general jurisdiction over bills and resolutions relating to pub ...
** Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations


1993 U.S. Senate election

In 1993, Barton ran in the special election for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the resignation of
Lloyd Bentsen Lloyd Millard Bentsen Jr. (February 11, 1921 – May 23, 2006) was an American politician who was a four-term United States Senator (1971–1993) from Texas and the Democratic Party nominee for vice president in 1988 on the Michael Dukakis t ...
, who became
United States Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
in the
Clinton administration Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following a decisive election victory over ...
. Barton finished third in the contest, behind state treasurer
Kay Bailey Hutchison Kay Bailey Hutchison (born Kathryn Ann Bailey; July 22, 1943) is an American attorney, television correspondent, politician, diplomat, and was the 22nd United States Permanent Representative to NATO from 2017 until 2021. A member of the Republic ...
and Senator Bob Krueger, thus missing a runoff slot. He divided the more conservative vote in that election with House colleague
Jack Fields Jack Milton Fields Jr. (born February 3, 1952) is a Texas businessman and a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from a Houston-based district. Early life Fields was born in Humble, a northern suburb of Hou ...
of
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...
.


Barton Family Foundation

The Barton Family Foundation was established in 2005 to support charities within the congressman's district. His daughter-in-law, Amy Barton, is the Foundation's Executive Director. Major energy corporations, such as the Chicago-based nuclear energy producer, Exelon Corporation, make major gifts to the Foundation. In June 2008, at a time when Barton had introduced legislation to assist corporations with the recycling of spent nuclear fuel, the corporation donated $25,000 to the Foundation. Exelon has also donated $80,000 to Barton's campaign funds. The Foundation gave $90,000 to the local
Boys and Girls Club Boys & Girls Club may refer to: * Boys & Girls Clubs of America * Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada * Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Clubs, Bronx, United States * Essex Boys and Girls Clubs, in Essex and East London, England * The Boys' and Girls' Clubs ...
, this is the only recorded donation made by the Foundation in its seven-year history.


