Marilyn Neoma Musgrave (née Shuler; born January 27, 1949), American politician, is a former Republican member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

who served from 2003 to 2009, representing the 4th District of

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. Musgrave served on the

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and

Small Business Small businesses are types of corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships which have a small number of employees and/or less annual revenue than a regular-sized business or corporation. Businesses are defined as "small" in terms of being ...

Committees. In the 110th Congress, she served as Ranking Minority member of the Specialty Crops, Rural Development, and Foreign Agriculture subcommittee. She also served as the Region Two representative for the Republican Steering Committee. She was the first Republican woman elected to Congress from

. Musgrave lost her seat in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

to Democratic challenger Betsy Markey by a 56 to 44 percent margin. Musgrave currently works for the

Susan B. Anthony List Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America (formerly Susan B. Anthony List) is an American 501(c)(4) non-profit organization that seeks to reduce and ultimately end abortion in the US, by supporting United States anti-abortion movement, anti-abortion poli ...

, a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

that supports

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

women in politics.

Background and early political career

Musgrave was born Marilyn Neoma Shuler in

Greeley, Colorado Greeley is the home rule municipality city that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Weld County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,795 at the 2020 United States census, an increase of 17.12% since the ...

. She graduated from Eaton High School in 1968, and attended

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University Syst ...

(CSU) in Fort Collins, graduating with a B.A. in social studies in 1972. Musgrave married while attending CSU. She and her husband Steve Musgrave settled in Fort Morgan, south of Greeley, where they owned and operated a bale stacking business. Musgrave also taught school. The Musgraves have four children and eight grandchildren. Musgrave's career in elective office began in 1991, when she served one term on the Fort Morgan School Board, where she focused on changing the local

sex education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual activity, sexual reproduction, safe sex, birth ...

curriculum to abstinence-only. She was also involved in the Fort Morgan

Right To Life The right to life is the belief that a human (or other animal) has the right to live and, in particular, should not be killed by another entity. The concept of a right to life arises in debates on issues including: capital punishment, with some ...

chapter, at one time serving as its president. Musgrave was then elected to the

Colorado State House of Representatives Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

in 1992, and served there until after her successful 1998 campaign for a Colorado State Senate seat. While serving in the state senate, Musgrave was selected the Senate Republican Caucus Chairman. In 2002, Musgrave ran for the Fourth Congressional District seat being vacated by Bob Schaffer. Musgrave is a devout

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

(she is a member of the

Assemblies of God The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...

), and was one of three Pentecostals serving in the 110th Congress. The others—Republicans—were Tim Johnson of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

and Todd Tiahrt of

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. Musgrave was one of the most conservative members of the state legislature, often sparring with more socially moderate and liberal legislators. She focused her time on social issues. She staunchly opposed granting

civil union A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, primarily created to provide legal recognition for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage, with ch ...

s and

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

for same-sex couples. In another area she was active on small business and agricultural issues, particularly authoring bills to exempt farm equipment dealers from sales tax and lowering taxes on small business.

Election history

2002 election

In 2002, after Congressman Bob Schaffer retired, Musgrave ran for and won the Republican nomination to succeed him. Her opponent was businessman Jeff Bedingfield. She received a big boost in the primary when she gained the endorsements of Schaffer and former

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

William Armstrong. In November 2002 Musgrave defeated Democratic State Senate President Stan Matsunaka 55% to 42%. She had been favored most of the way due to her large campaign war chest and the district's traditional Republican lean (it had been in Republican hands since 1973).

