Jason Gillikin
From Usgs
Jason E. Gillikin (born 15 September 1970) is the current senior U.S. Senator representing the Great Lakes.
| ||||
| Senate Minority Leader | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In Office: 2011-2020 | ||||
| Preceded by | Sen. Angela Chiles, R-WI | |||
| Succeeded by | ||||
| Born | September 15, 1970 Grand Rapids, MI | |||
| Political Party | Republican | |||
| Spouse | Helene (Gordon) Gillikin | |||
| Religion | Roman Catholic | |||
Contents |
Early Life
Jason Gillikin was born in September 1970 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After graduating from Western Michigan University with a B.A. in political science and an M.A. in philosophy, Jason joined the U.S. Navy, where he served for six years doing classified intelligence analysis at sea, for the War on Terror.
During his naval career, Jason met and married Helene Gordon. After resigning his commission at the rank of Commander to attend to his ailing father, Jason worked as a healthcare ethicist and eventually was asked to run for Congress representing Michigan's third district upon the retirement of Rep. Vernon J. Ehlers.
U.S. House of Representatives
Gillikin was elected to the House in 2008. During his single term of office, he was selected to serve as chairman of the Standing Committee on Appropriations and Government Regulations, succeeding Rep. Marc Hunter, who resigned from Congress in the middle of the session. Gillikin was also selected as the chief deputy majority whip, and served as acting whip upon the departure of Rep. Anthony Stark. After the 2010 elections, Gillikin resigned from the House to return to the private sector.
U.S. Senate
After Sen. Angela Chiles resigned her seat representing the Great Lakes region, Gov. Andrew Merrilin appointed Gillikin to fill the vacancy. During the appointed term, Gillikin was appointed vice-chairman, and later chairman, of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Gillikin narrowly won his bid to be elected to the Great Lakes seat outright in 2012, besting U.S. Rep. Drew Brockmeier, the sitting chairman of the Democratic National Committee, by less than 1 point, in a highly contested race.
After winning election to the remaining two years of Chiles's term, Gillikin was appointed chairman of the Domestic Affairs Committee. During his tenture as DAC chairman, Gillikin oversaw the discharge of more than 40 bills.
In 2014, Gillikin faced U.S. Rep. Christine Roberts in a very negative and expensive race that cost more than $55 million dollars. Gillikin defeated Roberts, who had been a high-ranking member of the House Democratic caucus; after the election, Roberts was elected to serve as Speaker of the House. The 114th Congress saw Senate Republicans in the minority; Gillikin successfully served on the Judiciary and Domestic Affairs committees.
At the beginning of the 115th Congress (2017-2019), Gillikin narrowly defeated U.S. Sen. Valeria Smith to serve as the Senate majority whip. He was also appointed as a member of the Government Regulations and Commerce Committee.
Senate Election: 2014
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Sen. Jason Gillikin (I) | 3,850,018 | 50.24% | |
| Democrat | Rep. Christine Roberts | 3,787,389 | 49.42% | |
| Total | 7,663,344 | |||
Political Ideology
Gillikin is known as a center-right Republican who has a solid legislative history of free-market capitalism and wise-use environmentalism.
Biographical Facts
Jason is an avid golfer and runner. He is a philosophy buff and writer, and a practicing Catholic. When not in Washington, Jason and Helene reside in Grand Rapids with their German Shepherd, named Chiles in honor of the former Senator.
Links
Senate Office Press Office Voting Record, 113th Congress Voting Record, 115th Congress Attributes & Financial Disclosures
