| Michael Burgess | |
 |
|
|
|
|
| Incumbent | |
|
Assumed office January 3, 2003 |
|
| Preceded by | Richard Armey |
|---|---|
|
|
|
| Born | December 23, 1950 Rochester, Minnesota |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Laura Burgess |
| Residence | Flower Mound, Texas |
| Alma mater | North Texas State University, University of Texas |
| Occupation | Obstetrician |
| Religion | Reformed Episcopal Church |
Michael Clifton Burgess, M.D. (born December 23, 1950) is a physician and politician from the state of Texas, currently representing the state's 26th congressional district (map) in the United States House of Representatives.
Contents |
Burgess was born in Rochester, Minnesota to Harry Meredith Burgess and Norma Crowhurst.[1] He graduated from North Texas State University (now UNT) and graduated from the medical school at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and completed a residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas.
Burgess worked in Obstetrics and Gynecology for over 20 years, delivering over 3,000 babies in North Texas, including the second child of Paul LeBon, who, as a Democrat, would be his opponent in the 2002 general election.
Burgess made his first run for elective office in the 2002 Republican primary to fill the seat of Congressman Richard Armey. The winner of the GOP primary was virtually assured of winning the November general election, as the district (comprising the majority of Denton County) was (and remains, even after the redistricting of 2004) strongly Republican.
Using the campaign slogan "We Need a Doctor in the House", and with the endorsement of his fellow physicians, the relatively unknown Burgess took second place in the primary behind Congressman Armey's son Scott (a Denton County Commissioner), finishing with 23% of the vote to Armey's 45%, but Armey's failure to capture a 50% majority led to a runoff election.
Before the runoff was held, The Dallas Morning News reported that Scott Armey used his influence to procure county jobs and contracts for his friends. The report strongly hurt Scott Armey, and in what was considered a mild upset, Burgess beat Armey by a 55% to 45% margin in the runoff. As expected, Burgess went on to defend the district for the GOP, defeating Democrat LeBon by a large margin in the general election.
Congressman Burgess ran for re-election in 2004 and 2006 (modifying his campaign slogan to read "We Need to Keep the Doctor in the House"), winning both elections by healthy margins.
In the 110th Congress, Burgess served as Vice Chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee.
Burgess is also one of nine medical doctors in Congress, and one of seven in the House. As a medical doctor, Burgess is active in the health care reform debate, having served as a campaign surrogate for Sen. John McCain during his 2008 presidential campaign. [2]
During the 111th Congress, he chairs the Congressional Health Care Caucus, a GOP-invite[3] Congressional Member Organization "committed to advancing reforms that reduce costs, increase patient control, expand choice, and promote cures."[4] In May 2009, Congressional Quarterly noted that Congressman Burgess had "become a prominent voice on health care issues." [5]
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Dick Armey |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 26th congressional district 2003–present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
   | Campaign web site - Burgess for Congress |
| | Official web site - U.S. Congressman Michael C. Burgess : 26th District Of Texas |
| | Voting record maintained by the Washington Post - Michael Burgess | Congress votes database | washingtonpost.com |
|
|
Wikis
Map
Search