2004 re-election

In 2004, Musgrave faced Matsunaka again. Matsunaka attacked Musgrave as a "one-trick pony," referring to her focus on outlawing same-sex marriage (see below). He also claimed that Musgrave neglected the 4th's needs and provided poor constituent services. In the end, Musgrave held her seat by taking 51% of the vote to Matsunaka's 45%. Musgrave won most of the counties in this large and mostly rural district by margins of 2-to-1 or more. However, 85% of the district's vote is cast in two counties which account for only a third of its land— Larimer (home to Fort Collins) and Weld (home to Greeley). Musgrave lost Larimer County by 4,100 votes. She also lost the district's share of Boulder County, including Longmont. She was only able to hold onto her seat by winning Weld County by 15 points (almost 10,000 votes)—far larger than the overall margin of victory. She was also undoubtedly helped by

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

's 58% win in the district. While Matsunaka only entered the race in May and raised around $800,000, Musgrave was heavily targeted by a

527 group A 527 organization or 527 group is a type of U.S. tax-exempt organization organized under Section 527 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code (). A 527 group is created primarily to influence the selection, nomination, election, appointment or defeat ...

funded by Colorado activists such as Tim Gill. The ads featured an actress dressed up like Musgrave picking a

corpse A cadaver, often known as a corpse, is a dead human body. Cadavers are used by medical students, physicians and other scientists to study anatomy, identify disease sites, determine causes of death, and provide tissue to repair a defect in a li ...

's pocket and stealing from a soldier in combat.

2006 re-election

In 2006, Musgrave faced Democratic state representative Angie Paccione. Also running was Reform Party candidate Eric Eidsness, who had previously considered a Republican Party primary challenge to Musgrave but later decided to become a Democrat. The election was even tighter than the last. Musgrave won a third term by only 5,984 votes, taking 45.61% of the vote to Paccione's 43.12% and Eidsness' 11.28%. She lost Larimer County by an even larger margin than in 2004. However, Musgrave won Weld County by just under 6,700 votes/

2008 campaign

Musgrave ran for a fourth term in the 2008 election, held on November 4, 2008. Her opponent was Betsy Markey, the regional director for Senator Ken Salazar in the 4th. Musgrave was soundly defeated, taking only 44 percent of the vote to Markey's 56 percent—the second-largest margin of defeat for a Republican incumbent in the 2008 cycle, after Florida's Tom Feeney. In a repeat of 2004 and 2006, she easily won most of the rural counties in her district while losing badly in Larimer County—this time by 32,300 votes. She lost Weld County by 5,700 votes after having carried it in her previous bids, sealing her defeat. After her defeat, Musgrave would not comment on the election results with the media, nor would she concede the race or contact Markey to congratulate her. She later recorded a robocall for Republican Georgia senator

Saxby Chambliss Clarence Saxby Chambliss (; born November 10, 1943) is an American lawyer and retired politician who was a United States Senate, United States Senator from Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia from 2003 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party (Unite ...

, saying that she was defeated by "leftist special interests" who "smothered the truth with vicious attacks and lies."

Political ideology

The

American Conservative Union The American Conservative Union (ACU) is an American political organization that advocates for Conservatism in the United States, conservative policies, ranks politicians based on their level of conservatism, and organizes the Conservative Poli ...

ranked Musgrave as the most conservative member of the House, with a 99 lifetime rating. The

National Journal ''National Journal'' is an advisory services company based in Washington, D.C., offering services in government affairs, advocacy communications, stakeholder mapping, and policy brands research for government and business leaders. It publishes ...

ranked her as the 28th most conservative member based on her 2007 votes. Her original House Website contained the phrase, "Defending our way of life through conservative leadership." She was a member of the conservative Republican Study Committee House caucus and its "Values Action Team." In 2005, Musgrave received the "Distinguished Christian Statesman" award from D. James Kennedy's Center for Christian Statesmanship.Impact Newsletter – Forgiveness Not Optional for Colorado Congresswoman
Other political groups that Musgrave is allied with include the

National Right to Life Committee The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) is the oldest and largest national anti-abortion organization in the United States with affiliates in all 50 states and more than 3,000 local chapters nationwide. Since the 1980s, NRLC has influenc ...

