Carolyn Jean Cheeks Kilpatrick (born June 25, 1945) is a former

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

politician who was U.S. Representative for from 1997 to 2011. She is a member of the Democratic Party. In August 2010 she lost the Democratic primary election to

Hansen Clarke Hansen Clarke (born March 2, 1957) is an American politician and former U.S. Congressman. A Democrat, he was the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2013. Prior to his election to Congress, he had been a member of the Michigan House of Represe ...

, who replaced her in January 2011 after winning the 2010 general election. Kilpatrick is also the mother of former Detroit Mayor

Kwame Kilpatrick Kwame Malik Kilpatrick (born June 8, 1970) is an American former politician who served as the 72nd mayor of Detroit from 2002 to 2008. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously represented the 9th district in the Michigan House of Represen ...

Early life, education and career

Born Carolyn Jean Cheeks in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, she graduated from Detroit High School of Commerce. She then attended

Ferris State University Ferris State University (FSU or Ferris) is a public university with its main campus in Big Rapids, Michigan. It was founded in 1884 and became a public institution in 1950. Ferris is the ninth-largest institutions of higher education by enrol ...

Big Rapids Big Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 10,601 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Mecosta County. The city is located within Big Rapids Township, but it is politically independent. Big Rapids is home ...

from 1968–70 and earned a B.S. from

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

(

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropo ...

) in 1972. She earned a

M.S. 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 ...

from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1977. She worked as a high school teacher and was later a member of the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 201 ...

from 1979-96.

U.S. House of Representatives

Committee assignments

* Committee on Appropriations ** Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies

Caucus and other membership

*Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group *

Congressional Black Caucus The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is a caucus made up of most African-American members of the United States Congress. Representative Karen Bass from California chaired the caucus from 2019 to 2021; she was succeeded by Representative Joyce B ...

Congressional Progressive Caucus The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is a congressional caucus affiliated with the Democratic Party in the United States Congress. The CPC represents the most left-leaning faction of the Democratic Party. " e Congressional Progressive Cau ...

She was one of the 31 House Democrats who voted not to count the 20 electoral votes from

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

in the 2004 presidential election. Republican President George Bush won the state by 118,457 votes. On December 6, 2006, the

unanimously chose Kilpatrick as its chairwoman for the

110th Congress The 110th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, between January 3, 2007, and January 3, 2009, during the last two years of the Presidency of George W. Bush. It was composed of ...

(2007-8). On September 29, 2008, she 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 ...

Political campaigns

In 1996, Kilpatrick challenged three-term incumbent Barbara-Rose Collins in the 1996 Democratic primary for what was then the 15th District. She defeated Collins by a shocking margin, taking 51.6 percent of the vote to Collins' 30.6 percent. This was

tantamount to election A safe seat is an electoral district (constituency) in a legislative body (e.g. Congress, Parliament, City Council) which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combinati ...

in this heavily Democratic, black-majority district. She was reelected six times, never dropping below 80 percent of the vote. Her district was renumbered as the 13th District after the 2000 Census. She faced no major-party opposition in 2004 and was completely unopposed in 2006.

2008

Her first serious opposition came during the 2008 primary—the real contest in this district—when she was challenged by both former

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 S ...

Mary D. Waters and

State Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of ...

Martha Scott Martha Ellen Scott (September 22, 1912 – May 28, 2003) was an American actress. She was featured in major films such as Cecil B. DeMille's ''The Ten Commandments'' (1956), and William Wyler's '' Ben-Hur'' (1959), playing the mother of Charlto ...

in the Democratic primary. Kilpatrick's campaign was plagued by the controversy surrounding her son and his involvement in a text messaging sex scandal. On the August 5 primary election, Kilpatrick won with 39.1 percent of the vote, compared to Waters' 36 percent and Scott's 24 percent.

2010

In 2010, she was again challenged in the Democratic primary. Unlike in 2008, her opposition coalesced around State Senator

, who defeated her in the August 3 primary. “This is the final curtain: the ending of the Kilpatrick dynasty,” said Detroit political consultant Eric Foster of Foster, McCollum, White and Assoc. NPR and CBS News both noted that throughout her re-election campaign, she was dogged by questions about her son,

, who is in prison on numerous corruption charges. ''Michigan Live'' reported that her election defeat could in part be attributed to the Kwame Kilpatrick scandals.

Personal life

Kilpatrick was married to Bernard Nathaniel Kilpatrick, with whom she has daughter Ayanna and son

, a former Mayor of

. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick divorced Bernard Kilparick in 1981. She has five grandsons including two sets of twins and one granddaughter. Both her former husband and son were on trial, under an 89-page felony indictment. On March 11, 2013, her son was found guilty on 24 of 30 federal charges and her former spouse was found guilty on 1 of 4 federal charges.Kwame Kilpatrick, four others arraigned - UPI.com
/ref> * She is a member of the Detroit Substance Abuse Advisory Council. * She is a member of

Delta Sigma Theta Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emph ...

sorority

Electoral history

References

External links

*
Michigan Democratic Party13th Congressional District
at ''Michigan Liberal''

* , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kilpatrick, Carolyn Cheeks 1945 births 20th-century Methodists 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians African-American members of the United States House of Representatives African-American Methodists African-American state legislators in Michigan African-American women in politics Methodists from Michigan Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan Female members of the United States House of Representatives Ferris State University alumni Living people Democratic Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives People of the African Methodist Episcopal church Politicians from Detroit University of Michigan alumni Western Michigan University alumni Women state legislators in Michigan