Harry Teague | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew Mexico's2nd district | |
| In office January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Steve Pearce |
| Succeeded by | Steve Pearce |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Troy Harry Teague (1949-06-29)June 29, 1949 (age 76) Gracemont, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Nancy Teague |
Troy Harry Teague (born June 29, 1949) is an American former oilman and politician who served as theU.S. representative forNew Mexico's 2nd congressional district, from 2009 until 2011. He is a member of theDemocratic Party.
The district is located in the southern part of the state and includesHobbs,Roswell,Carlsbad,Las Cruces and the southern fourth ofAlbuquerque.
Teague grew up in an impoverished family ofsharecroppers and lived the first nine years of his life in rural centralOklahoma without running water. His family moved toHobbs, New Mexico when he was nine years old. He attended Hobbs High School but dropped out at the age of 17 to work in the oil fields to support his sick parents.[1][2] He is married to Nancy Teague and has two children and five grandchildren. Teague is a small business owner of a company that now employs 250 people and is a member of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association.[3]
Teague was elected as a Democrat to the Republican-controlledLea County Board of Commissioners. He served on the Board for eight years, and was elected chairman by his fellow Board members for three and a half of those years.[4]
In 2008,Republican incumbentSteve Pearce of the 2nd congressional district declined to run for re-election, instead unsuccessfully seeking the U.S. Senate seat left open by the retirement ofPete Domenici. Teague ran for the Democratic nomination against Bill McCamley, winning with 52 percent of the primary vote. The winner of the five-way Republican primary wasEdward R. Tinsley, aCapitanrancher and the owner of theK-Bob's Steakhouse restaurant chain.
Although the 2nd has historically been the most conservative district in New Mexico, polls showed the race to be very competitive. Ultimately, Teague won in the general election with 56 percent of the vote to Tinsley's 44 percent. He received strong support from the western side of the district, as well as from its large Latino population. Teague and the Democratic Party outspent Tinsley and the Republican Party by over $3 million in the 2008 campaign.
His victory returned the 2nd to the Democrats for the first time in 28 years.
November 2, 2010, Teague lost his Seat to former Republican congressman and business ownerSteve Pearce, with Teague receiving 45% of the vote, andPearce receiving 55%.[5]
Early in the111th Congress, Teague introduced legislation that would modify theInternal Revenue Code of 1986 by providing for the refundability of thechild tax credit for five years and extending credit for electricity produced using certainrenewable resources. This legislation has been referred to theHouse Ways and Means Committee.
Teague is a co-sponsor of the Southwest Border Violence Reduction Act of 2009, which would direct theUnited States Attorney General to expand resources for theBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives initiative to identify, investigate, and prosecutefirearms trafficking across the U.S. border withMexico. The bill has been referred to both theHouse Committee on the Judiciary and theHouse Committee on Foreign Affairs.
On January 28, 2009, the House agreed to an amendment, proposed by Teague, to theAmerican Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The amendment requires theRecovery.gov website to have links to job information at public agencies receiving funding under the bill and at private firms contracted to perform work under the bill. Later that day, the House voted, 244-188, to pass the Act.[6]
Teague was one of 39 Democrats in the House to vote against theAffordable Healthcare for America Act and he also voted against the reconciled bill from the Senate language on March 21, 2010.[7]
In June 2009, Teague voted for theAmerican Clean Energy and Security Act.[8] At a meeting that occurred following the vote, a group ofTea Party activists disrupted the meeting because they were upset that Teague was meeting with constituents on a one-on-one basis, and to express their frustration with the vote.[9][10] A 2009Pew Environment Group poll had found that 69% of voters in New Mexico's 2nd district would support an energy bill that mandated electric utilities to generate 20% of their electricity from renewable sources and reduce carbon emissions.[11]
In 2020, Teague endorsed RepublicanYvette Herrell in the congressional race for his former seat, over Democratic incumbentXochitl Torres Small.[12] Herrell ultimately defeated Torres Small in the general election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Harry Teague | 129,572 | 55.96 | |||
| Republican | Edward R. Tinsley | 101,980 | 44.04 | |||
| Total votes | 231,552 | 100.0 | ||||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | ||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Steve Pearce | 94,053 | 55.40 | |||
| Democratic | Harry Teague (Incumbent) | 75,709 | 44.60 | |||
| Total votes | 169,762 | 100.0 | ||||
| Republicangain fromDemocratic | ||||||
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew Mexico's 2nd congressional district 2009–2011 | 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 |
| Territorial (1851–1912) |
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| At-large seats (1912–1969) |
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| Districts (1969–present) (3rd district established in 1983) |
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