Sex scandal

In November 2017, nude
selfie A selfie () is a self-portrait photograph, typically taken with a digital camera or smartphone, which may be held in the hand or supported by a selfie stick. Selfies are often shared on social media, via social networking services such ...
pictures of Barton surfaced online, which he acknowledged were authentic, and which he apologized for to his constituents. He confirmed he himself took the photo, apparently from a video of him
masturbating Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combinat ...
, and sent it to women with whom he was having consensual sexual relationships."Texas congressman apologizes for nude online selfie"
ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast '' ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include morning news-talk show '' Good Morning America'', '' ...
An anonymous
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
user posted the photo of Barton, who had pointed his camera upward from below his genitals, next to a text message reading, "I want you soo bad. Right now. Deep and hard." An anonymous woman said that she had received the selfie and other explicit images from Barton, but she did not post any of them on the internet. She also shared with the ''Washington Post'' a 2015 recorded phone call in which Barton warned her against using the explicit materials "in a way that would negatively affect my career," threatening to report her to the Capitol Police if she did so. On the taped phone call, Barton said "... I ... met you twice while married and had sex with you on two different occasions"; the woman said that they had slept together in 2012 in Washington, DC, and in 2014 in Texas, and that the Congressman had reimbursed her for her airfare in cash on both occasions. The woman also shared with the ''Washington Post'' text and
social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social me ...
messages Barton exchanged with her, as well as a 53-second cellphone video in which Barton recorded himself masturbating. She described to the newspaper encounters and contact with Barton spanning a five-year period, beginning in 2011. She said she came forward because: "It's not normal for a member of Congress who runs on a GOP platform of family values and conservatism to be scouring the Internet looking for a new sexual liaison." A week later a second woman, Kelly Canon, a board member of the Arlington Republican Club and a member of the Republican Women of Arlington who is a constituent of Barton's, shared a series of messages—some with sexual overtones—that Barton had sent to her."He talked panties and politics: Woman shares Facebook messages from Texas politician" , ''Miami Herald''
/ref> Barton sent the messages in 2012 and 2013, while Barton was married to his second wife. The messages included questions from Barton about whether Canon was "wearing a tank top only .. and no panties," followed by "answer me miss evasive." Barton also messaged her that "men are men...and u r definitely a sexy woman." When Canon responded that "all the good ones are married," Barton replied: "I dont know about good..but I am married ... but ...I am not thinking good thoughts at this moment ... blush." Barton confirmed that he had the message exchange. A third woman, Cheryl Small, said on November 30, 2017, that Barton had sex with her multiple times in his Ennis office while he was married. His second ex-wife said: "Of course I wasn't surprised. I guess I was more surprised that some of these ladies finally came forward." She said she found it ironic that Barton was one of President
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...
's loudest critics during the
Monica Lewinsky scandal Monica may refer to: People *Monica (actress) (born 1987), Indian film actress *Monica (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Monica (singer) (born 1980), American R&B singer, songwriter, producer, ...
. Similarly, columnist Jim Schutze of the '' Dallas Observer'' noted that Barton practically built his political career "on condemning the behavior of others and even on trying to make other people's private behavior against the law ...." While Barton had no plans to resign immediately, according to a spokeswoman, and initially had said that he would run for reelection in 2018, a number of state and local politicians indicated that they might challenge him in the 2018 election for his seat. Barton hired a crisis communication firm, and said he had suffered a "potential crime." Outlets including ''
Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
'', NBC and CNN opined that Barton might be a victim of revenge porn, which—though not a federal crime—is a class A
misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than adm ...
in Texas, punishable by up to one year in county jail and up to a $4,000 fine. Randy Bellomy, Chairman of the Ellis County Republican Party, said "His lifestyle is inconsistent with Republican ideals, and he has brought disgrace not only to Ellis County and the 6th Congressional District, but also to the people of Texas and this great nation." Brian Mayes, a Dallas political consultant, said that the sexting "is something you'd expect from a young, immature college kid, not a grandfather." Texas GOP Chairman James Dickey said that the case is distinguishable from that of former Congressman
Anthony Weiner Anthony David Weiner (; born September 4, 1964) is an American former politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1999 until his resignation in 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he consistently carried the district with at l ...
and his sexting scandal, but that the two controversies share one "consistent message that everyone should take to heart: We should all think very hard before we post, text or otherwise share anything." Barton announced on November 30, 2017, that he would not seek reelection. The ''
Fort Worth Star-Telegram The ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'' is an American daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and Tarrant County, the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex. It is owned by The McClatchy Company. History In May 1905, Amon G. Carte ...
'' ran an editorial in reaction entitled "Hey Joe Barton, skipping the next election is not enough. It's time to go.""Joe Barton Republican step down United States House of Representatives,"
''Fort Worth Star-Telegram''.
It opined that it was not appropriate for Barton – who "can no longer be taken seriously" – to continue to represent the 6th Congressional District for another year, until January 2019.


Personal life

Barton was divorced from his first wife (Jeanette/Janet Sue Winslow) in 2003. He remarried in 2004, and divorced from his second wife (Terri) in 2015. In 2017 he was again engaged. His wife Terri said she filed for divorce after evidence that Barton had engaged in multiple affairs, and finding "a very sexually explicit video of one of his mistresses." He has four children and five grandchildren. In December 2005, Barton suffered a heart attack and was taken to
George Washington University Hospital The George Washington University Hospital is a for-profit hospital, located in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is affiliated with the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. The current facility opened on ...
.


