Richard Howard Stallings (born October 7, 1940) is an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who served as 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 ...

for

Idaho's 2nd congressional district Idaho's 2nd congressional district is one of two congressional districts in the U.S. state of Idaho, in the eastern portion of the state. Beginning with the 2012 election, the district expanded westward and now includes most of Boise, the state ...

from 1985 to 1993.

Early life and education

Richard Stallings was born in Ogden,

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

to Howard and Elizabeth (née Austin) Stallings in 1940. Richard was raised in Ogden along with his younger sister, Marilyn. He grew up active in

Scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

, earning the rank of

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Sc ...

at age 16, and a year later the Silver Award. Stallings is a graduate of the

Ben Lomond High School Ben Lomond High School is a comprehensive high school located in the Ogden City School District of Ogden, Utah, Ogden, Utah, United States, currently educating students in grades 10–12. As of 2018, the school principal, principal is Steve Poll, ...

class of 1958. He served as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

for the

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The c ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

from 1960 to 1962. He earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

from Weber State College, then went on to earn a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

in history from

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

, having fulfilled a portion of his Master's studies at

Colorado College Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory. The college enrolls approximately 2,000 undergraduates at its campus. The college offer ...

Career

Stallings taught history at

Ricks College Ricks may refer to: People * Andre Ricks (born 1996), American basketball player * Bob Ricks (21st century), American police chief * Christopher Ricks (born 1933), British literary critic and scholar * Doug Ricks, American politician and member o ...

Rexburg, Idaho Rexburg is a city in Madison County, Idaho, United States. The population was 39,409 at the 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Madison County and its largest city. Rexburg is the principal city of the Rexburg, ID Micropolitan Statist ...

from 1969 until his election to Congress in 1984.

U.S. House of Representatives

Idaho Democrats nominated Stallings to challenge four-term Republican incumbent George Hansen in 1982, but he lost in the general election. In 1984, after Hansen was

censure A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. In parliamentary procedure, it is a debatable main motion that could be adopted by a majority vote. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a spir ...

d by the House of Representatives, Stallings defeated him in a hotly contested race by fewer than 200 votes. Despite representing a heavily Republican district, Stallings was re-elected three times. A conservative Democrat, Stallings unexpectedly received three votes for the presidential nomination from

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...

delegates at the

1988 Democratic National Convention The 1988 Democratic National Convention was held at The Omni in Atlanta, Georgia, from July 18 to 21, 1988, to select candidates for the 1988 presidential election. At the convention Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts was nominated for pre ...

Senate campaign

Stallings was the Democratic nominee in 1992 for an open seat in 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 pow ...

, but lost to

Dirk Kempthorne Dirk Arthur Kempthorne (born October 29, 1951) is an American politician who served as the 49th United States Secretary of the Interior from 2006 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a ...

, the popular two-term mayor of

Boise Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown area's ...

Clinton administration

In 1993, Stallings was appointed United States Nuclear Waste Negotiator by 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 agai ...

and served in that capacity until the office was eliminated in early 1995.

Later career

Stallings attempted to win his old House seat back in 1998, but was defeated by state house Speaker

Mike Simpson Michael Keith Simpson (born September 8, 1950) is an American politician and former dentist serving as the U.S. representative for since 1999. The district covers most of the eastern portion of the state, including Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Sun ...

Blackfoot The Blackfoot Confederacy, ''Niitsitapi'' or ''Siksikaitsitapi'' (ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ, meaning "the people" or " Blackfoot-speaking real people"), is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Bla ...

in the general election. The seat was open, as three-term incumbent

Mike Crapo Michael Dean Crapo ( ; born May 20, 1951) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Idaho, a seat he has held since 1999. A member of the Republican Party, Crapo previously served as the U.S. repres ...

successfully ran for an open seat in the U.S. Senate. After leaving Congress, Stallings later served as executive director of the Pocatello Neighborhood Housing Services and later on the

Pocatello Pocatello () is the county seat of and largest city in Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the principal city of the ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

, City Council from 2001 to December 20, 2007.

Idaho Democratic Party Chair

In 2005, Stallings won election as chairman of the

Idaho Democratic Party The Idaho Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Idaho. While the party has been in the minority for most of the state's history, it has produced several notable public figures, including former U.S. sena ...

. Stallings was re-elected state Democratic chair in 2007. Stallings resigned on December 20, 2007.

2014 congressional campaign

On March 14, 2014, Stallings filed to run as the Democratic candidate for his old U.S. House seat in Idaho's Second Congressional District. He was the Democratic nominee after the uncontested primary election, but was defeated by Simpson in the general election.

Personal life

Stallings and his first wife, Ranae Garner, met while classmates at Weber State College. The couple were married in 1963 in the

Salt Lake Temple The Salt Lake Temple is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. At , it is the largest Latter-day Saint temple by floor area. Dedicated in 1893, it is the sixth temple ...

in a ceremony officiated by

Spencer W. Kimball Spencer Woolley Kimball (March 28, 1895 – November 5, 1985) was an American business, civic, and religious leader who was the twelfth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The grandson of early Latter-day S ...

References

External links

Richard Stallings for Congress
*

– Richard H. Stallings, papers 1984–1995
– from 1998 campaign
Idaho Democrats
-> * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stallings, Richard H. 1940 births 20th-century Mormon missionaries American Mormon missionaries in New Zealand 20th-century American politicians Brigham Young University–Idaho faculty Idaho city council members Living people People from Ogden, Utah People from Pocatello, Idaho Utah State University alumni Colorado College alumni Weber State University alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Idaho Politicians from Ogden, Utah Latter Day Saints from Utah Latter Day Saints from Idaho Latter Day Saints from Colorado