Pete Sessions (R-Texas)

Why He Matters

There aren’t a lot of politicians who would use a trailer full of cow manure to make a point.

But Sessions, a six-term Congressman from Texas, did just that in his second failed campaign for a House seat, telling voters that President Clinton’s 1993 health plan stunk worse than the cart. He didn’t win, but he came close despite being outspent nearly two-to-one in a Democratic-leaning district.

Flashy, often vicious campaigns are at the core of Sessions’ electoral strategy. In January 2009, he told reporters that he had learned from the "disruptive tactics of the Taliban." MacGillis, Alec and Bacon, Perry, "GOP Sees Positives In Negative Stand," Washington Post, Feb. 9, 2009 He has run several close campaigns to defend his seat, in part because his district was redrawn twice after his initial 1996 victory. That experience will come in handy for Sessions, the new head of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).   

The staunch conservative will help shape the message as a member of the Republican Study Committee (RSC), a right-leaning group with 100 members. He will continue to lobby for government budget cuts and Christian social values.

However, Sessions has faced his share of ethics charges. He was tied to the disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and was harshly criticized by some Christian groups for holding a 2007 fundraiser at a burlesque club in Las Vegas.

Path to Power

Sessions grew up in Waco, Tex. He was born into a political family. His father,Williams Sessions, was a federal judge and the FBI director from 1987 through 1993.
He earned his undergraduate degree from Southwestern University in 1978, and then took a job at phone company Southwestern Bell in Dallas, where he worked for 16 years.

Sessions launched his first political campaign in 1991 for a seat in the 3rd district in North Dallas. The results were disastrous ; he finished sixth in the special election. Undeterred, he left his job in 1993 to focus full-time on politics.

That year, he tried to unseat Rep.  John Bryant (D-Tex.). It was a big gamble. Bryant was running in a district that was redrawn to all but guarantee him victory. However, Sessions ran an aggressive campaign. He even took a two-day tour to 12 rural towns accompanied by a trailer full of manure and a sign that read “the Clinton health-care plan stinks worse than this trailer.”Almanac of American Politics, 2008 edition The tactics were effective. Bryant managed to scrape by with just 50 percent of the vote, though he outspent Sessions by two- to-one.

Sessions spent the next two years as vice president for public policy at the National Center for Policy Analysis, a Dallas-based conservative think tank.

When Bryant left his seat to run for the U.S. Senate, Sessions again tried to win the position. This time, he was opposed by John Pouland, a former General Services Administration (GSA) official. The race got ugly quickly. Sessions accused Pouland of being a big-spending liberal, while Pouland charged that Sessions would cut Medicare while funding foreign military bases. In the end, Sessions won with just 53 percent of the vote. He was re-elected by similar margins in 1998 and 2000.  

In Washington, D.C., Sessions quickly allied himself with the most conservative members of the House. He was named to the House Rules Committee in 1999, a plum assignment that is only awarded to party loyalists.

In 2001, Sessions old district was split in two. He surprised almost everyone by choosing to run for a seat in the in the freshly-created 32nd district, which housed only 16 percent of his old constituents. He said he preferred the new area because it was smaller and more pro-business. It also contained a larger fundraising base. In 2002, he was elected with 68 percent of the vote.

In 2003, he spearheaded an effort to once again redistrict parts of Texas. An inadvertent result was that his base became less Republican. He was forced to fend off a strong challenge from Martin Frost, a 13-term Democrat from the 24th, which lost many of its Democratic voters.

The race was vicious. Sessions criticized Frost for hosting a fundraiser with Peter Yarrow, a singer who was convicted of “taking indecent liberties” with a 14-year-old girl in 1969. Frost in turn accused Sessions of being soft on security, running an ad with the World Trade Center in flames that claimed Sessions would not protect America.

In the end, each campaign spent about $4.5 million, making the race the most expensive House election of 2004. Sessions won with 54 percent of the vote.

Sessions has tried to break into the House Republican leadership since 2006. That year, he lost a race for NRCC chair to Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) by just 20 votes.O’Connor, Patrick, “Pete Sessions Jockeys for NRCC Head,” Politico, Sept. 25, 2008,

However, he stayed active in the NRCC. Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) asked Sessions to help raise campaign cash for House Republicans in the weeks before Election Day 2008. After heavy House GOP losses and a serious NRCC financial scandal in 2008, Cole dropped out of the race to head the NRCC during the 2010 cycle and Sessions cruised to victory. He was helped by an early endorsement from Boehner, who placed calls on his behalf.O’Connor, Patrick, “Cole Drops Out; Sessions to head NRCC,” Politico, Nov. 20, 2008

However, Sessions’ record is not unblemished. In 2007, he was criticized by several prominent conservatives for hosting a political fundraiser at a Law Vegas adult club where women stripped down to almost nothing during a burlesque show.  “I'm in shock,” Cathie Adams, president of the Texas Eagle Forum, told the Dallas Morning News. Sessions’ spokesman said the event, which was a fundraiser for his PAC, was at a “PG-13 venue.”Jeffers, Gromer, “'07 party hosted by Rep. Pete Sessions at Las Vegas adult club draws criticism,” Dallas Morning News, July 30, 2008

The Issues

There are few House Republicans more conservative than Sessions. He wants to crack down on illegal immigration, get rid of income taxes and weaken current gun control laws. He voted with his party 93 percent of the time during the 110th Congress.Henn, Steve, "PACs put the fun in fundraising," Marketplace, July 22, 2008,

Sessions will most likely spend the next two years focused on the daunting goal of reclaiming the House GOP majority. As head of the NRCC, he has laid out a five-point plan for improving Republicans’ electoral prospects in 2010. These include a stronger recruitment program, better fundraising for rank-and-file Republicans, a better ground game, and a more “flexible and innovative” communications strategy that utilizes new media.Washington Post Votes Database

The Network

Sessions is closely allied with several Republican conservatives including new House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), House GOP Conference Chair Mike Pence (R-Ind.), and Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Tex.), who refused to run against Sessions for NRCC chair.Ota, Alan, “Texan Gets Chance to Show his Stuff Before House GOP Picks Next Fundraising Chief,” Congressional Quarterly Today, June 2, 2008
 

He endorsed New York mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) in the 2008 Republican presidential primary.