Ben Cline | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2018 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's6th district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Bob Goodlatte |
| Member of theVirginia House of Delegates from the24th district | |
| In office November 26, 2002 – December 18, 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Vance Wilkins |
| Succeeded by | Ronnie Campbell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Benjamin Lee Cline (1972-02-29)February 29, 1972 (age 53) Stillwater,Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Bates College (BA) University of Richmond (JD) |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
Benjamin Lee Cline (born February 29, 1972) is an American politician and lawyer serving as theU.S. representative forVirginia's 6th congressional district since 2019. A member of theRepublican Party, he represented the24th district in theVirginia House of Delegates from 2002 to 2018.[1]
Cline was born on February 29, 1972, inStillwater, Oklahoma,[1][2] and grew up inRockbridge County, Virginia.[3] He is the son of Philip L. Cline and Julie Cline.[2]
Cline graduated fromLexington High School in 1990,[3] and graduated with aB.A. fromBates College in 1994.[1][4] He earned aJ.D. degree fromUniversity of Richmond School of Law in 2007.[1]
From 2002 to 2007, including his years in law school, Cline was president of NDS Corporation, a Virginia-based company providing sales and marketing assistance to rural Internet and technology businesses.[citation needed] After graduating from law school, he served as an assistantCommonwealth's Attorney forRockingham County and the city ofHarrisonburg until 2013.[5][independent source needed] Before his election to Congress, Cline maintained a private law practice inLexington, Harrisonburg, andAmherst.[6]
Cline worked on Capitol Hill from 1994-2002 for U.S. RepresentativeBob Goodlatte. During his tenure with his predecessor, he rose from legislative correspondent to become Rep. Goodlatte's chief of staff.[7][8]
Cline began his political career in 2002 in a special election to the Virginia House of Delegates, replacing incumbent delegateVance Wilkins, who resigned due tosexual harassment allegations.[9] Cline won with 57% of the vote againstDemocratic formerLexington mayor Mimi Elrod.[citation needed] Cline represented the 24th district, which consisted ofBath andRockbridge counties, the cities ofBuena Vista and Lexington, and parts ofAmherst andAugusta counties.[citation needed]
In 2003, Cline won again with 69% of the vote against independent E. W. Sheffield.[citation needed] In 2005, he won with 62% of the vote against Democrat David Cox. Cline ran unopposed in 2007.[citation needed] In 2009, Cline ran against Democratic Amherst native Jeff Price and won with 71% of the vote, taking the Lexington City precinct for the first time since Price's election in 2002[verification needed] and every precinct in the 24th House of Delegates district.[citation needed] Cline ran unopposed in both 2011 and 2013.[citation needed] In 2015, Cline won 71% of the vote against Democrat Ellen Arthur.[citation needed] In 2017, he was reelected with 72% of the vote against independent candidate John Winfrey.[10]
In November 2017, Cline announced he would run for Congress inVirginia's 6th congressional district in2018 for the seat being vacated by retiring incumbent Bob Goodlatte.[11] On May 19, 2018, Cline won the Republican nomination on the first ballot at the district convention.[citation needed]
Cline won the election on November 6, 2018, winning 15 Virginia localities, but with a historically low 59.8% versus Democrat Jennifer Lewis.[12][13] He resigned from the Virginia House of Delegates on December 18, 2018.[14]
Cline served on the House of Delegates Committees on Commerce and Labor, Courts of Justice, Finance, and chaired the Militia, Police and Public Safety. He was also a member of Commerce and Labor Subcommittee #2, Commerce and Labor Special Subcommittee on Energy, Courts of Justice Subcommittee on Criminal Law, Courts of Justice Subcommittee on Judicial Systems and Finance Subcommittee #2.[15][independent source needed] Cline also co-chaired the Virginia Joint Legislative Conservative Caucus, co-chaired in theSenate of Virginia byMark Obenshain.[16][better source needed]
In 2006, Cline passed two bills, HB1130 and HB1131, that changed the administrative setup of theVirginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.[17][18] In 2009, he passed HB2285, which created a searchable database of Virginia's agency expenditures.[19] Additionally, Cline went after theVirginia Lottery in 2009 for the allotment of over $1 million of state funds to use the likeness ofHowie Mandel andDonald Trump on lottery tickets.[20]
Cline was named Legislator of the Year by the Virginia Court Clerks' Association in 2011 and by the Virginia Sheriff's Association in 2012.[21]
Cline also introduced several bills regarding the rights of defendants and inmates. In 2003, he introduced HB2231, which gives probation officers greater access to juvenile defendants' records so that risk assessments could be more easily prepared.[22] In 2009 he opposed the closure of the Natural Bridge Juvenile Correctional Center, the last remaining facility solely for nonviolent offenders in the Commonwealth of Virginia at the time of its closing,[23] and introduced HB873 in 2010 to require the Department of Juvenile Justice to keep at least one facility open for nonviolent juvenile offenders.[24] In 2012, Cline helped negotiate a compromise between law enforcement and prisoner advocates regarding HB836, which restricted the usage ofrestraints on pregnant inmates, by supporting the intent of the legislation in the form of a rule change by the Virginia Board of Corrections, winning praise locally for his involvement on the issue.[25][26][27] In 2013, Cline helped craft and supported HB2103, which improves parole process for inmates still eligible for parole in Virginia.[28][failed verification]
Carmen Forman ofThe Roanoke Times called Cline "staunchlyanti-abortion."[29] In 2007 and subsequent years, he introduced legislation requiring that information regarding the option of providing anesthesia to the baby be given to women seeking abortions after 20 weeks and requiring doctors to do so if requested by the mother.[30][31][32]
Cline announced his candidacy for the United States House of Representatives, in a bid to replace outgoing Representative Bob Goodlatte, for whom Cline had previously served as chief of staff. He entered a field of eight candidates, his top rival beingCynthia Dunbar, the incumbent RNC Committeewoman from Virginia.
