Randy Forbes | |
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's4th district | |
| In office June 26, 2001 – January 3, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Norman Sisisky |
| Succeeded by | Donald McEachin |
| Member of theVirginia Senate from the14th district | |
| In office January 6, 1998 – June 19, 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Mark Earley |
| Succeeded by | Harry Blevins |
| Member of theVirginia House of Delegates from the78th district | |
| In office January 10, 1990 – January 5, 1998 | |
| Preceded by | Frederick Creekmore |
| Succeeded by | Harry Blevins |
| Chair of theVirginia Republican Party | |
| In office June 1996 – December 2000 | |
| Preceded by | Patrick McSweeney |
| Succeeded by | Gary Thomson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | James Randy Forbes (1952-02-17)February 17, 1952 (age 73) Chesapeake, Virginia, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | Shirley Forbes |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | Randolph-Macon College (BA) University of Virginia (JD) |
James Randy Forbes (born February 17, 1952) is an American politician. A member of theRepublican Party, he was theU.S. representative forVirginia's 4th congressional district, serving from 2001 to 2017.[1]
Prior to joining theUnited States Congress, he was a member of theVirginia House of Delegates,Virginia State Senate, and Chairman of theRepublican Party of Virginia. Forbes formerly served as Chairman of theSeapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee of theHouse Armed Services Committee.
During theDonald Trump administration, Forbes was reviewed as a prospective choice forSecretary of the Navy.[2] Forbes campaigned for Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Forbes was passed over twice for the first-round and second round nominations of Secretary of the Navy.[3][4]
Forbes served as a senior distinguished fellow at theU.S. Naval War College from February through December 2017.[5]
Forbes foundedProject Blitz, a radical Christian organization focused on providing state legislators with model legislation to "inject religion into public education, attack reproductive healthcare, and undermine LGBTQ equality using a distorted definition of “religious freedom”," according to watchdog Blitzwatch.[6][7]
Forbes was born inChesapeake, Virginia, the son of Thelma and Malcolm J. Forbes.[8] Forbes attendedGreat Bridge High School, graduating in 1970. Forbes graduated first in his class fromRandolph-Macon College in 1974.
He received hisJuris Doctor from theUniversity of Virginia School of Law in 1977. Forbes worked in private practice for Kaufman & Canoles PC.[9]
Forbes served in theVirginia House of Delegates from 1989 to 1997 and theVirginia State Senate from 1997 to 2001. He also served as chairman of theRepublican Party of Virginia from 1996 to 2001.
He was first elected to the House in 2001 to fill a vacancy caused by the death of ten-termDemocratic CongressmanNorman Sisisky; defeating Democratic State SenatorLouise Lucas 52–48%.[10] After the 4th district wasreconfigured as part of redistricting, he ran unopposed by Democrats in 2002 and 2006. In 2004, he faced Jonathan R. Menefee, and won with 65% of the vote.[11] He facedWynne LeGrow in the 2010 election, and was easily re-elected with 62% of the vote. In 2012, he defeated Chesapeake City Councilwoman Ella Ward with 57% of the vote.[12]
Forbes was the founder and chairman of theCongressional Prayer Caucus and the Congressional China Caucus. He championed a plan to rebuild the Navy to 350 ships as chairman of the House Seapower Subcommittee.
On February 8, 2016, he announced that he would run for election toVirginia's 2nd Congressional District in November 2016 after a court-ordered redistricting saw the 4th absorb most of the majority-black areas around Richmond. The new map turned the 4th from a Republican-leaning swing district into a strongly Democratic district. He did so while at the same time announcing that he would continue to live in Chesapeake, which remained in the 4th; members of the House are only constitutionally required to live in the state they represent. Forbes stated that his seniority gave him a chance to become the first Virginian to chair the House Armed Services Committee. The 2nd District was being vacated by fellow RepublicanScott Rigell.[13]
Forbes accused state Delegate and former U.S. Navy SEAL,Scott Taylor, of criminal activity for speeding violations and missing a court appearance, including a scheduled hearing when Taylor was deployed with the Navy.[14] On June 14, 2016, Forbes was defeated in the Republican primary by Scott Taylor by a margin of 52.5% to 40.6%, with a third candidate, C. Pat Cardwell IV, receiving 6.8% of the vote. Taylor went on to win the general election on November 8, 2016.[15]
Forbes received $801,606 in campaign financing from donors in the defense industry during his tenure in Congress.[16] The largest donors to Forbes over his Congressional career have been defense contractors serving the U.S. Navy for aviation and ship construction, including Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, Leidos and Huntington Ingalls.[17]
After leaving Congress in 2017, Forbes joined the Government Law & Policy Practice’s Federal team atGreenberg Traurig as a senior director.[18]
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Forbes founded the Congressional Prayer Caucus in 2005 and co-chaired the caucus with SenatorJames Lankford.[19][20]
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Forbes was formerly Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee's Seapower and Projection Forces subcommittee.
