Randy Weber
Randall Keith Weber (born July 2, 1953) is an American businessman and politician who has represented Texas's 14th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2013. He was previously a member of the Texas House of Representatives, representing the 29th district. He is a member of the Republican Party. Early life, education, and business career. Weber graduated from Alvin Community College and in 1977 earned a BS in public affairs from the University of Houston–Clear Lake. In 1981, he founded Weber's Air & Heat Air-Conditioning Company. Early political career. Weber was a  city councilman of Pearland, Texas, for six years. He also served as a Brazoria County Grand Jury Commissioner, a Brazoria County Redistricting Committee member, a Texas Republican Party Convention delegate, president of Brazoria County Cities Association, a Brazoria County Republican Party member, and chair of the Pearland Area Republican Party Headquarters. Texas House of Representatives. Elections. After State Representative Glenda Dawson died on September 12, 2006, a special election was held on December 19. Businessman Mike P. O'Day earned 48% of the vote, falling just short of the 50% threshold. Weber earned 28% of the vote, qualifying for the runoff . In the January runoff, O'Day defeated him 57%–43%. After O'Day retired, Weber ran for the March 2008 primary and won with 59% of the vote. He won the general election with 60% of the vote. He was reelected in 2010 with 85% of the vote. U.S. House of Representatives. Elections. 2012. After U.S. Representative Ron Paul of Texas's 14th congressional district decided to retire, nine Republicans ran in the newly redrawn district. Paul and Governor Rick Perry endorsed Weber. He ranked first with 28% of the vote. In the runoff, he defeated Pearland City Councilwoman Felicia Harris, 62%–37%. He  faced former Congressman Nick Lampson in the general election; Lampson jumped into the race after the 14th had been redrawn to include much of the territory he had represented in Congress from 1997 to 2005. In the November 6 general election, Weber defeated Lampson, 53% to 45%. Based upon Weber's vote total, Larry Sabato's "Crystal Ball" named Weber one of its "Underachievers" because he received only 54% of the vote in his district while Mitt Romney received 59%. 2016. Weber was reelected on November 8, 2016. He polled 160,631 votes (61.9%) to Democratic nominee Michael Cole's 99,054  (38.1%). Tenure. In January 2014, during President Obama's State of the Union address, Weber in a tweet called Obama "Kommandant-In-Chef" ["sic"] and "the Socialist dictator." After the White House apologized for failing to send a higher-profile leader to a demonstration in Paris after the January 2015 terrorist attacks in that city, Weber tweeted, "Even Adolph ["sic"] Hitler thought it more important than Obama to get to Paris." Weber then wrote that he needed to "apologize to all those offended by my tweet". He did not delete his tweet made during the State of the Union address . In 2015, Weber cosponsored a resolution to amend the Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. Weber also cosponsored a resolution disagreeing with the Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which held that same-sex marriage bans violated the constitution. In April 2015, Weber met with Aleksandr Torshin, the alleged handler for Russian spy Maria Butina, according to internal documents from Center for the National Interest. The American Conservative Union gave him a 92% evaluation, Americans for Prosperity gave him a 94% evaluation, Campaign for Working Families, Concerned Women for America, and Faith and Freedom Coalition each gave him 100 % evaluations, Conservative Review gave him a 73% evaluation, Eagle Forum gave him an 80% evaluation, National Journal gave him an 89% evaluation, and the John Birch Society gave him a 67% evaluation. In December 2020, Weber was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of "Texas v. Pennsylvania", a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden defeated incumbent Donald Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article  III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement that called signing the amicus brief an act of "election subversion." She also reprimanded Weber and the other House members who supported the lawsuit: "The 126 Republican Members that signed onto this lawsuit brought dishonor to the House. Instead of upholding their oath to support and defend the Constitution, they chose to subvert the Constitution and undermine public trust in our sacred democratic institutions." New Jersey Representative Bill Pascrell, citing section three of the 14th Amendment, called for  Pelosi to not seat Weber and the other Republicans who signed the brief supporting the suit, arguing that "the text of the 14th Amendment expressly forbids Members of Congress from engaging in rebellion against the United States. Trying to overturn a democratic election and install a dictator seems like a pretty clear example of that." In June 29, 2021, Weber and other members of the Republican Study Committee went to the Texas/Mexico border for a photo op with refugees. He got a ride from 2020 congressional primary candidate and participant in the storming of the United States Capitol Anthony  Aguero, and posted a video of them on his Facebook page. Personal life. Weber has been married to Brenda Weber, a Pearland schoolteacher, for over 30 years. They have three children and eight grandchildren. He lives in Alvin, Texas.