Jump to content

Sam Rohrer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sam Rohrer
Member of thePennsylvania House of Representatives
from the128thdistrict
In office
January 5, 1993[1]– November 30, 2010
Preceded byJames Gallen
Succeeded byMark Gillen
Personal details
Born
Samuel E. Rohrer

(1955-08-11)August 11, 1955(age 68)
Dover, Ohio,U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseRuth Ann Rohrer
ResidenceRobeson Township, Pennsylvania
Alma materBob Jones University
Website[1]

Samuel E. Rohrer(born August 11, 1955) is an American businessman and politician. A member of theRepublican Party,he served as a member of thePennsylvania House of Representativesfrom the128th District.

Before entering politics, Rohrer managed a radio station and worked in marketing forGraco.In 2010, he ran forGovernorofPennsylvania,losing in theprimary electiontoTom Corbett.Rohrer ran for theUnited States Senatein 2012 to challenge incumbentDemocraticincumbentBob Casey, Jr.,but was defeated in the primary byTom Smith.[2]He is currently president of the Pennsylvania Pastors' Network, a branch ofLet Freedom Ring, Inc.[3]

Early life, education, and radio career

[edit]

Rohrer was born inDover, Ohio,and is an alumnus ofTuscarawas Valley High School.After earning a degree in Business Administration fromBob Jones Universityin 1977, he managed a radio station for several years before becoming director of marketing forGraco,based inElverson, Pennsylvania.[4]

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

[edit]

Elections

[edit]

Rohrer was elected to theState Housein November 1992, succeeding retiringRepublicanJim Gallen.[5]He typically won re-election with over 60% of the vote. However, he faced difficult contests in his last two elections. In 2006, he defeated Democrat Russell Hummel 55–45%.[6]In 2008, he defeated Democrat John Woodward 52–48%.[7]

Tenure

[edit]

He introduced legislation that would eliminate schoolproperty taxesin Pennsylvania.[8]He was a strong opponent of theREAL ID Act.[9]He authored the historic Education Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) scholarship. Today over 150,000 students have earned the scholarship to go to private schools.

Committee assignments

[edit]
  • House Finance Committee (Chairman)[10]
  • House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee (Chairman)
  • House Game and Fisheries Committee
  • House Appropriations Committee[11]

2010 gubernatorial campaign

[edit]
Main article:Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 2010

In November 2009, Rohrer announced that he would not seek re-election to the State House, and would instead seek the Republican nomination forgovernor.[12]His campaign team, which was headed byJeff Coleman,a former colleague of Rohrer's in the State House, received praise for its innovative and effective use of technology, including social media.[13]Rohrer's primary opponent,State Attorney GeneralTom Corbett,was endorsed by theRepublican State Committee of Pennsylvaniaon February 13, 2010, but that endorsement also generated support for Rohrer from members of theTea Party movement.Rohrer and his supporters organized a day-long rally entitled "Mobilize for Liberty", which included seminars and a speech from Rohrer, that took place down the hall from the main ballroom in which the State Committee was announcing its endorsement of Corbett.[14]Following its endorsement of Corbett, the State Committee sent out mailers attacking Rohrer's vote in favor of the2005 legislative pay raise,as well as his 2001 vote in favor of a plan to increase lawmaker pensions by upwards of 50 percent.[13]

Ultimately, Corbett defeated Rohrer 69–31%.[15]Rohrer only won two counties in the state:Lancaster County(52%) andBerks County(80%). He nearly wonClintonandLycoming Counties[16]During the following summer, supporters initiated awrite-incampaign for the November election. Rohrer did not endorse nor denounce the ultimately unsuccessful campaign.[17]

Between campaigns

[edit]

In February 2011 Rohrer became Pennsylvania state director forAmericans for Prosperity.[18]Rohrer resigned from the position in November, in preparation for a run for theUnited States Senate.[19]

2012 U.S. Senate election

[edit]
Main article:United States Senate election in Pennsylvania, 2012

On Friday, November 4, 2011,Jeff Coleman,who again signed-on to advise Rohrer's campaign, told theAssociated Press[20]that Rohrer was considering a run for theUnited States Senateseat currently held byDemocratBob Casey Jr.,and would likely officially announce his candidacy later in the month.[20]Rohrer officially announced his candidacy at rally nearHarrisburg, Pennsylvaniaon November 21.[21]He also released a web video announcing his entrance to the race.[22]

A poll taken shortly after his entrance into the race found Rohrer ahead of the rest of the primary field, besting his closest competitor by ten percentage points.[23][24]In aPittsburgh Tribune Review/WPXI-TV poll taken February 2–6, 2012, Rohrer continued to lead his opponents, albeit by a slighter margin; businessmanTom Smithhad the support of 8% of those polled to Rohrer's 10%.[25]A later poll conducted byFranklin & Marshall Collegeon March 20–25 placed Rohrer slightly behind Smith, with 7% and 9% support, respectively, with 81% of those surveyed remaining undecided.[26]

