Steven Horsford

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Steven Horsford (2019)

Steven Alexander Horsford (born April 29, 1973 in Las Vegas , Nevada ) is an American politician of the Democratic Party . From 2013 to 2015 he represented the fourth congressional electoral district of the state of Nevada in the US House of Representatives and has represented it again since 2019.

Family, education and work

Steven Horsford's grandmother immigrated to the United States from Trinidad and Tobago , where she looked for work as a domestic servant; his then young mother accompanied her. Horsford began caring for his younger siblings when he was ten because his mother suffered from addiction problems and his grandmother was paralyzed in need of constant medical care. The family had financial problems and moved frequently. When he was 19 years old, his father was shot dead in a drug-related incident. Steven Horsford attended Clark High School in Las Vegas while working at Pizza Hut and a shelter. He then studied political science and communication at the University of Nevada in Reno , but initially did not graduate because he took care of his siblings again. He only graduated in December 2014.

From 2001 to 2012 he was CEO of the Culinary Training Academy , which provides trainees to hospitality establishments in Las Vegas and improves employer-union relations, and worked for the nonprofit Nevada Partners from 2001 to 2008 . Between 2000 and 2004 he worked for the Southern Nevada Investment Board . This committee is working to increase the employment rate in southern Nevada. He was also part of the Democratic National Committee and was a member of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee , which raises funds for election campaigns. After his election defeat in 2015, Horsford stayed in Washington, DC , where he worked for diversity management at the political consultancy firm R & R Partners as well as in the company Resources + , which he founded and which is committed to diversifying the labor market.

Horsford has been married to University Professor Sonya Horsford (née Kaye Douglass) since 2000, with whom he has three children. His family lives in Arlington, near Washington, but he moved back to Nevada before the 2018 election, where other family members live.

Political career

Between 2004 and 2012 Horsford was a member of the Nevada Senate for its 4th constituency, which includes the most demographically and economically diverse area of ​​Nevada. From 2009 he led the democratic group there as the first African-American and youngest chairman. He was also a member of three committees, including the finance and tax committees. In the State Senate, he promoted jobs in renewable energies and tax incentives for companies to create high-paying jobs, as well as stricter rules for mining and mandatory mediation before foreclosure sales of real estate. He spoke out against planned cuts in Medicaid and the draft budget of Republican Governor Brian Sandoval for 2012. In 2008 he supported the successful presidential campaign of Barack Obama as one of the chairs of the election campaign in Nevada.

In the 2012 election , Horsford was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the newly established fourth congressional electoral district of Nevada . The district connects the rural, Republican-leaning center of the state with northern Clark County , home to 80 percent of the Congressional district's residents and who are heavily Democratic. Overall, the district is structurally slightly inclined towards the Democrats ( Cook Partisan Voting Index for the 115th Congress : D + 3). Horsford became the first African American to represent Nevada in Congress on January 3, 2013. In the election he prevailed with 50 percent of the vote against Republican Danny Tarkanian (42 percent). Among other things, he was a member of the Committee on Internal Security , worked on a fundamental reform of immigration policy and advocated increased benefits for the unemployed. In the following election in 2014 , he lost to Republican Cresent Hardy with 45 compared to 48.5 percent of the vote and therefore resigned on January 3 2015 back on the Congress from. During the election campaign, Horsford was criticized for its proximity to President Obama, who was particularly unpopular in rural areas.

After Democrat Ruben Kihuen , who had held Horsford's previous mandate since 2017, failed to stand for re-election in 2018 for alleged sexual harassment, Horsford announced in January 2018 that it would seek nominations for the Democrats for the 2018 4th Congressional District election. Horsford cited his frustration with President Donald Trump and the reversal of many projects and decisions by Barack Obama as one of the reasons. He won the Democratic primary election on June 12, 2018 with 61.7 percent of the vote and again ran against Republican Cresent Hardy, who defeated him in 2014, in the November 2018 main election. Political observers saw in this mid-term election in presidential Donald Trumps benefits for Horsford, who was supported by Barack Obama. He won the election with 52.0 to 43.7 percent and a good 19,000 vote lead. During the election campaign, Hardy had emphasized strengthening national security and transportation infrastructure, while Horsford had focused on improvements in education and affordable health insurance.