Focus on the Family Focus on the Family (FOTF or FotF) is an American Christian fundamentalism, Evangelical Protestant organization founded in 1977 in Southern California by James Dobson, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The group is one of a number of Evangel ...

, Alliance for Marriage, the Family Research Council, the

National Taxpayers Union The National Taxpayers Union (NTU) is a fiscally conservative taxpayer advocacy organization and taxpayers union in the United States, founded in 1977 by James Dale Davidson. NTU says that it is the oldest taxpayer advocacy organization in t ...

, the Christian Coalition, and the Traditional Values Coalition. Musgrave has taken trips sponsored by

The Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (or simply Heritage) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1973, it took a leading role in the conservative movement in the 1980s during the Presi ...

and Club for Growth. Following her defeat in 2008, Musgrave began working for the

, an anti-abortion organization.

Same-sex marriage

Musgrave sponsored of the unsuccessful

Federal Marriage Amendment The Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA), also referred to by proponents as the Marriage Protection Amendment, was a proposed Article Five of the United States Constitution, amendment to the United States Constitution that would legally define marria ...

in the 108th and 109th Congresses, originally drafted by the Alliance for Marriage. This proposed

constitutional amendment A constitutional amendment (or constitutional alteration) is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly alt ...

would define marriage as "the union of a man and a woman" and bar any recognition of

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

or "legal incidents thereof" in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In a September 2006 speech to the Family Research Council's "Values Voters Summit", Musgrave said, "as we face the issues that we are facing today, I don't think there's anything more important out there than the marriage issue." Musgrave later distanced herself from these claims during the 2006 election.

Abortion

Musgrave is

, staunchly opposing elective abortion. At the national level, she has supported the Partial Birth Abortion Ban and the Child Custody Protection Act. Musgrave is an original cosponsor of the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act. She received the support of the

as a candidate and now works for the organization. Musgrave opposes public funding for embryonic stem cell research on abortion-related grounds, and was a vocal proponent of the 2005 congressional intervention into the Terri Schiavo case:

When we talk about a permanent vegetative state, I am offended by that. Terri smiles and acknowledges the people that love her when they come to see her. She cries when they leave. How heartless are we to call somebody like Terri Schiavo a vegetable? What are we thinking?
When we think about this case, we need to think about the message that we are sending to our children and our grandchildren. What we do in this Chamber tonight is as important as anything we have done in defending our Nation, in doing the things that we do as Members of Congress.

Musgrave weighed in on the

Emergency Contraception Emergency contraception (EC) is a birth control measure, used after sexual intercourse to prevent pregnancy. There are different forms of EC. Emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs), sometimes simply referred to as emergency contraceptives (ECs), ...

controversy. On July 25, 2005, Musgrave criticized a witness at a congressional subcommittee hearing who had claimed she was "humiliated and discriminated against" at a pharmacist's refusal to fill a prescription for emergency contraception, claiming that it was only an issue of "inconvenience" to be denied emergency contraception. In 2003, a Musgrave submitted an amendment to the '' Runaway, Homeless, and Missing Children Protection Act'', which would have prevented distribution of contraception to runaway teen. The amendment was not part of the final legislation

Second Amendment rights

Musgrave strongly opposes

gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms and ammunition by civilians. Most countries allow civilians to own firearms, bu ...

and successfully passed an amendment prohibiting the enforcement of a federal requirement to sell trigger locks with all handguns. She is the founder of the 2nd Amendment Caucus and is working to protect gun manufacturers and dealers from certain types of lawsuits. Musgrave is a close ally of the

Gun Owners of America Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a gun rights organization in the United States. It makes efforts to differentiate itself from the larger National Rifle Association (NRA) and has publicly criticized the NRA on multiple occasions for what it consid ...

