JC Watts

JC Watts

JC Watts (born November 18, 1957 in Eufaula , McIntosh County , Oklahoma ) is an American politician ( Republican Party ). From 1995 to 2003 he represented the fourth constituency of the state of Oklahoma in the US House of Representatives .

Career

JC Watts attended Eufaula High School until 1976 and then studied journalism at the University of Oklahoma . By 1986 he was a successful football player in the Canadian Football League . With the Ottawa Rough Riders he reached the championship final in 1981; later he moved to the Toronto Argonauts . Then Watts became a preacher in the Baptist Church . Between 1990 and 1995 he was a member of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission , which he chaired in 1993. He was the first African American to serve in a state-wide office in the Oklahoma government.

In 1994, Watts was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC , in the fourth district of Oklahoma . There he replaced Dave McCurdy on January 3, 1995 . In the following elections up to the year 2000 he was confirmed in his office with a share of votes between 58% and 65%. Since he was no longer running in 2002, he resigned from Congress on January 3, 2003 . Watts was a member of the Finance Committee and the Armed Forces Committee. In 1997 he responded for his party to President Bill Clinton's annual State of the Union declaration . This made him the youngest MP and the first African American to do this job.

After his time in Congress, Watts was of President George W. Bush in the governing body ( Board of Visitors of) Military Academy in West Point appointed. In 2003 he supported the Iraq war . Afterwards he represented the interests of several companies and corporations as a lobbyist. For the gubernatorial elections in Oklahoma in 2010, his name was brought into play. But he denied these speculations.

In 2016 Watts distanced himself from the then presidential candidate Trump . He did not speak to him as a believer, as a conservative, or as an African American. After the far-right demonstration in Charlottesville , JC Watts was one of the few well-known Republicans to openly criticize Donald Trump and the reactions of the Republicans.

JC Watts is married to Frankie Watts, with whom he has six children.

Works

JC Watts, What Color Is a Conservative ?: My Life and My Politics , 2002 (autobiography)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The initials have no meaning, but are sometimes written out as "Julius Caesar", as Watts' father arbitrarily gave this name in his youth when he was asked for a full name. Adapted from: Sanders, Bob Ray (December 11, 2002). "Black conservative looks at life". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Accessed March 19, 2009.
2. ↑ Chris Casteel, JC Watts: Donald Trump doesn't speak to me , The Oklahomian, May 10, 2016.
3. ^ Former GOP Rep .: If Leaders Are Silent, 'They Wear The Cap' , NBC of August 20, 2017.

Web links

Commons : JC Watts  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Wikiquote: JC Watts  - Quotes

• JC Watts in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• Biography in the Britannica