Chris Shays | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromConnecticut's4th district | |
| In office September 9, 1987 – January 3, 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Stewart McKinney |
| Succeeded by | Jim Himes |
| Member of theConnecticut House of Representatives from the147th district | |
| In office January 8, 1975 – September 8, 1987 | |
| Preceded by | James Bingham |
| Succeeded by | Christopher Burnham |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Christopher Hunter Shays (1945-10-18)October 18, 1945 (age 80) |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Betsi DeRaismes |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | Principia College (BA) New York University (MBA,MPA) |
Shays discussing bipartisan consensus on the9/11 Commission's recommendations. Recorded October 7, 2004 | |
Christopher Hunter Shays[1] (born October 18, 1945) is an American politician. He previously served in theUnited States House of Representatives as representative of the4th District ofConnecticut from 1987 to 2009. He is a member of theRepublican Party.
Shays was the only Republican congressman fromNew England elected to the110th United States Congress in the 2006 midterm elections. His loss toJim Himes in the 2008 election made New England's House delegation entirelyDemocratic in the111th Congress. He was the most senior member of the House of Representatives to be defeated in the 2008 election.
In 2009, Shays was appointed to co-chair the Commission on Wartime Contracting.[2] The commission is an independent, bipartisan legislative commission established to study wartime contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Created in Section 841 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, this eight-member commission is mandated by Congress to study federal agency contracting for the reconstruction, logistical support of coalition forces, and the performance of security functions in Iraq and Afghanistan. He co-chaired the government watchdog commission that identified and raised alarm over $60 billion of waste, fraud, and abuse in wartime contingency contracting and presented to Congress reforms to address this wasteful spending.[3]
Shays was a candidate for the2012 Republican U.S. Senate nomination to replace retiring Connecticut senatorJoe Lieberman.[4]However, he lost the August 14 primary toLinda McMahon.[5] To date, he is the last Republican to have represented Connecticut in Congress.
Shays was born inStamford, Connecticut, the son of Margaret "Peggy" (née Oliver) and Thurston Crane Shays. His maternal grandmother was born inScotland.[1] He grew up inDarien, and graduated fromDarien High School in 1964.[6] He attended the Christian SciencePrincipia College in Elsah, Illinois, and received both aMaster of Business Administration and aMaster of Public Administration fromNew York University. He lives in the Black Rock section ofBridgeport, Connecticut.[7] Shays has always remained a Christian Scientist—a system of thought and practice derived from the writings ofMary Baker Eddy and the Bible—throughout his life.[8]
Shays married Betsi DeRaismes in 1968. They served together in thePeace Corps inFiji from 1968 to 1970. They have one daughter.
At the age of 29, Shays was first elected to the Connecticut House where he served from 1975 to 1987.[9] He served simultaneously as the ranking member of both the Appropriations Committee and the Committee on Finance, Revenue, and Bonding. He also served as a member of the Judiciary Committee. He served six days in jail on a contempt charge when he was a member of the Connecticut Legislature protesting judicial corruption.[9]
In 1987, Shays won a special election to fill the vacant seat of the late CongressmanStewart McKinney.[10] He represented the 4th congressional district (southwestern Connecticut) until losing to Jim Himes in 2008.[11]
During his 21 years in Congress, Christopher served on the Government Reform, Financial Services, Budget and Homeland Security committees and was the first congressman to enter Iraq after the war.[10]
In 2007, during an incident at the Capitol, a staff member under Shays' supervision attempted to bring a family through a restricted-access door.[12] When aUnited States Capitol Police officer intervened and prevented their entry, Shays engaged in a heated exchange with the officer. He raised his voice, using profanities, and attempted to inspect the officer's badge for identification. Following the incident, Shays publicly acknowledged his regret for his behavior and accepted full responsibility for his actions.[13][14]
Shays is a moderate Republican.[15][16] From 1990 onward, Shays voted with the Republican majority 76.8% of the time, voted with the Democratic majority 57.9% of the time and missed 2.5% of the votes.[17] AU.S. News & World Report analysis of Shays' voting record found that he is amoderate, having voted historically more often withliberals than withconservatives, although it noted he voted with Congressional Republicans 80% of the time in 2002.[16]
Shays is labeled by his supporters as a "maverick"[18] and "independent thinker", while conservative detractors regard him as a RINO ("Republican In Name Only").[19] He andMarty Meehan were the lead sponsors of the House version of theBipartisan Campaign Reform Act, which PresidentGeorge W. Bush signed into law in 2002.[20] Shays ispro-choice onabortion but voted for thePartial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. Shays was endorsed by theBrady Campaign for his support forgun control and was one of only six Republicans to vote against banning lawsuits against gun manufacturers and distributors in 2005.[21] Despite having voted in favor of theDefense of Marriage Act in 1996, Shays voted against theFederal Marriage Amendment in both 2004 and 2006 that would constitutionally bansame-sex marriage, and co-sponsored a bill to overturn the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that prohibitedLGBT troops from serving openly. He was one of the few Republicans to oppose amending theConstitution to ban flag-burning. In 1999 he was one of 20 Republicans to vote against an ultimately failed bill to ban physician-assisted suicide. Shays has long been known for environmental regulations,[22] and was endorsed in the past by theLeague of Conservation Voters.[23] He also advocates humane treatment of animals[24] and ending discrimination in the workplace.[25] Shays was also one of only four Republicans to vote against all four articles of impeachment against PresidentBill Clinton.
