Eighteen of the 94 new members of the House of Representatives have family business connections. Two of them are women. All of them are Republicans. Seventeen of the new members of Congress currently are involved in their family companies; one worked at his family's firm when he was younger.
Of the 13 new members of the U.S. Senate, one is currently involved in a family business; two previously worked in family enterprises. Like the newly elected members of Congress with family business ties, all three of these senators are Republicans.
The information presented here was compiled from the New York Times' “You're the Boss” blog (Nov. 16, 2010), the new Congress members' websites and other news sources.
House of Representatives
• Dan Benishek (R-Mich.) worked in his family's business, the Iron River Hotel, before attending college. He then went to medical school and became a surgeon.
• Francisco (“Quico”) Canseco (R-Texas), a real estate lawyer, managed a commercial real estate development company from 1992 to 2007 and was part of an eight-member sibling partnership. His family elected him to head the family firm. The family also operates the Canseco Foundation, which supports health care, education and community services in and around Laredo, Texas.
• Robert Dold (R-Ill.) runs his family's business, Rose Pest Solutions, which was founded in 1860; the Dold family has been involved since the 1920s.
• Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) was a state legislator. He is president and CEO of J. Duncan Associates, a family-owned real estate marketing firm.
• Stephen Fincher (R-Tenn.) is a managing partner in Fincher Farms, a family-owned farm that grows wheat, cotton, soybeans, sorghum and corn. He is a member of the Fincher Family singing ministry.
• Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) was a state legislator. He continues to help out in his family's farm equipment dealership.
• Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.) owns and operates Hartzler Equipment Company, a farm equipment dealership, with her husband. They also have a 1,700-acre family farm. Hartzler was a state legislator from 1995 to 2000.
• Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), previously a state representative, is co-owner of the Huizenga Gravel Company, a third-generation family business.
• George J. (“Mike”) Kelly (R-Pa.) owns Mike Kelly Automotive, founded by his father as a Chevrolet and Cadillac dealership in 1953. Kelly bought the business in 1995 and added Kia and Hyundai vehicles.
• John Michael (“Mick”) Mulvaney (R-S.C.) practiced law from 1992 to 1997 and has served in the state House and Senate. He was president of his family's homebuilding and real estate enterprise from 2004 to 2007 and had an ownership stake. He also owned and managed a restaurant franchise until September.
• Kristi Noem (R-S.D.), previously a state legislator, left college to help out on her family's farm after the death of her father.
• Patrick Alan Nunnelee (R-Miss.), along with his father, founded several companies that market life insurance through funeral homes. Nunnelee was previously a state -senator.
• Ben Quayle (R-Ariz.), with his brother, Tucker, co-owns and manages APG Security Southwest, as well as a separate venture fund. He is the son of former Vice President Dan Quayle. He practiced law from 2004 to 2007.
• Reid Ribble (R-Wis.) took over his father's roofing company and became its president in 1981. In 2009, he sold the company, the Ribble Group, to his nephew, Troy.
• William (“Steve”) Southerland II (R-Fla.) co-owns Southerland Family Funeral Homes, a third-generation family business.
• Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.), a fourth-generation farmer, co-owns the 4,000-acre Stutzman Farms with his father. He also owns Stutzman Farms Trucking.
• Scott Tipton (R-Colo.) founded Mesa Verde Pottery with his brother. The company produces Native American pottery and ceramics. Previously, he was a state legislator.
• Daniel Webster (R-Fla.) owns and operates Webster Air Conditioning and Heating, where he has worked since college; three of his sons work in the business, founded in 1961 by Webster's father. He previously served 28 years in the state Senate and House; he was Florida Senate majority leader and speaker of the Florida House of Representatives.
Senate
• Ronald Johnson (R-Wis.) started Pacur LLC, a polyester and plastics manufacturer, with his brother-in-law, Patrick Curler (the company's namesake), in 1979. He purchased the company and is now sole owner and CEO.
• Robert (“Rob”) Portman (R-Ohio) worked while growing up at the Portman Equipment Company, a family forklift dealership. He became a lawyer and worked in President George H.W. Bush's administration. From 1993 to 2005, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives. During the administration of President George W. Bush, he was U.S. Trade Representative and later director of the Office of Management and Budget.
• Patrick (“Pat”) Toomey (R-Pa.) worked in the financial sector before joining his brothers in a restaurant business in the early 1990s. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1999 to 2005.
The Democrats' fate
According to the New York Times' “You're the Boss” blog (Nov. 6, 2010), three Democrats with family business ties were freshman members of the 111th Congress. One of them was victorious in his re-election bid; the other two were defeated.
• Jared Polis (D-Colo.), formerly an executive at online greeting card company Blue Mountain Arts, which was founded by his parents and later sold, was re-elected with 57% of the vote.
• Kathy Dahlkemper (D-Pa.), manager of her family's landscaping business, lost to Mike Kelly (see above).
• Betsey Markey (D-Colo.), co-founder of an information processing and communications consulting firm that is now wholly owned by other family members, was defeated by Cory Gardner (see above).
Keanon Alderson, Ph.D., is a family business consultant and an assistant professor at The Robert K. Jabs School of Business at California Baptist University in Riverside, Calif. (kalderson@familybizconsultants.com). His book, Understanding the Family Business, will be published by Business Experts Press in March.