Horsford took office in the House of Representatives on January 3, 2019.

Positions

Horsford represents more left-liberal positions ( “liberal” ), which largely correspond to the party line, but no genuinely left-wing politics. For example, he supports women ’s freedom of choice when it comes to abortion ( Pro-Choice , Roe v. Wade ) and opposes the end of funding for Planned Parenthood called for by Republicans , but supports the Hyde Amendment . In education policy, he fought against budget cuts and advocated affordable college fees , but unlike Bernie Sanders , for example, did not demand complete exemption from fees. He also spoke out against general state health insurance ( single payer ), which was called for by many on the left , but in favor of expanding affordable health care for as many people as possible. In terms of immigration policy, Horsford advocates a comprehensive reform, wants to enable illegal immigrants as children to gain citizenship ( Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals ) and speaks out against the construction of a border wall to Mexico because of the costs . He has spoken out in favor of initiating impeachment proceedings against President Trump.

Web links

Commons : Steven Horsford  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

supporting documents

  1. ↑ Victoria Bishop: Horsford, Steven A. (1973–). In: Black Past ; Blake Neff: Horsford overcomes hurdles to reach Hill. In: The Hill , November 18, 2013; Michelle Rindels: On the Record: The policy positions of congressional candidate Steven Horsford. In: The Nevada Independent , February 4, 2018.
  2. ↑ Catherine Cole: Former Congressman Steven Horsford Enters Partnership with R&R Partners in Washington, DC In: RRPartners.com , March 20, 2015.
  3. ↑ Victoria Bishop: Horsford, Steven A. (1973–). In: Black Past.
  4. ↑ Michelle Rindels: Former Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford announces run for his old House seat. In: The Nevada Independent , January 25, 2018.
  5. ^ Bill Dentzer: Horsford beats Hardy in rematch for Nevada's 4th Congressional District. In: Las Vegas Review-Journal , Nov. 7, 2018; Catherine Cole: Former Congressman Steven Horsford Enters Partnership with R&R Partners in Washington, DC In: RRPartners.com , March 20, 2015. See also Resources Plus (Horsford Company website).
  6. ↑ Victoria Bishop: Horsford, Steven A. (1973–). In: Black Past ; Michelle Rindels: Former Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford announces run for his old House seat. In: The Nevada Independent , January 25, 2018.
  7. ↑ Victoria Bishop: Horsford, Steven A. (1973–). In: Black Past.
  8. ^ Bill Dentzer: Horsford beats Hardy in rematch for Nevada's 4th Congressional District. In: Las Vegas Review-Journal , November 7, 2018.
  9. ↑ Michelle Rindels: Former Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford announces run for his old House seat. In: The Nevada Independent , January 25, 2018; Reid Wilson: Why a Nevada congressional candidate is paying for his opponent's advertising. In: The Washington Post , October 31, 2014.
  10. ↑ Michelle Rindels: Former Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford announces run for his old House seat. In: The Nevada Independent , January 25, 2018.
  11. ^ Ramona Giwargis: Rematch appears set for Horsford, Hardy in Nevada's CD4. In: Las Vegas Review-Journal , June 12, 2018; Steven Horsford, Cresent Hardy win Nevada 4th Congressional District primaries. In: The Washington Post , August 8, 2018.
  12. ↑ 2018 Midterm Election Forecast: Nevada 4th. In: FiveThirtyEight .
  13. ↑ Obama endorses Nevada Democrats Rosen, Lee and Horsford. In: Associated Press , August 1, 2018.
  14. ^ Bill Dentzer: Horsford beats Hardy in rematch for Nevada's 4th Congressional District. In: Las Vegas Review-Journal , Nov. 7, 2018; Our Campaigns election result .
  15. ↑ Michelle Rindels: On the Record: The policy positions of congressional candidate Steven Horsford. In: The Nevada Independent , February 4, 2018.
personal data
SURNAME Horsford, Steven
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Horsford, Steven Alexander (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American Democratic Party politician
DATE OF BIRTH April 29, 1973
PLACE OF BIRTH Las Vegas , Nevada