The Gallagher's Electorial Speech and Campaign to Congress

My Congressman of the 8th district is Make Gallagher. He was born and raised In Green Bay Wisconsin which is the home of the Green Bay Packers where Mike often delivered pizza to as a kid. He was brought up into a big Irish Catholic family that first came to Wisconsin in 1845 (Gallagher, Mike). Right out of High School he joined the US Marine Corps and was an active duty officer for seven years from 2006-2013. When he came back, he went on to peruse an education at Princeton University to study Spanish and Arabic. He then decided to advance his education at the National Intelligence University, which is a military university in Maryland. There he earned his Master of Science in Strategic Intelligence. Later in 2015 he graduated from Georgetown University with a M/A in Security Studies, a M/A in Government and a Ph.D. in Government International Relations (“About”). Because of all the love he has for this country, Mike ran for office in 2016 to amplify the voices of the people and represent the community that he’s from. He says “I didn’t go to DC to make friends; I came to DC to do the job I was elected to do” (“Candidate Statement: Mike Gallagher”).

The 8th congressional district has a square millage of 6,806.9 and has an estimated population of 736,000 people split almost evenly between male and female. District 8 is 56% urban and 44% rural. The average median household income is 61,423 all according to the Census Reporter. At age 32 Mike Gallagher announced his first candidate statement in 2016 and told us, the people of Wisconsin “I swore an oath to support and defend the constitution of the United States. That is the same oath your next congressman will take and my devotion to this oath did not end when I took off my uniform and that’s why I can’t sit on the sidelines. I feel compelled to step up and serve because in these difficult times we need leaders not politicians. Leaders who will put service to country instead of selfish ambition, who will work tirelessly to solve problems rather than putting them to the next generation. So, if you give me the honor of your vote on November 8th, that is exactly what I’ll do. And I will never stop fighting on behalf of the 8th district, your families and in defense of our country” (PBS). In this statement he shows dedication to not only this community but the country. In the same year he released a campaign ad titled “Running for Congress” (YouTube) where he was shown physically running around Green Bay to represent that he will always be around to run for this community and to help protect it, keep it safe and strong. This is a positive ad that shows because he was in the Marine Corps that he is qualified to do the duty to protect this country. He was elected in 2016 and won with 63% of votes against Democrat Tom Nelson, County Executive of Outagamie County. The Green Bay Press Gazette from November 9th, 2016 says that it was a testy and person race between the two and that they “clashed over issues like Social Security and international trade deals (Rodewald, Behr) At Gallagher’s victory speech he insured that despite their differences he will work with the democratic party to improve the country. He has been in office now for three years making him an incumbent that is loved by the people for his pure genuine spirit.

Mike Gallagher serves on the Transportation and infrastructure and the House Armed Services Committees. The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure has all power, decisions and judgements over all forms of transportation and infrastructure like water and waste management, disaster preparedness and response etc. I’m not too familiar about this committee but their website says that this is one of the largest committees in Congress which includes six subcommittees: Aviation, Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, Economic development, Emergency Management, Highway and Transit, Railroads-Pipelines and Hazardous Materials, Water Resources and the Environment. He is specifically a member of the subcommittee Aviation, Coastguard and Maritime Transportation and Highway and Transit. He also serves on the House of Armed Services specifically a member of the subcommittee on Intelligence and Emerging Threats and Capabilities and the subcommittee on Sea power and Projection Forces. Gallagher is sponsor of two bills that were enacted so far. Two may not sound like a lot but very few bills end up becoming a law. The first Bill was the H.R 3342 (115th) Sanctioning the Use of Civilians as Defenseless Shields Act signed by President Barak Obama that says the U.S. condemns the use of civilians as a human shield for a terrorist group. The second Bill H.R.873 - Global War on Terrorism War Memorial Act was signed by President Donald Trump in 2017 to authorize and establish the National Global War on Terrorism Memorial (“Rep. Mike Gallagher.”). Some other issues that he supports that can be found of his website includes education. Mike believes that every child regardless of demographics deserves a high-quality education which is why he supports: Income Share Agreement Act, Federal Perkins Loan Program Extension Act, School Milk Nutrition Act, and Supporting the Contributions of Catholic Schools Act. He also supports other issues along the lines of Agriculture, Cybersecurity, Foreign Policy and National Security, Environment, Congress, Economy, Health and Congress.

I truly believe that I am represented by Mike Gallagher and that he values his community. I recently emailed him about a current issue that I care deeply on about our prison system and I got a response back right away (Figure 1). He wrote the email in a way that I could understand and reflect on. He took the time to find policies that support this issue and even said which ones he voted on. Because of this I know that he believes in the people and their ability to change. Election is coming up very soon and I know who my vote belongs to.