Alexander Mann "Ander" Crenshaw (born September 1, 1944) is an American banker, attorney, and politician who served as the

U.S. representative 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

for from 2001 to 2017. He is a member of the Republican Party. Crenshaw retired from Congress when his term ended on January 3, 2017.

Early life, education and career

Crenshaw was born in Jacksonville, and earned his (

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

) at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

in 1966 and later received his J.D. degree from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. He was an investment banker before being elected to Congress. Crenshaw served in the Florida State House of Representatives from 1972 to 1978 and in the Florida State Senate from 1986 to 1994. He was the first Republican Senate president in 118 years. Crenshaw was first elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2000.

Early political career

Statewide runs

1978

In 1978, Crenshaw won the Republican primary for

Florida Secretary of State The Secretary of State of Florida is an executive officer of the state government of the U.S. state of Florida, established since the original 1838 state constitution. Like the corresponding officials in other states, the original charge of the ...

. He lost the general election to Democrat George Firestone.

1994

In 1994, he ran for

Florida Governor The governor of Florida is the head of government of the state of Florida and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Florida ...

, but lost the primary to

Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Bush, who grew up in Houston, was the second son of former President George H. W. Bush a ...

, who won with a plurality of 46%. Crenshaw got just 12% of the vote in fourth place. State Secretary of State Jim Smith and State Treasurer

Tom Gallagher C. Thomas Gallagher III (born February 3, 1944) is an American politician, financier, and insurance agent from the state of Florida and a member of the Republican Party. Gallagher holds the distinction of having served more years as an elected ...

got 18% and 13% of the vote respectively.

State Legislature

House

Crenshaw served in the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

from 1972 through 1978.

Senate

He returned to public office in 1986, winning a special election for a seat in the

Florida Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

that he held through 1994. He became the first Republican elected president of the Senate in 118 years in November 1992, but agreed to serve only one year instead of the usual two, as a compromise between Republicans and Democrats who were evenly split in the Senate that year.

U.S. House of Representatives

Committee assignments

Committee on Appropriations The United States House Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives that is responsible for passing appropriation bills along with its Senate counterpart. The bills passed by the Appropriations Commi ...

** Subcommittee on Defense ** Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government (Chairman) ** Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs ** Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch(Chairman during 112th Congress)

Caucus memberships

* Crohn's and Colitis Caucus (Co-chair) * Effective Foreign Assistance (Co-chair) * International Conservation Caucus (Co-chair) * Nepal Caucus (Co-chair) * Sportsmen's Caucus *

Tea Party Caucus The Tea Party Caucus (TPC) was a congressional caucus of conservative members of the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives. The Caucus was founded in July 2010 by Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann in coordination w ...

* Congressional Cement Caucus

Tenure

Crenshaw largely kept a low profile during his congressional tenure. By the end of his tenure, he was a Deputy Majority Whip in the Republican leadership. On September 29, 2008, Crenshaw voted for 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 ...

which created the

Troubled Assets Relief Program The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) is a program of the United States government to purchase toxic assets and equity from financial institutions to strengthen its financial sector that was passed by Congress and signed into law by President ...

. He was one of only three Florida Republicans to do so. Despite his support of the bill, he issued a press release to "applaud the organizers and participants" of the April 15, 2009, First Coast Tax Day Tea Party in Jacksonville, one of the many 2009 Tea Party protests which condemned any bailouts. On July 2, 2014, Crenshaw introduced the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2015 (H.R. 5016; 113th Congress), an

appropriations bill An appropriation, also known as supply bill or spending bill, is a proposed law that authorizes the expenditure of government funds. It is a bill that sets money aside for specific spending. In some democracies, approval of the legislature is ne ...

for fiscal year 2015 that would provide funding for the

United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...

, as we all as the

United States federal courts The federal judiciary of the United States is one of the three branches of the federal government of the United States organized under the Constitution of the United States, United States Constitution and Law of the United States, laws of the fed ...

, the

Executive Office of the President of the United States The Executive Office of the President (EOP) comprises the offices and agencies that support the work of the president at the center of the executive branch of the United States federal government. The EOP consists of several offices and agenc ...

, and

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

On April 13, 2016, Crenshaw announce that he would be retiring and would not seek re-election, thereby concluding his congressional tenure after 16 years.

Political campaigns

In 1980, Crenshaw finished third in the Republican primary for a U.S. Senate seat, earning roughly 13% of the vote behind Paula Hawkins and

Louis Frey, Jr. Louis Frey Jr. (January 11, 1934 – October 14, 2019) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1969 until 1979. He represented Florida's 5th congressional distri ...

In 1994, he unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for governor, winning several counties but ultimately losing out to Jeb Bush. Crenshaw finished fourth (12.1%) behind

and Jim Smith. In 2000, Crenshaw returned to politics when he won the Republican nomination for the 4th District after

Tillie Fowler Tillie Kidd Fowler (December 23, 1942 – March 2, 2005) was an American lawyer and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from Florida's 4th congressional district from 1993 to 2001. Her father and brother served as s ...

retired to honor a self-imposed four-term limit. This district included just over half of Jacksonville, as well as most of its suburbs. He easily won in November, becoming only the fourth person to represent this district since its creation in 1943 (it was the 2nd District from 1943 to 1967, the 3rd District from 1967 to 1993, and has been the 4th since 1993). He was reelected five times with no substantive opposition in what has become one of the most Republican districts in Florida. He even ran unopposed in 2002 and 2004, and faced no major-party opposition in 2010 or 2012.

2010

Crenshaw was challenged by Independent Troy Stanley. Gary L. Koniz and Deborah "Deb" Katz Pueschel also qualified as write-ins.

Personal life

Crenshaw is a son-in-law of former

Governor of Florida A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

Claude Roy Kirk, Jr. and has two grown daughters with his wife Kitty, whom he has been married to for over 44 years.

Awards and honors

In 2013, Ander Crenshaw was awarded the Malaria Action Award for his work against

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

Malaria No More Malaria No More is a nonprofit organization that seeks to eradicate malaria. The organization has offices in the United States, as well as affiliates in India, Japan and the United Kingdom, and is known for its participation in the Idol Gives Ba ...

References

External links

* * * , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Crenshaw, Ander 1944 births 21st-century American politicians Republican Party Florida state senators Living people Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives People from Jacksonville, Florida Presidents of the Florida Senate Robert E. Lee High School (Jacksonville) alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Florida Tea Party movement activists Fredric G. Levin College of Law alumni