Jim Nussle
Encyclopedia
James Allen "Jim" Nussle (born June 27, 1960, Des Moines, Iowa
) is an American
politician and was the director of the Office of Management and Budget. Nussle was a Republican
member of the United States House of Representatives
from 1991 to 2007. He was the Republican nominee for the November 2006 election for Governor of Iowa
, and was defeated by Chet Culver
.
(his political action committee
(PAC) was at one time called "Great Dane PAC" and he is of Danish descent). He then received a B.A.
in international studies, political science, and economics from Luther College
in 1983, and a J.D.
degree from Drake University
in Des Moines
in 1985. While at Luther he was a member of the Zeta Rho Tau fraternity and was the lead singer in a band called ZPT blues band. Nussle also founded the Luther College Republicans chapter during his time at Luther. Upon graduation from Drake University law school, Nussle took his first step in becoming a public servant when he was elected as the Delaware County, Iowa
attorney
in Manchester
. While in Manchester, Nussle became a volunteer firefighter. Currently he president of a his own media consulting firm and chief operating officer of pro-ethanol trade association.
made an unsuccessful run against Senator
Tom Harkin
during the 1990 election, Nussle ran as the Republican candidate for Tauke's House seat.
Nussle's first election to the House was the closest election for him during his entire tenure in the House. He and challenger Eric Tabor had been in a virtual dead heat in the time leading up to the election. Just before the election, Tabor became embroiled in a controversy regarding absentee ballots that family members had cast. This controversy caused some votes to not be counted at the end, and also cost Tabor other votes as well. Tabor did not concede the election to Nussle until the day after the election.
In 1992, as a result of redistricting, Nussle ran against fellow House member Dave Nagle
. This was because Iowa's House delegation was being reduced from six down to five Representatives. The areas that Nussle and Nagle had represented in Congress were combined for the 1992 election. Nussle won, even though he had only one term under his belt to Nagle's three.
Nussle's first exposure to national attention came when he made a speech from the well of the House while wearing a paper bag over his head to protest the "shameful" ethical behavior involved in the House banking scandal
. It remains a trademark reminder of Nussle.
He became Chairman of the House Budget Committee in 2001, the first Iowan to serve as chair of this committee. His position brought national and international interest to his district, including the ONE Campaign
, the lobbying group formed by Bono of the rock band U2
. The group has targeted Nussle's district with billboard and radio ads. On March 23, 2006 they placed a statement in Nussle's article on Wikipedia
, regarding poverty in Africa
and Nussle's budget influence, hoping to influence Nussle. (The statement was quickly removed by editors as it violated Wikipedia policies on maintaining a neutral point of view). On March 24, 2006 the Des Moines Register
contained a story about this revision in which ONE confirmed that they had placed the statement.
Nussle's voting record was relatively conservative, despite representing a district with a slight Democratic lean. His district has voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in every election since 1988. Typical conservative positions Nussle embraced are supporting restrictions on abortion and supporting President Bush's tax cuts. His district was renumbered as the 1st District as a result of the 2000s round of redistricting, and became even more Democratic with the addition of much of Iowa's share of the Quad Cities
. However, Nussle was reelected handily in 2002 and 2004.
announced that he would not seek a third term as Governor in 2006, a number of people from both parties began exploring running for Governor. That included Nussle, who began considering a run shortly after Vilsack made his announcement. On June 2, 2005; Nussle announced he would run for governor. His only serious primary challenger, Bob Vander Plaats
, withdrew from the race to endorse Nussle and become his running mate.
On February 21, 2006, the Iowa Democratic Party filed an ethics complaint against Nussle for not reporting any in-kind donations from the federal “Nussle for Congress Committee”. On July 12, 2006, the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board unanimously voted to close the investigation with a finding of no probable cause to believe that a violation of a statute or rule under the Board's jurisdiction occurred.
On June 6, 2006, Nussle won the Republican primary, but lost the general election to Chet Culver
on November 7 by a wide margin. Since the defeat, he first started his own consulting business and then was nominated to become the Director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Bush.
