Curt Clawson

Curtis Jay Clawson (born September 28, 1959) is an American politician who served as the United States representative for Florida's 19th congressional district from 2014 to 2017. He is the former chief executive of Hayes Lemmerz, a Michigan-based automobile wheel and brakes supplier.^[1][2]

Curt Clawson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 19th district
In office June 25, 2014 – January 3, 2017
Preceded by	Trey Radel
Succeeded by	Francis Rooney
Personal details
Born	Curtis Jay Clawson (1959-09-28) September 28, 1959 (age 65) Tacoma, Washington, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Education	Purdue University (BA, BS) Harvard University (MBA)
Basketball career
No. 33 – Purdue Boilermakers
Position	Point guard / shooting guard
League	Big Ten Conference
Personal information
Listed height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Career information
High school	Batesville High School, Indiana
College	University of Utah (1978–1979) Purdue University (1981–1984)
Career highlights
1× Big Ten Conference Champion (1984) 2× All–Academic Big Ten (1983, 1984)

Early life and education

Clawson attended Batesville High School in Batesville, Indiana. A high school basketball star, he was recruited by Gene Keady.^[3] At Purdue, he was a 2× All-Academic Big Ten selection (1982–83 and 1983–84). He was a team captain for the 1983–84 Big Ten Champions, was a member of 2× NCAA teams (1982–83 and 1983–84) and an NIT Finalist team (1981–82).^[4] He graduated in 1984 with a BA in Spanish and a BS from the Krannert School of Management.^[3] He was named a "Purdue Old Master" in 2010 and received the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2014.^[3]

In 1990, he earned an MBA from Harvard University.^[3]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2014 special

Main article: 2014 Florida's 19th congressional district special election

Clawson was the Republican Party nominee in a special election to fill the seat being vacated by Trey Radel.^[5] and won the election on June 24, 2014. In the April 22, 2014 Republican primary—the real contest in this heavily Republican district—Clawson defeated State Senate Majority Leader Lizbeth Benacquisto and former State Representative Paige Kreegel with 38% of the vote to Benacquisto's 26% and Kreegel's 25%.^[5] Clawson was endorsed in the primary by the Tea Party Express.^[4] He spent $2 million on advertising and in one of his ads he challenged U.S. President Barack Obama to a game of one on one basketball.^[4]

2014 general

Main article: 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida § District 19

Clawson won a full term in November 2014 with 64 percent of the vote.

Tenure

Clawson delivered the Tea Party response to President Obama's State of the Union Address in 2015.^[6][7]

On May 20, 2016, Clawson announced that he would not seek re-election that year, citing his desire to support his father in the aftermath of his mother's death the previous year.^[8]

Clawson was a member of the Congressional Constitution Caucus.^[9]

Electoral history

2014 (special)

Republican primary results^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Curt Clawson	26,857	38
	Republican	Lizbeth Benacquisto	18,032	26
	Republican	Paige Kreegel	17,762	25
	Republican	Michael Dreikorn	7,560	11
Total votes			70,211	100

Florida's 19th Congressional District special election, 2014^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Curt Clawson	66,922	66.9
	Democratic	April Freeman	29,314	29.3
	Libertarian	Ray Netherwood	3,729	3.7
	Write-In	Timothy J. Rossano	24	0.0
Total votes			99,989	100.0

2014

Florida's 19th Congressional District Election (2014)^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Curt Clawson*	159,354	64.6
	Democratic	April Freeman	80,824	32.7
	Libertarian	Ray Netherwood	6,671	2.7
	Write-In	Timothy J. Rossano	12	0.0
Total votes			246,861	100.0