A ''Washington Post'' investigation in February 2012 revealed that 33 members of [[U.S. Congress|Congress]] helped direct more than $300 million in earmarks to public projects in close proximity to commercial and residential real estate owned by the lawmakers or their family members.<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2012/01/12/gIQA97HGvQ_story.html ''Washington Post'' "Congressional earmarks sometimes used to fund projects near lawmakers' properties," February 6, 2012]</ref> According to the report, Davis secured an $800,000 earmark in 2005 for a now-completed study that recommends building a deck over the Dwight D. Eisenhower Expressway in Oak Park, Ill. His home is 1.4 miles from the proposed project.<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/capitol-assets/mapping-the-earmarks/ ''Washington Post'' "Mapping the earmarks," February 6, 2012]</ref>

A ''Washington Post'' investigation in February 2012 revealed that 33 members of [[U.S. Congress|Congress]] helped direct more than $300 million in earmarks to public projects in close proximity to commercial and residential real estate owned by the lawmakers or their family members.<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2012/01/12/gIQA97HGvQ_story.html ''Washington Post'' "Congressional earmarks sometimes used to fund projects near lawmakers' properties," February 6, 2012]</ref> According to the report, Davis secured an $800,000 earmark in 2005 for a now-completed study that recommends building a deck over the Dwight D. Eisenhower Expressway in Oak Park, Ill. His home is 1.4 miles from the proposed project.<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/capitol-assets/mapping-the-earmarks/ ''Washington Post'' "Mapping the earmarks," February 6, 2012]</ref>

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===Political positions===

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====Fiscal Cliff====

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{{Support vote}}

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Davis voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels.  He was 1 of 172 Democrats that voted in favor of the bill.  The bill was passed in the House by a 257/167 vote on January 1, 2013.<ref>[http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2012/roll659.xml ''U.S. House'' "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff" Accessed January 4, 2013.]</ref>

Davis voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels.  He was 1 of 172 Democrats that voted in favor of the bill.  The bill was passed in the House by a 257/167 vote on January 1, 2013.<ref>[http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2012/roll659.xml ''U.S. House'' "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff" Accessed January 4, 2013.]</ref>

He is set to run for re-election to the U.S. House in 2014.  If he runs, he will seek the Democratic nomination in the primary election. The general election took place November 4, 2014. 

Based on analysis of multiple outside rankings, Davis is one of the most reliable Democratic votes, meaning he can be considered a safe vote for the Democratic Party in Congress. 

Biography

Born in Parkdale, Arkansas, on September 6, 1941, Davis moved to the Westside of Chicago in 1961, after having earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Arkansas A.M. & N. College.  He subsequently earned both Masters and Doctorate degrees respectively from Chicago State University and the Union Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio. [ 2]

Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service and Labor Policy

Subcommittee on Health Care, District of Columbia, Census and the National Archives (Ranking Member)

Issues

Earmarks

A Washington Post investigation in February 2012 revealed that 33 members of Congress helped direct more than $300 million in earmarks to public projects in close proximity to commercial and residential real estate owned by the lawmakers or their family members.[5] According to the report, Davis secured an $800,000 earmark in 2005 for a now-completed study that recommends building a deck over the Dwight D. Eisenhower Expressway in Oak Park, Ill. His home is 1.4 miles from the proposed project.[6]

Political positions

Fiscal Cliff

Davis voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels.  He was 1 of 172 Democrats that voted in favor of the bill.  The bill was passed in the House by a 257/167 vote on January 1, 2013.[7]

Legislative actions

113th Congress

The second session of the 113th Congress enacted into law 114 out of the 3,036 introduced bills (3.8 percent).  Comparatively, the 112th Congress had 4.2 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the second session.[8] For more information pertaining to Davis's voting record in the 113th Congress, please see the below sections.[9]

National security

American response in Syria

On August 29, 2013, more than 50 HouseDemocrats signed a letter written by CaliforniaRep. Barbara Lee that called for a congressional resolution on strikes, and cautioned that the dire situation in Syria "should not draw us into an unwise war—especially without adhering to our constitutional requirements. "[10][11] The letter also called on the Obama administration to work with the U.N. Security Council “to build international consensus” condemning the alleged use of chemical weapons.  Davis was one of the 50 Democrats in the House to sign the letter.[10][11]

2012

Davis won re-election in the November 6 general election.[12] Davis ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House, representing Illinois'7th District.  On March 30, 2012 the 7th district was included in a list released by the National Journal of the top ten most contorted congressional districts, as a result of redistricting. [ 13] Davis is seeking re-election on the Democratic ticket.  The signature filing deadline was December 27, 2011, with the primary taking place on March 20, 2012. 

The Chicago Tribune noted in the 2012 election that Davis "seems more engaged lately, holding town hall meetings, advocating for equitable mass transit funding and working to find alternatives to the U.S. Postal Service's plan to close "underperforming" local post offices. "[14] Davis has in recent years been criticized for having pushed to be Cook County Board president, throwing his name in the mix for the Obama Senate seat, and having considered a run for Chicago mayor, but in 2012 has been considered the "favorite"[15] and viewed as having made considerable strides in his political involvement of late.[15]

According to a March 7th article in the Austin Daily News "Davis raised roughly $148,000 in the election cycle, and his campaign had about $260,000 in cash on hand, according to the Federal Election Commission.  The commission lists no fundraising total for Conway.  He estimates, however, raising a few thousand dollars last month. "[15]

Davis defeated challenger Jacques Conway in the Democratic primary on March 20, 2012.[1] There was no Republican primary because no candidates filed to run.  Because of this, Davis is almost guaranteed the opportunity to run unopposed in the general election on November 6, 2012. 

