Baron Hill | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2007 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIndiana's9th district | |
| In office January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Mike Sodrel |
| Succeeded by | Todd Young |
| In office January 3, 1999 – January 3, 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Lee Hamilton |
| Succeeded by | Mike Sodrel |
| Member of theIndiana House of Representatives from the 66th district | |
| In office November 3, 1982 – November 7, 1990 | |
| Preceded by | Bobby Pruett |
| Succeeded by | Bill Bailey |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Baron Paul Hill (1953-06-23)June 23, 1953 (age 72) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Betty Schepman |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Furman University (BA) |
| Website | Campaign website |
Baron Paul Hill (born June 23, 1953) is a retired American politician who served as aU.S. Representative forIndiana's 9th congressional district from 1999 to 2005 and from 2007 to 2011.
A native ofSeymour, Indiana, Hill is aDemocrat, and as a member of Congress belonged to theconservative-leaningBlue Dog Coalition of that party. Hill's district is in the southeastern part of the state, stretching fromBloomington to the Indiana side of theLouisville metropolitan area.
Hill attendedSeymour High School, where he was a first-team all-state player inbasketball and anall-American. He set the record for leading scorer in school history, with 1,724 points.[1] He was inducted into theIndiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000.[1][2]
Hill graduated from high school in 1971[2] and accepted an athletic scholarship toFurman University inGreenville, South Carolina, where he graduated in 1975.[1][3] After graduating from college, Hill moved back toSeymour, Indiana and joined his family's business.[3]
Hill was a member of theIndiana House of Representatives from 1982 to 1990.[4][1][5] Hill chaired the state House Democratic Caucus' Campaign Committee from 1985 to 1989,[6] and in that position helped Democrats win House elections and secure a majority.[5]
In 1990, as a state representative, Hill ran for the U.S. Senate in the1990 special election to fill the last two years ofDan Quayle's term (Quayle had been electedVice President). Hill attracted much attention (andearned media) during that race for walking the length of the state (from theOhio River toLake Michigan) to meet with voters.[5][7] Hill ultimately lost to SenatorDan Coats (who governorRobert Orr had appointed to fill the vacancy), 54% to 46% a smaller margin than expected.[7]
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During five non-consecutive terms in theUnited States House of Representatives, Hill was a member of theBlue Dog Coalition of moderate andconservative Democrats.[8][9] Hill served as the Blue Dogs' co-chair for communications[10] and later as co-chair for policy.[11]
In 2001, Hill voted for theNo Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).[12] In 2008, Hill said that the law needed to be revamped, saying that he did not object to accountability for schools, but that the act infringed too much on local control and unrealistically requiredspecial needs children to meet standardized testing requirements.[13] Hill also said that the federal government had failed to provide an increase in federal school funding, as had been promised when NCLB was passed.[13]
Hill voted in 2002 toauthorize the use of the military force against Iraq in 2002,[14] but criticized theGeorge W. Bush administration's conduct of the reconstruction of Iraq.[15][16] In October 2003, Hill said that the2003 invasion had been well-planned but the subsequent reconstruction had not: "The president did not plan well for winning the peace and for rebuilding the nation."[15][16] Hill blasted Bush's "go-it-alone" strategy and said that Bush had failed to obtain support from theinternational community, leading to huge U.S. expenditures that sapped away funding that could otherwise go to domestic priorities such as "homeland security, health care, education anddebt reduction."[15][16]
In 2007, Hill—along with RepresentativeLee Terry ofNebraska, a Republican—introduced a measure seeking to increaseCorporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards to between 32 mpg (7.4 L/100 km) and 35 mpg (6.7 L/100 km) by 2022.[17] The Hill-Terry proposal was more limited than a competing proposal introduced by RepresentativeEdward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, and RepresentativeTodd Russell Platts, Republican of Pennsylvania, which sought to raise CAFE standards for combined car-truck fleets to 35 mpg by 2018.[17] The Hill-Terry proposal was supported by theUnited Auto Workers.[17] and by industry groups such as theAlliance of Automobile Manufacturers andNational Association of Manufacturers,[18] while the Markey-Platts proposal was backed by theSierra Club and other environmentalist groups.[17] Thefinal energy bill was a compromise that mandated a 35 mpg CAFE standard by 2020.[19]
In 2008, ahead of theIndiana presidential primary, Hill endorsedBarack Obama overHillary Clinton.[7]
Hill voted against theEmergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which created theTroubled Asset Relief Program ("Wall Street bailout").[7] Hill supported theAmerican Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (Waxman-Markey), acap-and-trade bill which ultimately did not pass.[7] Hill also voted for the 2009American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (aneconomic stimulus package championed by President Obama)[7] and the 2010Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, landmarkhealth care reform legislation.[7][20]
During his last years in the House, Hill earned a 70 percent rating from theHuman Rights Campaign, anLGBT rights advocacy group. Hill supported the repeal ofdon't ask, don't tell, voted for theEmployment Non-Discrimination Act in 2010, and opposed aproposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriage.[21] Hill did not campaign forsame-sex marriage, however, and did not cosponsor legislation brought by 121 Democrats to repeal theDefense of Marriage Act, which barred federal recognition of same-sex marriage.[21] As public attitudes changed, Hill's position shifted, and in 2015, while running for Senate, Hill said: "Marriage equality is especially close to my own heart. I’m proud of Hoosiers who are fighting to make sure our friends and neighbors are guaranteed equal rights."[21]
Hill was elected to the House in November 1998. He defeated RepublicanJean Leising, 51% to 48% and Libertarian Diane Merriam, 1%, winning the seat vacated by retiring 34-year incumbentLee H. Hamilton.