Three Republicans and four Democrats announced their intentions to seek the House seat Nussle was vacating in January, 2007. The primaries pared the candidates down to Democrat Bruce Braley
and Republican Mike Whalen. Braley won Nussle's former seat.
as OMB Director, and was sworn in on September 10, 2007. A March 9, 2005 quote of Nussle's was included in the 2006 World Almanac
and Book of Factss list of notable quotes in 2005 (p. 39): "Everyone wants to get to heaven, but no one wants to die." According to the almanac, the quote refers to opposition to his proposed budget, which included cuts to several earmarks and programs; the statement was made during Nussle's tenure as House Budget Committee chairman.
In 2001, Nussle married Karen Chiccehitto, a public policy strategic consultant. Currently she is president and founder of the strategic communications and marketing firm, Ripple Communications, LLC and periodically serves as a communications professor at the University of Dubuque
.
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician and was the director of the Office of Management and Budget. Nussle was a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
member of the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from 1991 to 2007. He was the Republican nominee for the November 2006 election for Governor of Iowa
Iowa gubernatorial election, 2006
The Iowa gubernatorial election of 2006 took place November 7, 2006. The incumbent governor, Tom Vilsack, a Democrat, had served two terms and decided not to seek a third term. In the election, Culver defeated Nussle to win the governorship, by a margin of 54.4 percent to 44.1 percent...
, and was defeated by Chet Culver
Chet Culver
Chester John "Chet" Culver was the 41st Governor of Iowa, from 2007 to 2011. He was also elected as the Federal Liaison for the Democratic Governors Association for 2008-2009. He founded the Chet Culver Group, an energy sector consulting firm, in 2011.-Early life and education:Culver was born in...
.
Early life and career
After high school, Nussle studied in DenmarkDenmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
(his political action committee
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
(PAC) was at one time called "Great Dane PAC" and he is of Danish descent). He then received a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in international studies, political science, and economics from Luther College
Luther College (Iowa)
Luther College is a four-year, residential liberal arts institution of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, located in Decorah, Iowa, USA...
in 1983, and a J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
degree from Drake University
Drake University
Drake University is a private, co-educational university located in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The institution offers a number of undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and pharmacy. Today, Drake is one of the twenty-five oldest law schools in the country....
in Des Moines
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
in 1985. While at Luther he was a member of the Zeta Rho Tau fraternity and was the lead singer in a band called ZPT blues band. Nussle also founded the Luther College Republicans chapter during his time at Luther. Upon graduation from Drake University law school, Nussle took his first step in becoming a public servant when he was elected as the Delaware County, Iowa
Delaware County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 17,764 in the county, with a population density of . There were 8,028 housing units, of which 7,062 were occupied.-2000 census:...
attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
in Manchester
Manchester, Iowa
Manchester is a city in Delaware County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,257 at the 2000 census. As of the 2005 population estimates, Manchester's population was 5,052...
. While in Manchester, Nussle became a volunteer firefighter. Currently he president of a his own media consulting firm and chief operating officer of pro-ethanol trade association.
Congressional career
When the incumbent six-term Republican in what was then the 2nd District, Tom TaukeTom Tauke
Thomas Joseph "Tom" Tauke is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Tauke represented the northeast corner of the state of Iowa as a Republican from 1979 to 1991, entering Congress as one of the youngest members. Tauke left active politics in 1991 following an unsuccessful bid to...
made an unsuccessful run against Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Tom Harkin
Tom Harkin
Thomas Richard "Tom" Harkin is the junior United States Senator from Iowa and a member of the Democratic Party. He previously served in the United States House of Representatives ....
during the 1990 election, Nussle ran as the Republican candidate for Tauke's House seat.
Nussle's first election to the House was the closest election for him during his entire tenure in the House. He and challenger Eric Tabor had been in a virtual dead heat in the time leading up to the election. Just before the election, Tabor became embroiled in a controversy regarding absentee ballots that family members had cast. This controversy caused some votes to not be counted at the end, and also cost Tabor other votes as well. Tabor did not concede the election to Nussle until the day after the election.