The convention process was immediately tainted by accusations that the District Committee leadership was attempting to slant the convention in Dunbar's favor. 6th District Chairman Scott Sayre was heard admonishing the other candidates that their primary goal needed to be to defeat Cline. 6th District Vice Chair Matthew Tederick was a paid staffer for Dunbar, as were several other members of the District Committee.
Led by Dunbar supporters, the District Committee attempted to push through a "plurality" rule for the Congressional race so that whoever got the highest vote on the first ballot would win. In a field of eight candidates, that number could have been significantly lower than 51% (even as low as 20%), which elicited accusations that the District Committee thought that Dunbar couldn't beat Cline on her own merits. This rule was challenged to the State Central Committee of theRepublican Party of Virginia and overturned by the SCC. It turned out to be unnecessary since Rockingham County Clerk of Court Chaz Haywood (another candidate) dropped out of the race at the Convention and endorsed Cline.[33] With that endorsement, Cline received 52.62% of the vote to Dunbar's 39.15%.
The final tally was: Cline, 52.62%; Dunbar, 39.15%; Douglas Wright, 3.63%; Elliot Pope, 2.59%; Michael Desjadon, 1.19%; Eduardo Justo, 0.51%; Kathryn McDaniel Lewis, 0.25%, and Haywood, who appeared on the ballot despite his late withdrawal, 0.06%. With Cline winning a majority on the first ballot, he secured the nomination and moved on to the general election.
According to Amy Friedenberger ofThe Roanoke Times, Cline established himself in his 16 years in the Virginia House of Delegates "as a conservative who opposes abortion rights and seeks to protect gun rights... [who said] he would take his fiscal conservatism to Washington."[12] According to theStaunton News Leader, aUSA Today newspaper in Cline's district, Cline's House campaign website detailed "his record of supporting conservative legislation in the House of Delegates... [where he] voted against a tax increase, helped make budget cuts to the state's 'bloated bureaucracy,' and sponsored legislation that would ban sanctuary cities".[34] At his election victory celebration, Representative-elect Cline told his supporters, "Being part of the checks and balances that our Founding Fathers envisioned is a responsibility that I will guard seriously."[34] In an interview as he arrived for his swearing in at the House, Cline described to aStaunton, Virginia, news reporter his 6th district as having 800,000 constituents in "19 cities and counties... each one [with] different character and different political affiliations".[35]
Cline was reelected in 2020 with 64.7% of the vote, defeating Democrat Nicholas Betts.[36]
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Cline was reelected in 2022 with 64.4% of the vote, defeating Democrat Jennifer Lewis. The election took place in the newly redrawn 6th district following reapportionment.[37]
Cline's assignments in the House include serving on the Judiciary Committee, which includes some responsibilities regarding theMueller Report.[38]
In December 2020, Cline was one of 126 Republican members of theHouse of Representatives to sign anamicus brief in support ofTexas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at theUnited States Supreme Court contesting the results of the2020 presidential election, in whichJoe Biden defeated[39] incumbentDonald Trump.
On January 6, 2021, Cline voted against certifying the election of President-elect Biden.[40]
According to an algorithm developed by researchers atFiveThirtyEight, although Cline is a member of the bipartisanProblem Solvers Caucus, his voting record aligns more with "far-right obstructionists" likeMarjorie Taylor Greene.[41][42]
He voted to provide Israel with support followingOctober 7 attacks[43][44]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ben Cline | 167,957 | 59.7 | |
| Democratic | Jennifer Lewis | 113,133 | 40.2 | |
| N/A | Write-ins | 287 | 0.1 | |
| Total votes | 281,377 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ben Cline (incumbent) | 246,606 | 64.6 | |
| Democratic | Nicholas Betts | 134,729 | 35.3 | |
| N/A | Write-ins | 478 | 0.1 | |
| Total votes | 381,813 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ben Cline (incumbent) | 173,352 | 64.4 | |
| Democratic | Jennifer Lewis | 95,410 | 35.4 | |
| N/A | Write-ins | 472 | 0.2 | |
| Total votes | 269,234 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ben Cline (incumbent) | 256,933 | 63.1 | |
| Democratic | Ken Mitchell | 141,612 | 34.8 | |
| Independent | Robby Wells | 7,980 | 2.0 | |
| Write-in | 510 | 0.1 | ||
| Total votes | 407,035 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
Cline married Elizabeth Rocovich Cline in 2007; they have twin daughters. Since his election to Congress, he has moved from his longtime home in Rockbridge County, near Lexington, toBotetourt County.[1][35][6] He is Catholic and attends St. Patrick's Church in Lexington.[1]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's 6th congressional district 2019–present | Incumbent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 195th | Succeeded by |
 | ||
