Sanford Bishop
Official portrait, 2023
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromGeorgia's2nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 1993
Preceded by	Charles Hatcher
Member of theGeorgia State Senate from the15th district
In office January 14, 1991 – January 3, 1993
Preceded by	Gary Parker
Succeeded by	Ed Harbison
Member of theGeorgia House of Representatives from the 94th district
In office January 10, 1977 – January 14, 1991
Preceded by	Ed Berry
Succeeded by	Bill Lee
Personal details
Born	Sanford Dixon Bishop Jr. (1947-02-04)February 4, 1947 (age 78) Mobile, Alabama, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Vivian Creighton
Children	1
Education	Morehouse College (BA) Emory University (JD)
Website	House website Campaign website
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1968–1971
Bishop's voice Bishop on the FY2015 Military Construction and Veterans' Affairs Appropriations Bill. Recorded April 30, 2014

Sanford Dixon Bishop Jr. (born February 4, 1947)^[1] is an American lawyer and politician serving as theU.S. representative forGeorgia's 2nd congressional district since 1993. He became the dean ofGeorgia's congressional delegation after the death ofJohn Lewis. A member of theBlue Dog Coalition, he belongs to themoderate faction of theDemocratic Party. His district is in southwestern Georgia and includesAlbany,Thomasville, and most ofColumbus andMacon.

Bishop was born inMobile, Alabama, to Minnie B. Slade and Sanford Dixon Bishop,^[2] the first president ofBishop State Community College. Bishop obtained aBachelor of Arts degree fromMorehouse College in 1968, majoring inpolitical science and minoring inEnglish, and aJuris Doctor from theEmory University School of Law in 1971.^[1][3] At Morehouse, he was a classmate ofHerman Cain. He served in theUnited States Army between 1969 and 1971.^[4] Bishop subsequently operated a law firm inColumbus, Georgia.

Bishop has received theDistinguished Eagle Scout Award from theBoy Scouts of America (BSA), given toEagle Scouts for distinguished career achievement.^[5][6] He is a member of BSA'sOrder of the Arrow (OA) and as a youth was on the OA ceremonies team.^[5] He is a resident ofAlbany, Georgia, where he is a member of the Mount Zion Baptist Church. Bishop is a Life Member ofKappa Alpha Psi fraternity, initiated at Morehouse's Pi chapter.^[7] He is aShriner and33° Mason.^[8]

Bishop is married to Vivian Creighton, who served from 1993 to 2021 as Municipal Clerk ofColumbus.

Bishop was elected to theGeorgia House of Representatives in 1977, where he remained until being elected to theGeorgia Senate in 1990.

After only one term in the state senate, he ran for the 2nd district in 1992, which was held by six-term U.S. CongressmanCharles Hatcher, a white moderate Democrat. The 2nd had been reconfigured as a black-majority district duringcongressional apportionment following the1990 Census. Bishop finished second behind Hatcher in a crowded six-way primary. Hatcher failed to reach the 50% threshold, and was forced into a runoff election. During the campaign Bishop attacked Hatcher for bouncing 819 checks in theHouse banking scandal. Bishop defeated him 53%–47%.^[9] In the general election, he defeated Republican Jim Dudley 64%–36%.^[10]

In the Democratic primary, he defeated James Bush 67%–33%.^[11] In the general election, he won reelection to a second term with 66%.^[12]

In 1995, a 5–4 majority of the Supreme Court ruled that the redistricting of Georgia had violated the equal protection clause of theFourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The 2nd district was thus redrawn. The newly redrawn district was 60% white. Nonetheless, Bishop won reelection to a third term with 54% of the vote.^[13]

Bishop won reelection to a fourth term against RepublicanJoseph F. McCormick with 57% of the vote.^[14] During the campaign, Bishop received twice the campaign financing that his opponent raised.^[15][16]

Bishop defeated Dylan Glenn, a young black Republican who received strong backing from many national Republican leaders. The vote was 53%–47%.^[17]

Bishop won reelection to a sixth term unopposed.^[18]

Bishop won reelection to a seventh term with 67% of the vote.^[19]

He won reelection to an eighth term with 68% of the vote.^[20]

Bishop won reelection to a ninth term with 69% of the vote.^[21]

Bishop won reelection to a tenth term against RepublicanState RepresentativeMike Keown, 51%–49%,^[22] the closest margin of his career. In a year where the Democrats lost the majority in the House,The New York Times wrote that Bishop's reelection odds seemed slim because he was an "incumbent in an anti-Washington year", because he was a black man in a majority white district (49% White, 47% Black), and because of a scholarship scandal at his nonprofit.^[23]

After redistricting, the 2nd district became a black-majority district. Notably, it added most of Macon, previously the heart of the 8th district. Bishop was heavily favored in the general election as a result.^[24] He defeated Republican John House with 63% of the vote, winning an eleventh term in Congress.^[25]

Bishop ran for a twelfth term and defeated Republican Greg Duke in the general election, winning 59.1% of the vote.^[26]

Bishop ran for a thirteenth term and defeated Republican Greg Duke for a second time in the general election, this time winning 61.2% of the vote.^[27]

Bishop ran for a fourteenth term and defeated Republican Herman West Jr. in the general election, winning 59.6% of the vote.^[28]

Bishop ran for a fifteenth term and defeated Republican Don Cole in the general election, winning 59.1% of the vote.^[29]