Full history

To view the full congressional electoral history for Danny K. Davis, click [show] to expand the section. 

2010

On November 2, 2010, Danny K. Davis won re-election to the United States House.  He defeated Mark M. Weiman (R) and Clarence Desmond Clemons (I) in the general election.[16]

U.S. House, Illinois District 7 General Election, 2010

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Danny K. Davisincumbent

81.5%

149,846

Republican

Mark M. Weiman

16.1%

29,575

Independent

Clarence Desmond Clemons

2.4%

4,428

Total Votes

183,849

2008

On November 4, 2008, Danny K. Davis won re-election to the United States House.  He defeated Steve Miller (R) in the general election.[17]

U.S. House, Illinois District 7 General Election, 2008

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Danny K. Davisincumbent

85%

235,343

Republican

Steve Miller

15%

41,474

Total Votes

276,817

2006

On November 7, 2006, Danny K. Davis won re-election to the United States House.  He defeated Charles Hutchinson (R) in the general election.[18]

U.S. House, Illinois District 7 General Election, 2006

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Danny K. Davisincumbent

86.7%

143,071

Republican

Charles Hutchinson

13.3%

21,939

N/A

Write-in

0%

1

Total Votes

165,011

2004

On November 2, 2004, Danny K. Davis won re-election to the United States House.  He defeated Antonio Davis-Fairman (R) in the general election.[19]

U.S. House, Illinois District 7 General Election, 2004

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Danny K. Davisincumbent

86.1%

221,133

Republican

Antonio Davis-Fairman

13.9%

35,603

Total Votes

256,736

2002

On November 5, 2002, Danny K. Davis won re-election to the United States House.  He defeated Mark Tunney (R) and Martin Pankau (L) in the general election.[20]

U.S. House, Illinois District 7 General Election, 2002

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Danny K. Davisincumbent

83.2%

137,933

Republican

Mark Tunney

15.3%

25,280

Libertarian

Martin Pankau

1.5%

2,543

Total Votes

165,756

2000

On November 7, 2000, Danny K. Davis won re-election to the United States House.  He defeated Robert Dallas (R) in the general election.[21]

U.S. House, Illinois District 7 General Election, 2000

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Danny K. Davisincumbent

85.9%

164,155

Republican

Robert Dallas

14.1%

26,872

Total Votes

191,027

1998

On November 3, 1998, Danny K. Davis won re-election to the United States House.  He defeated Dorn E. Van Cleave III (L) in the general election.[22]

U.S. House, Illinois District 7 General Election, 1998

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Danny K. Davisincumbent

92.9%

130,984

Libertarian

Dorn E. Van Cleave III

7.1%

9,984

Total Votes

140,968

1996

On November 5, 1996, Danny K. Davis won election to the United States House.  He defeated Randy Borow (R), Chauncey L. Stroud (I), Toietta Dixon (L) and Charles A. Winter (Natural Law) in the general election.[23]

U.S. House, Illinois District 7 General Election, 1996

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Danny K. Davis

82.6%

149,568

Republican

Randy Borow

15%

27,241

Independent

Chauncey L. Stroud

1.1%

1,944

Libertarian

Toietta Dixon

0.9%

1,571

Natural Law

Charles A. Winter

0.4%

771

Total Votes

181,095

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Davis is available dating back to 2000.  Based on available campaign finance records, Davis raised a total of $3,187,575 during that time period.  This information was last updated on April 5, 2013.[24]

2012

Breakdown of the source of Davis' campaign funds before the 2012 election. 

Davis won re-election to the U.S. House in 2012.  During that election cycle, Davis' campaign committee raised a total of $372,212 and spent $467,560.[28] This is less than the average $1.5 million spent by House winners in 2012.[29]

Lifetime missed votes

According to the website GovTrack, Davis missed 649 of 11,058 roll call votes from Jan 1997 to Mar 2013.  This amounts to 5.9%, which is worse than the median of 2.2% among current congressional representatives as of March 2013.[36]

Congressional staff salaries

2011

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress.  Davis paid his congressional staff a total of $1,174,876 in 2011.  He ranks 16th on the list of the highest paid Democratic representative staff salaries and ranks 19th overall of the highest paid representative staff salaries in 2011.  Overall, Illinois ranks 46th in average salary for representative staff.  The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[37]

Net worth

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Davis' net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $281,014 and $625,000.  That averages to $453,007, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic representatives in 2011 of $5,107,874.  His average net worth decreased by 1.63% from 2010.[38]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Davis' net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $282,014 and $639,000.  That averages to $460,507, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic representatives in 2010 of $4,465,875.[39]

Recent news

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Personal

Davis is married to Vera G. Davis, and has two sons, Jonathan and Stacey. [ 2]