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Renee Ellmers
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's 2nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2011
Preceded by	Bob Etheridge
Personal details
Born	Renee Jacisin (1964-02-09) February 9, 1964 (age 60) Ironwood, Michigan, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Brent Ellmers
Children	Ben
Alma mater	Oakland University
Website	Government website Renee Ellmers (Facebook) Renee Ellmers on Twitter

Renee Jacisin Ellmers (born February 9, 1964) is an American politician who has been the U.S. Representative for North Carolina's 2nd congressional district since 2011. She is a member of the Republican Party. Ellmers defeated seven-term Democratic incumbent Bob Etheridge in 2010 by 1,489 votes, confirmed after a recount.

Early life, education, and nursing career

Ellmers was born Renee Jacisin in Ironwood, Michigan, the daughter of Caroline Pauline (née Marshalek) and LeRoy Francis Jacisin. Her father was of Czech and French-Canadian descent and her mother was of Croatian and Polish ancestry. She moved to Madison Heights as a child, when her father got a job in the automobile industry. She graduated from Madison High School. Ellmers paid her way through Oakland University by working various jobs, training as a medical assistant. In 1990, she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. Ellmers worked as a nurse in Beaumont Hospital's surgical intensive care unit. In North Carolina, she was clinical director of the Trinity Wound Care Center in Dunn.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2010

Ellmers became involved in politics after the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which she opposed. She became involved in local Republican politics and joined Americans for Prosperity, a free-market political advocacy group. She sought the Republican Party nomination for Congress in North Carolina's 2nd congressional district, which was then held by seven-term incumbent Bob Etheridge. She faced car dealer Todd Gailas and retired businessman Frank Deatrich in the May 4, 2010 Republican primary. She raised and spent more money than her opponents. She won the Republican primary with 55% of the vote, winning every county in the district except Franklin.

In June, a physical altercation between U.S. Congressman Bob Etheridge and two young men claiming to be students working on a project was posted to the internet. The previously obscure Ellmers was highlighted by conservative blogs such as RedState and the National Review's The Corner. Donations increased markedly, and a SurveyUSA poll showed Ellmers ahead by one percent Ultimately, the Ellmers campaign would highlight the incident in a number of televised negative attack ads against Etheridge. Ellmers received an endorsement from former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin on August 18 through Facebook, citing Ellmers' experience in the health care industry. Palin endorsed Ellmers along with three other women, on the 90th anniversary of women's suffrage in the United States.

Ellmers received national media attention in September when she released a television ad condemning the Park51 community center in Manhattan, and Congressman Etheridge for not voicing an opinion on the subject. The ad was criticized as "the most baldly anti-Muslim ad of the year" by Salon and "bigotry" by a writer for the Washington Post. Nevertheless, Ellmers led in polling and fundraising prior to the election.

On election day, November 2, 2010, Ellmers was declared the winner by the media and a recount conducted on November 17 and 18 confirmed that she defeated Bob Etheridge during the general election by a margin of 0.8% or 1,483 votes.

2012

After redistricting, her 2nd district was shored up and became more Republican-leaning. Three Republicans decided to challenge her in the primary, but all of them were first-time candidates. She won the May 8 primary with 56% of the vote. In the November general election, Ellmers defeated Democratic nominee Steve Wilkins, a retired US Army officer and Moore County businessman, 56%-41%.

Tenure

In September 2011, Ellmers told students at Campbell University that she opposed a state constitutional amendent banning same-sex marriage and civil unions because it was too broad. A spokesman said "Congresswoman Ellmers has always believed that marriage is a sacred institution and is defined as the union between one man and one woman...As a voter, she would vote against a piece of legislation that would add a ban on civil unions to the protection of marriage since they are two different issues and should be dealt with separately."

She supported the Budget Control Act of 2011 saying "It's not 100 percent of what many of our very conservative colleagues want, but it is about 70-75 percent. This is not about who's the most conservative. This is about common sense."

