Scott Garrett
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E. Scott Garrett (born July 9, 1959 in Englewood, New Jersey) has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for New Jersey's Fifth Congressional District (map (http://nationalatlas.gov/printable/images/preview/congdist/nj05_109.gif)) since 2003.
Prior to being elected to the House, Garrett served in the New Jersey General Assembly (the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature) from 1990 to 2002 representing the 24th Legislative District, covering the entire area of Sussex County, and several towns in Morris and Hunterdon Counties.
Garrett earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree from Montclair State University in 1981 and a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Rutgers School of Law in (Camden) in 1984.
He'd made two previous runs for the 5th District seat in the Republican primary, but was defeated each time by longtime incumbent Marge Roukema, one of the leading moderate Republicans in the House. When Roukema decided not to seek an 11th term in 2002, Garrett won the Republican nomination. He then defeated Anne Sumers, a former Republican who turned Democrat before the election, by a large margin. Sumers' chances decreased significantly after she made several ill-advised comments about the U.S.-Taliban conflict on an Internet message board. In 2004, Garrett faced an easy race against Anne Wolfe, winning with 58% of the vote.
In marked contrast to Roukema, Garrett's voting record has been far more conservative than has been the case for congressmen from New Jersey or the Northeast in a long time. Indeed, he is one of the most conservative members of the House. He was one of a few conservatives who joined the Democrats in opposing the Medicare Modernization Act in 2003.
External links
- Official website (http://www.house.gov/garrett/)
- Scott Garrett for Congress (http://www.garrettforcongress.com/) - campaign site
- bioguide.congress.gov article on Scott Garrett (http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=G000548)
- Criticism of Scott Garrett (http://www.DumpGarrett.com)