Mike Kelly (Pennsylvania politician)

Mike Kelly
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 3rd district
Assumed office
January 3, 2011
Preceded by Kathy Dahlkemper
Personal details
Born (1948-05-10) May 10, 1948
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Victoria Kelly
Children 4
Residence Butler, Pennsylvania
Alma mater University of Notre Dame
Occupation Car dealer
Religion Roman Catholicism((cn))
Website Campaign website

George Joseph "Mike" Kelly, Jr. (born May 10, 1948), is an American politician in the Republican Party who has been the U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania's 3rd congressional district since 2011.[1] The district is located in the northwestern corner of the state, stretching from Erie to rural territory near Pittsburgh.

Education and early career

Kelly was born on May 10, 1948, in Pittsburgh. He has spent most of his life in Butler, a northern suburb of Pittsburgh. He played varsity football as a fullback in high school, and his team reached two WPIAL championship games. He graduated from Butler High School in 1966. He received a scholarship to play football at University of Notre Dame, but his playing ended because of an injury.

After college, he worked for his father's Chevrolet/Cadillac car dealership. In 1995, he purchased his father's business, and then added Hyundai and KIA to his dealership lineup.[2]

Kelly is a former member of the Butler City Council.

United States House of Representatives

Elections

2010

Kelly challenged incumbent Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper in 2010.[3] He won the election by 10%,[4] largely by running up his margins outside of heavily Democratic Erie.

2012

Kelly defeated Democrat Missa Eaton 55%–41%.[5] His district had been made slightly friendlier in redistricting. The district was pushed slightly to the south, absorbing some rural and Republican territory east of Pittsburgh.

2014

Kelly defeated Democrat Dan LaVallee of Cranberry Township 60.5%-39.5%.[6]

Tenure

On July 25, 2012, Kelly delivered a speech on the House floor regarding federal employment regulations that received a rare standing ovation. The video has been viewed nearly 1,000,000 times.[7][8]

On August 1, 2012, Kelly held a press conference to mark the effective date of the controversial HHS mandate, which was the subject of more than 20 lawsuits and which has been decried by religious freedom advocates as a violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. In his remarks, he said the mandate was an attack on Americans' constitutionally protected religious rights and that August 1, 2012, would go down in infamy as "the day that religious freedom died".[9]

Committee assignments

In addition, Kelly serves as the co-chair of the Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition, a bipartisan group of U.S. Representatives from the 18 Northeastern and Midwestern States.[10]

Criticism of the Environmental Protection Agency

On July 28, 2014, Kelly compared the Environmental Protection Agency to terrorists while speaking at an event hosted by the conservative Heritage Foundation, where he attacked rules limiting power plant emissions, saying "You talk about terrorism – you can do it in a lot of different ways,... But you terrorize the people who supply everything this country needs to be great – and you keep them on the sidelines – my goodness, what have we become?"[11]

Caucus memberships

Personal life

Kelly lives in Butler, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Victoria. They have four children, George III, Brendan, Charlotte, and Colin, and ten grandchildren.[12]

References

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
Kathy Dahlkemper
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 3rd congressional district

2011–present
Incumbent
United States order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
William Keating
D-Massachusetts
United States Representatives by seniority
262nd
Succeeded by
Adam Kinzinger
R-Illinois
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