Hill was reelected in 2000, defeating Republican Michael Bailey 54% to 44%.
In 2002, Hill defeated RepublicanMike Sodrel with 51% of the vote. Sodrel, aNew Albany trucking company owner, had 46%.
In November 2004, in a rematch, Hill lost to Sodrel by 1,425 votes (about a half of a percentage point). There was a recount following reports of voting irregularities, namely malfunctioningvoting machines in at least three counties.[27][28] Hill gained only about two dozen votes in the recount, however, and conceded the election in early December 2004.[29]
Hill won the Democratic nomination in the 9th district in 2006. He was included in the "First Wave" of theDemocratic Congressional Campaign Committee's "Red-to-Blue" program.[30]
Texas millionaireBob J. Perry gave more than $5 million to theEconomic Freedom Fund, a527 group, which included Hill as one of its targets. The group paid for automated "push poll" calls attacking Hill. Such calls were stopped after action by the Indiana Attorney General.[31]Cook Political Report rated the race as a toss-up.[32]
Hill won the 2006 election with 50% of the vote; Sodrel received 46% and Libertarian Eric Schansberg 4 percent.[33]
As is the custom for returning members of Congress, the Democrats gave Hill back his seniority.[34] He was named to theEnergy and Commerce andScience and Technology committees.
In 2008 Hill and Sodrel again fought for the 9th district. The race moved between Likely D to Lean D on the Cook Political Report.[35] Fund raising in 2008 had become more one-sided than in 2006, with Hill far ahead in the numbers game, according to reported income.[36]
Hill defeated Sodrel in the election, 58% to 38%.[37]
Hill ran unsuccessfully for reelection, losing to Republican nomineeTodd Young on November 2, 2010.
| Year | Democrat | Votes | % | Republican | Votes | % | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | % | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | % | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998[38] | Baron P. Hill | 92,973 | 51% | Jean Leising | 87,797 | 48% | Diane L. Feeney | Libertarian | 2,406 | 1% | |||||||||
| 2000[39] | Baron P. Hill | 126,420 | 54% | Michael Bailey | 102,219 | 44% | Sara Chambers | Libertarian | 4,644 | 2% | |||||||||
| 2002[40] | Baron P. Hill | 96,654 | 51% | Mike Sodrel | 87,169 | 46% | Jeff Melton | Green | 2,745 | 2% | Al Cox | Libertarian | 2,389 | 1% | |||||
| 2004[41] | Baron P. Hill | 140,772 | 49% | Mike Sodrel | 142,197 | 49% | Al Cox | Libertarian | 4,541 | 2% | |||||||||
| 2006[33] | Baron P. Hill | 110,454 | 50% | Mike Sodrel | 100,469 | 46% | D. Eric Schansberg | Libertarian | 9,893 | 4% | Donald W. Mantooth | Write-in/independent | 33 | ||||||
| 2008[42] | Baron P. Hill | 181,281 | 58% | Mike Sodrel | 120,529 | 38% | D. Eric Schansberg | Libertarian | 11,994 | 4% | |||||||||
| 2010[43] | Baron P. Hill | 95,353 | 42% | Todd Young | 118,040 | 52% | Gregg "No Bull" Knott | Libertarian | 12,070 | Jerry R. Lucas | Write-in/independent | 69 |
In 2011, after leaving Congress, Hill was hired byAPCO Worldwide, "as a senior vice president in the company's government relations practice and a member of the firm's international advisory council."[44]
APCO represents a number of clients listed inLobbying Disclosure Act filings.[45] In 2014, Hill left APCO to start his own solo lobbying firm, representingCook Industries, a company located in his former district.[45]
In 2014, Hill announced he was consideringrunning for Governor in 2016.[46]
Following an announcement by SenatorDan Coats that he would not seek reelection, however, Hill announced on May 15, 2015, that he would seek the open Senate seat as the Democratic nominee.[47] Democratic state RepresentativeChristina Hale considered running for the seat as well,[47] but ultimately decided against it.[48]
Former GovernorEvan Bayh, who from 1999 to 2011 served in the Senate in the same seat held by Coats, initially opted against joining the race.[49] Hill therefore ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination, setting up a rematch with Todd Young.[50] However, Hill withdrew from the general election on July 11, 2016, in favor of Bayh, who announced he was entering the race.[51] Young won the general election on November 8, 2016.
Hill is married to Betty Hill (née Schepman), a public-school math teacher. They have three adult daughters.[5][52]
Hill is aMethodist[52] and a member of the First United Methodist Church in Seymour.[53]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromIndiana (Class 3) 1990 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theBlue Dog Coalition for Communications 2003–2005 Served alongside:Jim Turner (Administration),Charles Stenholm (Policy) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theBlue Dog Coalition for Policy 2009–2011 Served alongside:Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (Administration),Charlie Melancon,Jim Matheson (Communications) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromIndiana (Class 3) Withdrew 2016 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIndiana's 9th congressional district 1999–2005 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIndiana's 9th congressional district 2007–2011 | 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 |