In April 2005, he broke with most of his party over House Majority LeaderTom DeLay's alleged ethics violations. January 2011, DeLay was convicted of money laundering and sentenced to three years in prison but was freed on bail while appealing his conviction. His comments in 2005 made Shays the first Republican to say DeLay should step down from the Majority Leader post. He fought to maintain the Republican Party rule that requires an indicted leader to step down — the rule that ultimately resulted in Tom DeLay's resignation. Shays stated that he should resign, saying, "Tom's conduct is hurting the Republican Party, is hurting this Republican majority and it is hurting any Republican who is up for re-election."[26]
Shays is a member of or supported by theRepublican Main Street Partnership,[27] TheRepublican Majority for Choice,[28]Republicans for Environmental Protection,[29] It's My Party Too,[30] and theCongressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus.
Shays voted in favor of the 2003 congressional resolution authorizing the use of force in Iraq. In 2003, he was the first U.S. Congressman to visitIraq after the outbreak of war and he has traveled to Iraq 21 times overall, more than any other U.S. legislator.[31][32]
From 2003 until August 24, 2006, Shays was a "stalwart supporter" of theWar in Iraq, and of a continued U.S. military presence there.[33][34] Shays has faced a continued political challenge to his views in a district where recent polls show a solid majority of voters disapprove of the 2003 US decision to invade Iraq.[35]
On April 10, 2003, Shays told theConnecticut Post that "'The successes to date are extraordinary. The war plan has been nearly flawless. Now we need to make sure the peace plan rises to the same level,' Shays said. 'If we are able to help them form a government quickly, we will be viewed as liberators. If we are there too long, we will be viewed basically as conquerors.'"[36] On August 19, 2004, Shays told reporters, "We're on the right track now."[37] On June 24, 2005, Shays said "We've seen amazing progress [in Iraq]."[38] On July 27, 2005, Shays said on a local radio program that he was optimistic about the future of Iraq, and that he opposed any timetable for troop withdrawal.[39] On June 11, 2006 Shays told theHartford Courant that his position on the war was a matter of principle and he was not going to stop talking about it.[19]
On October 11, 2006, at a debate Shays sparked outrage from critics with comments about theAbu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandal. "Now I've seen what happened in Abu Ghraib, and Abu Ghraib was not torture. It was outrageous, outrageous involvement of National Guard troops from [Maryland] who were involved in a sex ring and they took pictures of soldiers who were naked, and they did other things that were just outrageous. But it wasn't torture."[40]
Upon returning from an August 2006 Iraq trip, Shays became the first Congressional Republican to call for a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.[33] Shays said he was still a supporter of the war, but supported a timetable in order to "encourage some political will on the part of Iraqis".[41]
Shays has staunchly disputed media claims that he has flip-flopped his position on Iraq.[42] "I am not distancing myself from the President," he told the Los Angeles Times on August 25, 2006.[43] That same day, he told other reporters, "I totally support the war," and Shays supported the President's decision to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq on February 17, 2007, when he voted in favor of the surge.[44]
On February 16, 2007, Shays voted against H. Con. Res. 63 (which disapproved of increasing troop levels in Iraq),[45] claiming that "The resolution sends the wrong message to the President, to our troops, and to our enemies"[46]On July 13, 2007 Shays called on Congress to approve withdrawing virtually all American troops from Iraq by December 2008. "I believe we need a timeline. I believe the president's wrong," said Shays. Shays' latest plan marks the first time he has specified dates.[47] On April 13, 2008, Shays defended President Bush's Iraq policy to a town meeting in his home district, telling them, "I support the President on Iraq."[48]
Shays served as a member of theConnecticut House of Representatives from 1975 to 1987, representing part ofStamford (he has since moved toBridgeport). Just a few months after starting his seventh term in the state house, Shays entered a special election for the 4th District after 16-year incumbentStewart McKinney died ofAIDS, and won with 57 percent of the vote. He won the seat in his own right in 1988 and was reelected nine times.
