Texas: Eighth District

Rep. Kevin Brady (R)

Kevin Brady (R) Elected 1996, 6th term up
Born:	04-11-1955, Vermillion, SD
Home:	The Woodlands, TX
Education:	U. of SD, B.S. 1990
Religion:	Catholic
Marital Status:	married (Cathy)
Elected  Office:	TX House of Reps., 1990–96.
Professional Career:	Exec., Woodlands Chamber of Commerce, 1978–96.
DC Office	301 CHOB, 20515 202-225-4901 Fax: 202-225-5524 Website: www.house.gov/brady
State Offices	Conroe:936-441-5700; Huntsville:936-439-9542; Orange:409-883-4197;
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When Houston Intercontinental Airport opened in 1969, it was located 25 miles away from downtown Houston or from just about any other concentration of population, at the northern edge of Harris County and just south of the Montgomery County line. What is known now as George Bush Intercontinental is still a jaunt from downtown Houston. But rapid expansion and growth of commercial office space and upscale residential subdivisions have continued even farther to the north in once rural Montgomery County, rising on land that once held roadside stands and barbecues and unpainted farmhouses with water pooling on low swampy fields. The arrival of railroads in the late 19th century made timber production the first major local industry, but much of the land was stripped by the 1920s and it was turned over to livestock. Fortunes rose again in 1931 when wildcattter George Strake struck oil near Conroe. Thousands of other wildcatters and roughnecks quickly joined in the boom; this became one of the richest oil producing areas in the nation, and active production continues. In 1972, construction began on a planned community called The Woodlands; development of this new city has barely slowed since then. Greater Houston has spread far out into this countryside, past the now mislabeled Farm-Market Route 1960, out past The Woodlands and Conroe. Montgomery County had 49,000 people in 1970, just after the airport opened. Since then its population has risen to 128,000 in 1980, 182,000 in 1990, 293,000 in 2000 and 398,000 in 2006, and it is the fifth fastest-growing county in Texas.

The 8th Congressional District includes all of Montgomery County, which contains about half its people. Before the 2003 redistricting 60% of its population was in Harris County; now none is, and it extends east to the Sabine River on the Louisiana border, including all of eight counties and parts of two others. It covers the Big Thicket National Preserve, a primeval swamp described as “America’s Ark” because of its vast array of animals and plants. It includes the town of Huntsville, with one of Texas’s oldest prisons, and the oil refinery town of Orange on the Sabine River, which is popular for bass fishing. This area was hard-hit in late September 2005 by Hurricane Rita, though it received limited attention because of the Katrina devastation. The redistricting changes have made the district less affluent and metropolitan, and a little less Republican. The old 8th District voted 78% for George W. Bush in 2000, his highest figure in the nation. Within the new 8th District, he won 69% in 2000 and 72% in 2004.

The congressman from the 8th District is Kevin Brady, a Republican first elected in 1996. Brady grew up and went to college in South Dakota, moved to Montgomery County in 1978 and headed The Woodlands Chamber of Commerce for 18 years. In 1990 he was elected to the Texas House. When Congressman Jack Fields announced in 1995 he was retiring, Brady decided to run. His main opponent in the decisive Republican primary was Eugene Fontenot, a physician who wanted “to restore America to its Christian heritage.” Brady was the choice of party regulars; Fontenot was endorsed by religious conservatives. Fontenot attacked Brady for being one of two Republicans to vote against the state’s concealed weapons law. Brady had opposed most gun control bills, but not this one; when he was 12, his father was shot and killed while trying a case in a South Dakota courtroom. Brady and Fontenot ran against each other four separate times in that one year. After Fontenot led Brady in the March primary, Brady won the April runoff 53%-47%. After the U.S. Supreme Court in June ordered a redrawing of 13 districts, Brady led Fontenot 41%-39% in an all-party primary in November. Finally, in the December runoff, turnout was sharply down and party regular Brady won 59%-41%.

In the House, Brady has compiled a conservative voting record, though a bit less so on foreign issues. He gained a reputation as more of a pragmatist than other Texas Republicans. With the murder of his father always a fresh memory, he has been an advocate of victims’ rights and the death penalty. In January 2001 he took Bill Archer’s seat on Ways and Means; he is an advocate of abolishing the IRS and moving toward a consumption tax. But while waiting until that distant day arrives, Brady has tinkered successfully with the status quo. He strongly backed the Bush tax cuts and helped to pass a scaled-back version of Bush’s plan to give tax breaks for contributions to faith-based groups. Brady was a central figure in the successful effort in 2004 to make state and local sales taxes deductible in the seven states, including Texas, that have no personal income tax. He was the chief House sponsor of the Central America Free Trade Agreement; Texas would benefit, he argued, because it has become the nation’s largest export state, with especially rapid growth in trade with Central America. “America chose engagement and building bridges instead of isolation and turning our back on Central America,” he said after the House approved the deal in July 2005. He won committee approval of his bill to sunset all federal programs every 12 years unless Congress renews them, but opposition from Republican moderates led leadership to pull the bill from the schedule in July 2006. In addition to his energetic work on Ways and Means, Brady has been a deputy whip to Roy Blunt.

Since his four contests in 1996, Brady has had no problem winning reelection, even after district was radically redrawn. With his relatively young age and growing seniority at Ways and Means, he is positioned to wield House influence for many years to come.

Committees

• Joint Economic Committee (6th of 10 R).
  
• Ways & Means (10th of 17 R)
  Social Security; Trade.

Presidential Vote

District Demographics (More Info)

• Cook Partisan Voting Index: R +20
• Area size: 8,415 square miles
• Urban Population: 49.6%
• Rural Population: 50.4%
• Population 2000: 651,620
• Population 2005 (est): 741,712
• Median Income: $40,459
• Poverty Status: 12.6%
• Military Veterans: 13.8%
• Race/Ethnic Origin: 80.1% White; 8.7% Black; 0.7% Asian; 0.5% Native Am.; 0.0% Hawaiian; 0.9% Two+ races; 0.1% Other; 9.0% Hispanic Origin;
• Ancestry: 10.8% USA%; 9.1% German%; 8.4% Irish%;
• Occupation: Blue collar 28.7%; White collar 55.7%; Gray collar 15.6%;