Bishop ran for a sixteenth term and defeated Republican Chris West in the general election, winning 55% of the vote.^[30]

Bishop ran for a seventeenth term and defeated Republican Wayne Johnson in the general election, winning 56.3% of the vote.^[31]

Bishop is a member of theCongressional Black Caucus,^[32] as well as theBlue Dog Democrats,^[33] a group of moderate to conservative House Democrats. Due to his willingness to work across the aisle, Bishop was ranked the 16th most bipartisan member of the114th Congress. The ranking was part of the Bipartisan Index put forth byThe Lugar Center in collaboration with Georgetown University.^[34] As of 2022, Bishop has voted with President Joe Biden 100% of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight.^[35]

Serving a primarily agricultural district, Bishop has fought to preserve the federal price supports for peanuts, southwest Georgia's most important crop.The New York Times quoted the chairman of the agency that administers federal farm programs in Georgia as saying, "It's questionable whether it would have survived without the votes [Bishop] brought to it".^[36] In 1997, Bishop caused considerable controversy within his own party by cosponsoring a bill by U.S. RepresentativeErnest Istook to introduce a constitutional amendment to protect religious expression on public property, known as the H. J. Res, 78, the Religious Freedom Amendment. The wording of the amendment allowing the practice of religion on public property, most notably public schools:

To secure the people's fight to acknowledge God according to the dictates of conscience: The people's right to pray and to recognize their religious beliefs, heritage and traditions shall not be infringed. The Government shall not require any person to join in prayer or other religious activity, prescribe school prayers, discriminate against religion, or deny equal access to a benefit on account of religion ... The people's right to pray and to recognize their religious beliefs, heritage, or traditions on public property, including schools, shall not be infringed.^[37]

On October 10, 2002, Bishop was one of only four of 36 Congressional Black Caucus members to vote for thejoint resolution authorizing theIraq War. The other three Congressional Black Caucus members who voted for the resolution are no longer members of Congress:Bill Jefferson,Albert Wynn, andHarold Ford Jr.^[38][39][40]

On September 10, 2007, Bishop endorsedBarack Obama for President and co-chaired the Georgia for Obama campaign; his wife, Vivian Creighton Bishop, a municipal court clerk in Columbus, co-chaired the Georgia Women forHillary committee.^[41]

Bishop serves on the Appropriations Committee, and chairs the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies.

Bishop voted to provide Israel with funding in the 2023Gaza-Israel conflict.^[42][43]

In 2025, Bishop was one of 46 House Democrats who joined all Republicans to vote for theLaken Riley Act.^[44]

In September 2010, theAssociated Press reported that Bishop had, between 2003 and 2005, directed scholarships and awards funded by theCongressional Black Caucus to ineligible persons, including his stepdaughter, Aayesha Owens Reese; his niece, Emmaundia J. Whitaker; and other people with close ties to his family, threatening to turn the program into a political problem for the party. Ashton McRae released a statement by Bishop's office: "It is our understanding that the CBC Foundation in 2008 revisited the guidelines and processes for its scholarship programs, and as such, included language to clarify that CBC family members are not eligible to receive the scholarships. These scholarships ... were awarded prior to 2008."^[45] Ultimately Bishop's spokesman said he would repay the scholarship fund for any awards he made in violation of the rules.^[46]Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington mentioned Bishop in its annual Most Corrupt Members of Congress report in 2011.^[47]

In 1997, thePigford v. Glickman lawsuit came out of legislative discrimination against black farmers. The case was led by Timothy Pigford and 400 black farmers.The Washington Times reported that by the end of the case in 1999, over 94,000 claims were filed in conjunction with the original case, "even though the U.S. Census Bureau never counted more than 33,000 black farmers in America during the years in question."^[48] In February 2011, three farmers brought allegations of fraud to Bishop, including Eddie Slaughter, vice president of the Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association. Bishop toldThe Albany Herald that he was aware of fraud in the program, but that the settlement's anti-fraud provisions would prevent disbursement of funds to those who didn't qualify.^[49][50] Interviews with Slaughter have circulated online and criticism has been raised about his comments about fraud allegations leading to the end of the program.^[51]

In 2020, theOffice of Congressional Ethics released a report alleging Bishop misused over $90,000 of campaign funds to cover personal expenses^[52] like fuel, golf expenses, meals, travel, tuition and entertainment. A fullHouse Ethics Committee investigation was subsequently launched.^[53]

For the119th Congress:^[54]

• Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies (Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government
  • Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies

• Black Maternal Health Caucus^[55]
• Congressional Black Caucus
• Congressional Taiwan Caucus^[56]
• Blue Dog Coalition^[57]
• Congressional Diabetes Caucus
• International Conservation Caucus
• Sportsmen's Caucus
• Congressional Cement Caucus
• Rare Disease Caucus^[58]
• United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus^[59]
• U.S.-Japan Caucus^[60]

• 2015 - Bishop was appointed as a Member of theMost Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem byQueen Elizabeth II of theUnited Kingdom.^[73]

• List of African-American United States representatives

Wikimedia Commons has media related toSanford Bishop.

• Congressman Sanford Bishop Jr. official U.S. House website
• Sanford Bishop for Congress

• Biography at theBiographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at theFederal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at theLibrary of Congress
• Profile atVote Smart
• Appearances onC-SPAN

• 1947 births
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