Fred Keller | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's12th district | |
| In office May 21, 2019 – January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Tom Marino |
| Succeeded by | Summer Lee |
| Member of thePennsylvania House of Representatives from the85th district | |
| In office January 4, 2011 – May 22, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Russ Fairchild |
| Succeeded by | David H. Rowe |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1965-10-23)October 23, 1965 (age 60) Page, Arizona, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | [citation needed] |
| Children | 2 |
Frederick B. Keller (born October 23, 1965) is an American politician from theCommonwealth ofPennsylvania, who served as theU.S. representative forPennsylvania's 12th congressional district from 2019 to 2023.[1] He was aRepublican member of thePennsylvania House of Representatives for the85th district from 2011 until his resignation in May 2019 following election to the U.S. House.[2][3]
On February 28, 2022, Keller announced that he would not seek reelection in2022 after being drawn out of his Congressional district.[4]
Keller was born inPage, Arizona, to parents who were native Pennsylvanians that had moved west for work.[5] After graduating fromShikellamy High School in 1984,[3] Keller got a job at Conestoga Wood Specialties, a factory that makes cabinets and other wooden kitchen products, inBeavertown, Pennsylvania. He was ultimately promoted to become the plant operations manager.[6][7] In 1990, Keller began a real estate property business, and attended Don Paul Shearer Real Estate school in 1995.[2][5]
In 2010, Keller ran as aRepublican for thePennsylvania House of Representatives in the 85th district, seeking to succeed RepublicanRuss Fairchild, who was retiring.[7] He was elected to the Pennsylvania House, and was reelected every two years through 2018.[8] He was appointed to theboard of trustees of thePennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System in 2019.[9]
FollowingTom Marino's resignation from theUnited States House of Representatives in January 2019, Keller declared his candidacy in the2019 Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district special election.[10]
He won the Republican nomination at a conference meeting on March 2.[11] Keller won the general election on May 21, defeating previous 2018 Democratic nominee Marc Friedenberg, and resigned from his state House seat on May 22.[12][13] He was sworn in on June 3.[14]
Keller ran for and won reelection on November 3, 2020, against Lee Griffin, gaining 70.8% of the vote.[15]
In December 2020, Keller was one of 126 Republican members of theHouse of Representatives who signed 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 prevailed[16] over incumbentDonald Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lackedstanding underArticle III of the Constitution to challenge the results of the election held by another state.[17][18][19]
House SpeakerNancy Pelosi issued a statement that called signing the amicus brief an act of "election subversion." Additionally, Pelosi reprimanded Keller and the other House members who supported the lawsuit: "The 126 Republican Members that signed onto this lawsuit brought dishonor to the House. Instead of upholding their oath to support and defend the Constitution, they chose to subvert the Constitution and undermine public trust in our sacred democratic institutions."[20][21]
Keller voted against the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020, which authorizes DHS to nearly double the available H-2B visas for the remainder of FY 2020.[22][23]
Keller voted against the Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 1158),[24] which effectively prohibits ICE from cooperating with Health and Human Services to detain or remove illegal alien sponsors of unaccompanied alien children (UACs).[citation needed]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Fred Keller | 90,000 | 68.1% | +2.0% | |
| Democratic | Marc Friedenberg | 42,195 | 31.9% | −2.0% | |
| Total votes | 132,195 | 100.0% | N/A | ||
| Republicanhold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Fred Keller (incumbent) | 14,714 | 67.7% | −32.3% | |
| Democratic | Jennifer Rager-Kay | 7,012 | 32.3% | N/A | |
| Total votes | 21,726 | 100.0% | N/A | ||
| Republicanhold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Fred Keller (incumbent) | 21,304 | 100.0% | +30.8% | |
| Total votes | 21,304 | 100.0% | N/A | ||
| Republicanhold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Fred Keller (incumbent) | 10,895 | 69.2% | −11.9% | |
| Democratic | Michael Sundberg | 4,857 | 30.8% | N/A | |
| Total votes | 15,752 | 100.0% | N/A | ||
| Republicanhold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Fred Keller (incumbent) | 16,900 | 81.1% | 15.1% | |
| Libertarian | Erik Viker | 3,935 | 18.9% | 9.9% | |
| Total votes | 20,835 | 100.0% | N/A | ||
| Republicanhold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Fred Keller | 11,412 | 66.0% | −4.4% | |
| Democratic | Trey Casimir | 4,323 | 25.0% | −4.6% | |
| Libertarian | Erik Viker | 1,551 | 9.0% | N/A | |
| Total votes | 17,286 | 100.0% | N/A | ||
| Republicanhold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Fred Keller | 3,237 | 44.9% | N/A | |
| Republican | Maurice Brubaker | 2,092 | 29.0% | N/A | |
| Republican | Betsy M. Snook | 1,886 | 26.1% | N/A | |
| Total votes | 7,215 | 100.0% | N/A | ||
Keller has three siblings. Soon after he began working, Keller married his wife Kay. Together, they have two grown children, one of whom survived after being hospitalized on life support and being told there was no chance for recovery. As of April 2019, the Kellers also had two grandchildren.[5]
Keller is aCongregationalist.[32]
In a private text message, Keller suggested to White House Chief of StaffMark Meadows that President Trump state that he was only testingRaffensperger's loyalty to Trump when Trump asked Raffensperger tofind 11,780 votes.[33]
Keller voted against certifying Pennsylvania's electoral votes in the 2020 presidential election.[34]WITF refers to him as "Fred Keller, who voted against certifying Pennsylvania's election results for President Biden despite no evidence to support election-fraud claims."[34]
Keller signed onto a Texas-led lawsuit to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.[35]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's 12th congressional district 2019–2023 | 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 |