In 1992, as a result of redistricting, Nussle ran against fellow House member Dave Nagle
David R. Nagle
David R. Nagle in Grinnell, Iowa was a Representative in the United States House of Representatives, representing Iowa's 3rd congressional district from 1987 to 1993. Nagle is a member of the Democratic Party....
. This was because Iowa's House delegation was being reduced from six down to five Representatives. The areas that Nussle and Nagle had represented in Congress were combined for the 1992 election. Nussle won, even though he had only one term under his belt to Nagle's three.
Nussle's first exposure to national attention came when he made a speech from the well of the House while wearing a paper bag over his head to protest the "shameful" ethical behavior involved in the House banking scandal
House banking scandal
The House banking scandal broke in early 1992, when it was revealed that the United States House of Representatives allowed members to overdraw their House checking accounts without risk of being penalized by the House bank ....
. It remains a trademark reminder of Nussle.
He became Chairman of the House Budget Committee in 2001, the first Iowan to serve as chair of this committee. His position brought national and international interest to his district, including the ONE Campaign
ONE Campaign
The ONE Campaign is an international, nonpartisan, non-profit organization which aims to increase government funding for and effectiveness of international aid programs....
, the lobbying group formed by Bono of the rock band U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
. The group has targeted Nussle's district with billboard and radio ads. On March 23, 2006 they placed a statement in Nussle's article on Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
, regarding poverty in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and Nussle's budget influence, hoping to influence Nussle. (The statement was quickly removed by editors as it violated Wikipedia policies on maintaining a neutral point of view). On March 24, 2006 the Des Moines Register
Des Moines Register
The Des Moines Register is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa, in the United States. A separate edition of the Register is sold throughout much of Iowa.-History:...
contained a story about this revision in which ONE confirmed that they had placed the statement.
Nussle's voting record was relatively conservative, despite representing a district with a slight Democratic lean. His district has voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in every election since 1988. Typical conservative positions Nussle embraced are supporting restrictions on abortion and supporting President Bush's tax cuts. His district was renumbered as the 1st District as a result of the 2000s round of redistricting, and became even more Democratic with the addition of much of Iowa's share of the Quad Cities
Quad Cities
The Quad Cities is a group of five cities straddling the Mississippi River on the Iowa–Illinois boundary. These cities, Davenport and Bettendorf and Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline , are the center of the Quad Cities Metropolitan Area, which, as of 2010, had an estimated population of...
. However, Nussle was reelected handily in 2002 and 2004.
2006 Gubernatorial bid
When Iowa Governor Tom VilsackTom Vilsack
Thomas James "Tom" Vilsack is an American politician, a member of the Democratic Party, and presently the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. He served as the 40th Governor of the state of Iowa. He was first elected in 1998 and re-elected to a second four-year term in 2002...
announced that he would not seek a third term as Governor in 2006, a number of people from both parties began exploring running for Governor. That included Nussle, who began considering a run shortly after Vilsack made his announcement. On June 2, 2005; Nussle announced he would run for governor. His only serious primary challenger, Bob Vander Plaats
Bob Vander Plaats
Robert L. "Bob" Vander Plaats is a three-time candidate for Iowa’s governorship and former Republican nominee for lieutenant governor...
, withdrew from the race to endorse Nussle and become his running mate.
On February 21, 2006, the Iowa Democratic Party filed an ethics complaint against Nussle for not reporting any in-kind donations from the federal “Nussle for Congress Committee”. On July 12, 2006, the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board unanimously voted to close the investigation with a finding of no probable cause to believe that a violation of a statute or rule under the Board's jurisdiction occurred.
