Candidate Profile

David Vitter

Political Party: Republican Age: 52 Spouse: Wendy Baldwin Vitter Residence: Metairie, Louisiana Education: Harvard College: B.A. in Economics Oxford University: B.A. Tulane University Law School: Juris Doctorate Children: 4 Children Occupation: United States Senator for Louisiana Religion: Roman Catholic Biography: David Vitter is a native of New Orleans, LA. He is the son of Audrey Malvina and Albert Leopold Vitter. He attended De La Salle High School in New Orleans, Louisiana and went on to attend Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts where he received a B.A. in economics. From there he was named a Rhodes Scholar and attended Oxford University, receiving a B.A. Vitter then received a Juris Doctorate from Tulane University Law School in New Orleans, Louisiana. He began his career as a lawyer and an adjunct law professor at Tulane and Loyola University New Orleans. Vitter began his political career in 1992, winning a seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives, where he served until 1999. In 1999, Vitter won a special election to Louisianas first congressional district, defeating former Louisiana congressman and Governor David Treen. He won reelection in this district in 2000 and 2002. In 2002, Vitter considered running for governor of Louisiana, but shortly before a story about an alleged relationship with a prostitute, Vitter dropped out the race. Vitter ran for an open seat in the U.S. Senate in 2004, a position he still holds. Vitter is currently the ranking member on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Vitter also serves on the Armed Services, Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Small Business and Entrepreneurship committees, as well as the Subcommittee on Economic Policy, the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, Subcommittee on Financial Instutitions and Consumer Protection, the Subcommittee on SeaPower, the Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance and Investments and the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces. Vitter lives in Metairie with his wife and four children, Sophie, Lise, Airey and Jack.

2010 Louisiana United States Senatorial Election David Vitter (R) 57% Charlie Melancon (D) 38% Randall T. Hayes (L) 1% 2004 Louisiana United States Senatorial Election David Vitter (R) 51% Chris John (D) 29% John Neely Kennedy (D) 15% Arthur Morrell (D) 3% Richard Fontanesi (I) 1% R.A. Galan (I) 1% Sam Melton (D) 1% 1999 Louisiana 1st District United States Congressional Election David Vitter (R) 51% David C. Treen (R) 49%

Strengths & Weaknesses: David Vitter is a well-established Louisiana Republican. He has served in Louisiana politics for 14 years. In the time from 2009 to 2014 he has raised over $12 million. His top industry donators were oil and gas, heath professionals and lawyers. He has the financial support also of a Louisiana based Law Firms, Adams and Reese, as well as Baton Rouge based Mockler Beverage Distributors. This shows how the Louisiana businesses are supporting Vitter in his efforts in the Senate. The money that he has raised has translated into many successful terms in the senate. He is well liked among Louisiana residents. When the senate is in session, Vitter will spend Monday morning through Thursday afternoon in Washington DC, and fly home to Louisiana to spend time with his family and hold town hall meetings in different parishes. In addition to in person town halls, Vitter also hosts tele-town halls, in which a certain area of Louisiana will be picked, around 50,000 constituent phone numbers will be dialed, and Vitter will speak about an issue. The constituents will also get their chance to talk to the Senator about his or her own concerns through a screening process and then put on the line directly with Vitter for all those on the line to hear. Vitter is a strong conservative as he is pro-life, anti government spending, and anti gun restriction laws. Vitter is a very strong candidate in an election because of his charisma and commanding personality. He also relates to people on a personal level. He runs meetings very efficiently and gets meeting agendas accomplished. He has the support of the conservative party and the state of Louisiana, as well as the National Rifle Association, the National Right to Life Committee and the Americans for Legal Immigration. Recently however, Vitter voted against an immigration bill along with four other Senate republicans that would have increased the number of temporary workers allowed in the US. When a poll went out about the bill, 29 states, including Louisiana, were in favor of the bill. This shows that Vitter sometimes will stick to party lines more than what the citizens of Louisiana would want. This could be a potential weakness for Vitter. As the ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, he has had many panels on issues that pertain to not only the nation, but Louisiana as well. Vitter was involved in a scandal where he was alleged to have a relationship with a prostitute. For most politicians, this would be a career ending accusation, but Vitter took some personal time and was able to be reelected to his seat in the senate. Because Vitter has won reelection since this scandal however, this relationship would not be a good point of attack.