(GOA). Another close ally of Musgrave's from her state legislative days is Dudley Brown, who directs the Colorado wing of the GOA, th
Rocky Mountain Gun Owners
On September 25, 2004, Musgrave was a special guest speaker at the 19th annual Gun Rights Policy Conference awards luncheon, where she was named "Gun Rights Legislator of the Year."

Home schooling

Musgrave advocates changing the laws to lend more support to families who home-school their children. According to her website, she believes that government intrudes too much on family affairs. Musgrave home schooled one of her children, as well. Musgrave is closely linked to the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA

Also, members of Generation Joshua, an HSLDA branch that tries to involve youth in politics, were sent to Musgrave's district in the final hours of the 2006 campaign.

Workforce and economy

Musgrave is one of the staunchest proponents of national

Right to Work The right to work is the concept that people have a human right to work, or to engage in productive employment, and should not be prevented from doing so. The right to work, enshrined in the United Nations 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Ri ...

legislation, and was a cosponsor of The National Right to Work Act. Musgrave was heavily targeted by labor unions in the 2006 election. National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation president Mark Mix held a fundraiser for Musgrave at New York's Harvard Club in 2006. After

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

in 2005, Musgrave helped lead the effort to urge President Bush to suspend " Davis-Bacon" prevailing wage protection in the Gulf Coast region. (Bush was quickly forced to rescind this suspension.)

Taxes

Musgrave is a strong supporter of income tax cuts, and supports making the 2001 federal tax cuts permanent. She also supports the elimination of the

Estate tax International tax law distinguishes between an estate tax and an inheritance tax. An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and pr ...

and has voted to reduce tariffs on imported goods.

Religion and public law

In June 2006, Musgrave sponsored a resolution in Congress to declare 2007 as "National Year of the Bible". The resolution text requested that President Bush issue a proclamation calling on all citizens to "rediscover and apply the priceless and timeless message of the Bible" and encourage them to join the U.S. Federal government in celebrating the year with

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

"programs, ceremonies, and activities." The resolution died in committee. In June 2005, Musgrave cited Coral Ridge Ministries founder D. James Kennedy, a minister, evangelist and Christian social conservative leader, as one of her inspirations to enter politics: In the 2002 Republican primary debate with opponent Jeff Beddingfield in Greeley, Colorado, Musgrave stated that the First Amendment does not offer "freedom ''from'' religion." In a 2003 interview with ''Today's Pentecostal Evangel'', Musgrave explained how her religious beliefs play a key function in her public position:

The problems in our culture are just symptoms of spiritual problems in our nation. We must return to God and biblical principles for answers. There are limitations to what we can do, but I'm so thankful I have a voice and a vote.

In March 2007, Musgrave joined the Congressional Prayer Caucus, which is chaired by J. Randy Forbes. Forbes states the organization's purpose is to "build a spiritual wall around America." In May 2007, Musgrave participated in a "Bible Reading Marathon" event on the West Front of the US Capitol.

Other issues

Musgrave is a staunch advocate of a federal prohibition of online

poker Poker is a family of Card game#Comparing games, comparing card games in which Card player, players betting (poker), wager over which poker hand, hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, with varying rules i ...

. In 2006, she cosponsored H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act. In June 2008, Musgrave voted with the House Democrats and a minority of Republicans to save energy though the use of

public transportation Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whi ...

Interest group ratings

The NRA Political Victory Fund gave Musgrave an 'A' for her support of pro-gun issues facing Congress. The NRA-PVF states than an 'A' for Musgrave indicates that she is solidly 'pro-gun' and that she has "supported NRA positions on key votes." The Center for Christian Statesmanship, founded by D. James Kennedy of Coral Ridge Ministries, awarded Musgrave the "Distinguished Christian Statesman Award" in 2005. The Christian Coalition has ranked Musgrave's voting record at '100%' in support of the pro-Christian Coalition legislation listed on their scorecard. The Christian Coalition was founded in 1989 by Pat Robertson and is dedicated to helping give conservative Christians a voice in their government.Christian Coalition of America