On June 6, 2006, Nussle won the Republican primary, but lost the general election to Chet Culver
Chet Culver
Chester John "Chet" Culver was the 41st Governor of Iowa, from 2007 to 2011. He was also elected as the Federal Liaison for the Democratic Governors Association for 2008-2009. He founded the Chet Culver Group, an energy sector consulting firm, in 2011.-Early life and education:Culver was born in...
on November 7 by a wide margin. Since the defeat, he first started his own consulting business and then was nominated to become the Director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Bush.
Three Republicans and four Democrats announced their intentions to seek the House seat Nussle was vacating in January, 2007. The primaries pared the candidates down to Democrat Bruce Braley
Bruce Braley
Bruce Braley is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district lies in northeastern Iowa and includes Davenport, Bettendorf, Cedar Falls, Waterloo, Dubuque, and Clinton....
and Republican Mike Whalen. Braley won Nussle's former seat.
OMB Director
Nussle was nominated by George W. Bush to replace Rob PortmanRob Portman
Robert Jones "Rob" Portman is the junior United States Senator from Ohio. He is a member of the Republican Party. He succeeded retiring Senator George Voinovich....
as OMB Director, and was sworn in on September 10, 2007. A March 9, 2005 quote of Nussle's was included in the 2006 World Almanac
World Almanac
In 1993 Scripps sold the Almanac to K-III .The World Almanac was sold to Ripplewood Holdings' WRC Media in 1999. Ripplewood bought Reader's Digest and the book was then produced by the World Almanac Education Group, which was owned by The Reader's Digest Association...
and Book of Factss list of notable quotes in 2005 (p. 39): "Everyone wants to get to heaven, but no one wants to die." According to the almanac, the quote refers to opposition to his proposed budget, which included cuts to several earmarks and programs; the statement was made during Nussle's tenure as House Budget Committee chairman.
Post-political career
After leaving the Bush Administration in January 2009, Nussle founded The Nussle Group, a media and strategic consulting firm. In November of 2010, Nussle became President & COO of Growth Energy.Family and personal life
Nussle was married to Leslie Jeanne (Harbison) Nussle and together they had two children: Sarah (b. November 2, 1988) and Mark (b. February 25, 1991). The couple divorced in 1996.In 2001, Nussle married Karen Chiccehitto, a public policy strategic consultant. Currently she is president and founder of the strategic communications and marketing firm, Ripple Communications, LLC and periodically serves as a communications professor at the University of Dubuque
University of Dubuque
The University of Dubuque is a Presbyterian university located in Dubuque, Iowa, with a general attendance of approximately 1,600 students. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate degree programs. It is one of three four-year post-secondary institutions in the City of Dubuque, and is...
.
Election history
- 1990: Defeated Eric Tabor 50%-49.8%
- 1992: Defeated David Nagle 51%-49%
- 1994: Defeated David Nagle 56%-43%
- 1996: Defeated Donna SmithDonna SmithDonna Smith is a County Supervisor in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States. She was first elected to that position in 1978.A Democrat, she ran against incumbent Jim Nussle for his seat in the United States House of Representatives, in 1996 and 2000, and lost both times.-External links:*...
51%-48% - 1998: Defeated Rob Tully 55%-44%
- 2000: Defeated Donna SmithDonna SmithDonna Smith is a County Supervisor in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States. She was first elected to that position in 1978.A Democrat, she ran against incumbent Jim Nussle for his seat in the United States House of Representatives, in 1996 and 2000, and lost both times.-External links:*...
55%-44% - 2002: Defeated Ann Hutchinson 57%-43%
- 2004: Defeated Bill GlubaBill GlubaBill Gluba is the current mayor of Davenport, Iowa. Born in Davenport, he received a bachelor's degree in political science from St. Ambrose University in Davenport. He received a master's degree in political science from the University of Iowa. In 1963, he took part in the historic March on...
55%-44% - 2006: Lost to Chet CulverChet CulverChester John "Chet" Culver was the 41st Governor of Iowa, from 2007 to 2011. He was also elected as the Federal Liaison for the Democratic Governors Association for 2008-2009. He founded the Chet Culver Group, an energy sector consulting firm, in 2011.-Early life and education:Culver was born in...
44-53%