From 1988 to 2002, Shays was reelected fairly handily, never dropping below 57 percent of the vote even as the 4th turned more Democratic at the national level. The district, once a classic "Yankee Republican" district, swung heavily Democratic along with the rest of Connecticut from the early 1990s onward; the last Republican presidential candidate to carry it wasGeorge H. W. Bush in 1988. However, in 2004,WestportFirst SelectwomanDiane Farrell held him to only 52 percent of the vote, his closest contest in two decades.
In 2006, Shays was in "the fight of his political life",[16] facing a rematch with Farrell. According toU.S. News & World Report, "With money pouring in from the district and from national groups (Farrell expects to raise close to $3 million, Shays a bit less) and unregulated political interest groups targeting Shays with automated calls and negative telemarketing designed as polls, this one already has the odor of ugly."[16] According to theU.S. News report, Farrell says that, in 2002, Shays voted in support of Bush's post-9/11 agenda 80% of the time, but other analyses of his voting record revealed that historically he voted more often with liberals.[16]
Despite the strong challenge from Farrell, Shays was re-elected to Congress in the 2006 election by a slim margin of 6,645 votes (3%). Shays lost Bridgeport, Stamford,Norwalk, Westport, andWeston to Farrell, but her margin in those communities was insufficient to overcome Shays' lead in the more Republican towns in the district.
After the defeats ofNancy Johnson andRob Simmons, Shays was the only Republican member of the Connecticut congressional delegation, and the only Republican House member fromNew England.
In the 2008 election, Shays faced Democratic nomineeJim Himes, an affordable housing executive and businessman;Libertarian nominee M.A. Carrano, an experimental philosopher, systems consultant and author; and Green Party nominee Richard Duffee. Shays was defeated by Himes 51% to 48%. Himes was likely assisted byBarack Obama's landslide victory in the 4th; Obama carried the district with 60% of the vote, one of the largest margins for a Republican-held district. Shays' defeat resulted in there being no Republicans representing New England in the House for the first time since theGOP's inception in the 1850s.[49]
Shays carried 14 of the 17 towns in his district. However, Himes took the three largest towns—Bridgeport, Norwalk and Stamford. Ultimately, Shays could not overcome a landslide loss in Bridgeport, the largest city in the district, where he won only 19% of the vote.
Shays officially entered the 2012 U.S. Senate race on August 22, 2011, to replace retiring senatorJoe Lieberman.[4] At the Connecticut State Republican Convention,Linda McMahon earned the endorsement of the state Republican Party by a delegate vote of 658 to 351 over Shays. The two were the only candidates to qualify for theprimary, which would take place on August 14, 2012.
A series of independent polls had shown Shays defeating or in dead heat with the top Democratic contenders in the general election, while those same polls show McMahon losing handily to each of the top Democratic contenders.[50] The Shays campaign asserted the former Congressman showed more electability than McMahon, due to her loss in anopen Senate seat contest in 2010 by a large margin despite spending $50million of her own money, also citing her high unfavorable numbers among state voters, and the weak fundraising numbers of the McMahon campaign.[51]
Despite support among Independents and even some Democrats, Shays faced a significant obstacles in the primary trailing in both campaign funds and poll results. Outspent by more than $60 million,[52] Shays was defeated by a three-to-one margin in the primary.[53][54][55] She faced Democratic RepresentativeChris Murphy in the general election and lost, marking her second consecutive defeat in two years.[56]
In 2013, Shays was a signatory to an amicus curiae brief submitted to the Supreme Court in support of same-sex marriage during theHollingsworth v. Perry case.[57] He was mentioned as a potential candidate forGovernor of Connecticut in2014, but ultimately did not enter that race.[58]
In the 2016 Republican presidential primary, Shays originally endorsed Ohio GovernorJohn Kasich. AfterDonald Trump won the Republican primary, he announced in August 2016 that he would vote for Democratic nomineeHillary Clinton in thegeneral election.[59]
He served as a Fellow at theHarvard Institute of Politics in Spring 2017.[60]
He endorsedJoe Biden, forPresident of the United States of America in the2020 United States elections.[61]
In 2020, Shays, along with over 130 other former Republican national security officials, signed a statement that asserted that President Trump was unfit to serve another term, and "To that end, we are firmly convinced that it is in the best interest of our nation that Vice President Joe Biden be elected as the next President of the United States, and we will vote for him."[62]
In August 2024, he joined the "Republicans for Harris" group along with other former Republican officials in opposition to Trump.[63]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromConnecticut's 4th congressional district 1987–2009 | 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 |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