Electoral history

, + : Results 1984–2016 ! Year ! ! Republican ! Votes ! % ! ! Democratic ! Votes ! % ! ! Third Party ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Third Party ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Third Party ! Party ! Votes ! % ! , - ,
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
, , , , Joe Barton , , 131,482 , , 57% , , , Dan Kubiak , , 100,799 , , 43% , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...
, , , , Joe Barton , , 86,190 , , 56% , , , Pete Geren , , 68,270 , , 44% , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - , 1988 , , , , Joe Barton , , 164,692 , , 68% , , , Pat Kendrick , , 78,786 , , 32% , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,
1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...
, , , , Joe Barton , , 125,049 , , 66% , , , John Welch , , 62,344 , , 33% , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,
1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...
, , , , Joe Barton , , 189,140 , , 72% , , , John Dietrich , , 73,933 , , 28% , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,
1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...
, , , , Joe Barton , , 152,038 , , 76% , , , Terry Jesmore , , 44,286 , , 22% , , , Bill Baird , ,
Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...
, , 4,688 , , 2% , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,
1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...
, , , , Joe Barton , , 152,024 , , 76% , , , ''No candidate'' , , , , , , , Skeet Richardson , ,
Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...
, , 28,187 , , 14% , , , Catherine Anderson , ,
Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...
, , 14,456 , , 7% , , , Doug Williams , , U.S.T. , , 6,547 , , 3% , , - ,
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
, , , , Joe Barton , , 112,957 , , 73% , , , Ben Boothe , , 40,112 , , 26% , , , Richard Bandlow , ,
Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...
, , 1,817 , , 1% , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,
2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
, , , , Joe Barton , , 222,685 , , 88% , , , ''No candidate'' , , , , , , , Frank Brady , ,
Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...
, , 30,056 , , 12% , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,
2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
, , , , Joe Barton , , 115,396 , , 70% , , , Felix Alvarado , , 45,404 , , 28% , , , Frank Brady , ,
Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...
, , 1,992 , , 1% , , , B. J. Armstrong , ,
Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...
, , 1,245 , , 1% , , , , , , , - ,
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...
, , , , Joe Barton , , 168,767 , , 66% , , , Morris Meyer , , 83,609 , , 33% , , , Stephen Schrader , ,
Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...
, , 3,251 , , 1% , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,
2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...
, , , , Joe Barton , , 91,927 , , 60% , , , David Harris , , 56,369 , , 37% , , , Carl Nulsen , ,
Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...
, , 3,740 , , 2% , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, , , , Joe Barton , , 174,008 , , 62% , , , Ludwig Otto , , 99,919 , , 36% , , , Max Koch , ,
Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...
, , 6,655 , , 2% , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
, , , , Joe Barton , , 107,140 , , 66% , , , David Cozad , , 50,717 , , 31% , , , Byron Severns , ,
Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...
, , 4,700 , , 3% , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
, , , , Joe Barton , , 145,019 , , 58% , , , Kenneth Sanders , , 98,053 , , 39% , , , Hugh Chauvin , ,
Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...
, , 4,847 , , 2% , , , Brandon Parmer , ,
Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...
, , 2,017 , , 1% , - ,
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
, , , , Joe Barton , , 92,334 , , 61% , , , David Cozad , , 55,027 , , 36% , , , Hugh Chauvin , ,
Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...
, , 3,635 , , 2% , - ,
2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
, , , Joe Barton , , 159,444 , , 58% , , , Ruby Faye Woolridge , , 106,667 , , 39% , , , Darrel Smith Jr. , ,
Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...
, , 7,185 , , 3%


References


External links

* *
Campaign contributors
at ''Newsmeat'' * ;Articles

''Environmental Science & Technology'', August 31, 2005 * ttps://web.archive.org/web/20060614021021/http://soc.hfac.uh.edu/artman/publish/article_375.shtml "Big Oil Looking for a Government Handout, Courtesy of Joe Barton"''World Internet News'', April 2006,
"Activists Putting Heat on Barton"
''Dallas Morning News'', October 2006

''Time'', June 2010 , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Barton, Joe 1949 births Living people 21st-century American politicians American United Methodists Methodists from Texas People from Ennis, Texas People from Waco, Texas Krannert School of Management alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas Tea Party movement activists Texas A&M University alumni White House Fellows Waco High School alumni