Rohrer was endorsed by former2012 Presidential candidatesMichele BachmannandHerman Cain.[27]

Rohrer was defeated in the primary by fellow Republican Tom Smith on April 24, 2012.[2]

Personal life

[edit]

Rohrer and his wife, Ruth Ann, have six children and five grandchildren.[18]He currently serves as president of the Pennsylvania Pastors' Network, a branch ofLet Freedom Ring, Inc.that informs clergy on issues pertaining to public policy.[3]On March 21, 2013 he was awarded "Alumnus of the Year" at the annual Bob Jones University Bible Conference.[28]

References

[edit]
  1. ^"SESSION OF 1993 - 177TH OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY - No. 1"(PDF).Legislative Journal.Pennsylvania House of Representatives. 1993-01-05.
  2. ^abBrennan, Kevin (24 April 2012)."Smith Wins Pennsylvania Senate GOP Primary".National Journal.Archived fromthe originalon 27 April 2012.Retrieved25 April2012.
  3. ^abGibson, Keegan (28 June 2012)."Rohrer Gets a New Gig".PoliticsPA.Retrieved1 July2012.
  4. ^"Sam Rohrer: Pennsylvania governor candidate".The Patriot News. 21 April 2010.RetrievedNovember 23,2011.
  5. ^Ayers, Chuck (March 18, 1992)."2 More Candidates Intend to Seek 6th District Bids".The Morning Call.RetrievedNovember 24,2011.
  6. ^"Our Campaigns - PA State House 128 Race - Nov 07, 2006".
  7. ^"Our Campaigns - PA State House 128 Race - Nov 04, 2008".
  8. ^Phyrillas, Tony (May 6, 2009)."Rohrer introduces school property tax elimination bill".The Mercury.RetrievedNovember 23,2011.
  9. ^Rohrer, Sam."REAL ID and the PASS Act America's Growing Surveillance Society".Address to the 10th Annual Freedom21 Conference.Scribd.
  10. ^Phyrillas, Tony (September 15, 2009)."'False hope': Area reps say no deal to new pact ".The Mercury.RetrievedNovember 23,2011.
  11. ^"Biography of Sam Rohrer - Life-Long Conservative Public Servant | Sam Rohrer for U.S. Senate".Archived fromthe originalon 2012-03-29.Retrieved2012-04-11.
  12. ^Mekeel, David (November 18, 2009)."Rohrer to seek GOP nomination for governor".The Reading Eagle.RetrievedNovember 23,2011.
  13. ^abGibson, Keegan (November 22, 2011)."Rohrer Launches Senate Bid".PoliticsPA.RetrievedNovember 23,2011.
  14. ^Fitzgerald, Tom (February 16, 2010)."State GOP endorses Corbett for governor".The Philadelphia Inquirer.RetrievedNovember 23,2011.
  15. ^"Pennsylvania Governor Primary Results".PA Secretary of State.May 18, 2010.RetrievedJune 2,2010.
  16. ^"Our Campaigns - PA Governor - R Primary Race - May 18, 2010".
  17. ^Schultheis, Emily (August 8, 2010)."Rohrer supporters launch write-in campaign".Politico.RetrievedNovember 23,2011.
  18. ^abAFP Blog."AFP-PA welcomes Pennsylvania grassroots hero, Sam Rohrer as Pennsylvania's new state director".Americans for Prosperity.RetrievedNovember 23,2011.
  19. ^Levy, Marc (4 November 2011)."Sam Rohrer to run for Casey's Senate seat".MSNBC.Retrieved6 November2011.[dead link]
  20. ^ab"Former state Rep. Sam Rohrer joins U.S. Senate race".Pittsburgh Tribune.5 November 2011.Retrieved6 November2011.
  21. ^Olson, Laura (22 November 2011)."Ex-state legislator joins race for Casey seat".Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.Retrieved23 November2011.
  22. ^"Video Announcement".Sam Rohrer for U.S. Senate.RetrievedNovember 22,2011.
  23. ^Foster, Brittany (November 22, 2011)."Poll: Rohrer Leads Senate Field".PoliticsPA.RetrievedNovember 23,2011.
  24. ^"Gingrich winning in both Arizona and Pennsylvania"(PDF).Public Policy Polling.Retrieved24 November2011.
  25. ^Fontaine, Tom (10 February 2012)."GOP lacks name recognition in Casey bid".Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.Archived fromthe originalon 13 February 2012.Retrieved26 February2012.
  26. ^Krawczeniuk, Borys (28 March 2012)."Poll: Santorum, Romney neck-and-neck in Pennsylvania".The Scranton Times Tribune.Retrieved24 April2012.
  27. ^Gibson, Keegan (28 March 2012)."Bachmann Endorses Rohrer".PoliticsPA.Retrieved24 April2012.
  28. ^"Alumni Association Awards | Bob Jones University".bju.edu.Archived fromthe originalon 2012-02-10.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sam_Rohrer&oldid=1194793541"