Renee Ellmers, the current chairwoman of the Republican Women’s Policy Committee, has made an intitiative to mobilize party's female colleagues for the coming elections, thus securing the future of women in the GOP.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Energy and Commerce
  • Subcommittee on Health
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
  • Subcommittee on Communications and Technology

Personal life

Ellmers met her husband Brent Ellmers, a surgeon, while working at Beaumont Hospital. After the birth of their son Ben, the family moved to Dunn, North Carolina, where Ellmers and her husband ran a practice.

In October 2013, someone stole her family's AR-15 rifle from an unlocked garage at her home.

References

1. Jennifer Scholtes (November 3, 2010). "112th Congress: Renee Ellmers, R-N.C. (2nd District)". Congressional Quarterly. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
2. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~battle/reps/ellmers.htm
3. ^ "Meet Renee". Renee Ellmers for Congress. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
4. "Guide to the New Congress" (PDF). CQ Roll Call. 2010-11-04. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
5. ^ "Renee Ellmers (R)". National Journal. November 2, 2010. Cite error: The named reference "NJ" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
6. Renee Ellmers at Project Vote Smart
7. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=629661
8. Phillips, Gregory (April 21, 2010). "GOP 2nd Congressional District candidates cite unique perspectives". The Fayetteville Observer.
9. "They also tried to push Democrats into retirement, using what was described in the presentation as “guerrilla tactics” like chasing Democratic members down with video cameras and pressing them to explain votes or positions. (One target, Representative Bob Etheridge of North Carolina, had to apologize for manhandling one of his inquisitors in a clip memorialized on YouTube. Only this week did Republican strategists acknowledge they were behind the episode.)" From Democrats Outrun by a 2-Year G.O.P. Comeback Plan, New York Times November 3, 2010
10. Grier, Peter (June 14, 2010). "Bob Etheridge incident: What does he have to apologize for?". The Christian Science Monitor.
11. Cillizza, Chris (June 15, 2010). "Bob Etheridge and the political power (or lack thereof) of a gaffe". The Washington Post.
12. Christensen, Rob. "Etheridge slip puts foe on map". The News & Observer.
13. Geraghty, Jim (June 18, 2010). "National Review: 'Just Who Is Bob Etheridge?'". National Public Radio.
14. "Palin endorses Ellmers". The News & Observer. August 18, 2010.
15. Isenstadt, Alex (August 18, 2010). "Palin adds to 'mama grizzly' pack". Politico.
16. Sargent, Greg (September 30, 2010). "Rank anti-mosque bigotry flops as campaign tactic". The Washington Post.
17. Elliot, Justin (September 22, 2010). "The most baldly anti-Muslim ad of the year". Salon.com.
18. "Poll reveals Etheridge may lose Congressional seat". WTVD. October 29, 2010.
19. "Ellmers pulls ahead in recent fundraising". The News & Observer. October 20, 2010.
20. Barrett, Barbara (November 20, 2010). "Ellmers wins, recount shows". The Charlotte Observer.
21. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=500885
22. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=751727
23. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=740206
24. http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/10/02/1532832/amendment-is-too-broad-to-get.html
25. http://www.modbee.com/2011/07/28/1794499/debt-limit-fight-brings-ncs-ellmers.html
26. Dumain, Emma (June 21, 2013). "GOP Women Seek Broader Influence With Policy Committee". Roll Call. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
27. http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/ar-15-rifle-stolen-from-rep-ellmers-nc-home-98719.html

External links

• Congresswoman Renee Ellmers official U.S. House site
• Renee Ellmers for Congress
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart

Template:Persondata

• 1964 births
• American nurses
• American people of Croatian descent
• American people of Czech descent
• American people of French-Canadian descent
• American people of Polish descent
• Female members of the United States House of Representatives
• Living people
• Members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina
• North Carolina Republicans
• Oakland University alumni
• People from Harnett County, North Carolina
• People from Ironwood, Michigan
• People from Oakland County, Michigan
• Women in North Carolina politics