In 2013, Forbes publicly opposed military action in both Libya and Syria.[21] In 2014, he promised to promote President Obama's call for funds for action in Syria.[22]
In 2014, Forbes voted to address cuts imposed bysequestration with a $1.4 billion cut to operations, maintenance, and training funds, rather than mothballing 11 cruisers and three amphibious warships.[23]
Forbes was founder and chairman of the Congressional China Caucus.[24] Forbes spoke a panel discussion atHarvard University in the April 2012 on U.S. strategy to China's world power emergence.[25] Forbes has voiced concern forChinese military ambition,cyber threats,contaminated exports, andhuman rights violations. His reputation came under scrutiny with the acquisition in 2013 of America's largest pork company,Smithfield Foods, by a Chinese competitor – a company headquartered within his district. This $4.7 billion deal is the biggest Chinese acquisition of a U.S. company to date.[26]
On June 12, 2008, Forbes introduced H.R. 6260, titled "New Manhattan Project for Energy Independence". The bill was offered as a substitute for the entire energy bill and outlined a series of prizes, similar to theX-PRIZE, which would be awarded to a private entity, which completed one of seven tasks related to achievingenergy independence.
The bill included $14 billion in prizes and $10 billion in grants ($10 billion of which would have supportednuclear fusion research); provisions to establish a summit to discuss the challenge of energy independence; and creation of a commission to offer recommendations to fulfill the goal of becoming energy independent within 20 years. On June 26, 2009, the bill was offered as an amendment in the nature of a substitute for the Waxman/Markey-sponsoredAmerican Clean Energy and Security Act. The amendment was rejected by the House of Representatives 255–172.[27]
In 2015, Forbes cosponsored a resolution toamend the US constitution to ban same-sex marriage.[28]
| Year | Democratic | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Norman Sisisky ** | 189,787 | 99% | (no candidate) | Write-ins | 2,108 | 1% | ||||||
| 2001 | Louise Lucas | 65,190 | 48% | J. Randy Forbes | 70,917 | 52% | |||||||
| 2002 | (no candidate) | J. Randy Forbes | 108,733 | 98% | Write-ins | 2,308 | 2% | ||||||
| 2004 | Jonathan R. Menefee | 100,413 | 35% | J. Randy Forbes | 182,444 | 64% | |||||||
| 2006 | (no candidate) | J. Randy Forbes | 150,967 | 76% | Albert P. Burckard, Jr. | Independent Green | 46,487 | 23% | |||||
| 2008 | Andrea Miller | 135,041 | 40% | J. Randy Forbes | 199,075 | 60% | |||||||
| 2010 | Wynne LeGrow | 74,298 | 38% | J. Randy Forbes | 122,659 | 62% | |||||||
| 2012 | Ella Ward | 150,190 | 43% | J. Randy Forbes | 199,292 | 57% | |||||||
| 2014 | Elliot Fausz | 75,270 | 38% | J. Randy Forbes | 120,684 | 60% | Bo Brown | Libertarian | 4,427 | 2% | |||
| 2016 | Scott Taylor | 21,406 | 53% | J. Randy Forbes | 16,552 | 41% | Pat Cardwell | Republican | 2,773 | 7% |
*Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 2004, write-ins received 170 votes. In 2006, write-ins received 886 votes. In 2008, write-ins received 405 votes. In 2010, write-ins received 432 votes. In 2014, write-ins received 257 votes.
** Sisisky died on March 29, 2001; Forbes won the 2001 special election to fill out the remainder of his term.
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Resources from Wikiversity| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's 4th congressional district 2001–2017 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
