Adrian Smith (politician)

In 1998, Smith defeated incumbent State Legislator Joyce Hillman 55%–45%.[2] In 2002, he won re-election to a second term unopposed.[3] Since Nebraska voters passed Initiative Measure 415 in 2001, he was term-limited.[4]

He sat on the Natural Resources and Building Maintenance committees and was the vice chairperson of the Transportation and Telecommunications committee.[5] Smith served as Vice Chair of the Military and Veterans’ Affairs Committee and as Chairman of the Four State Legislative Conference in 2001.

Smith ran for the open seat in the 3rd district in the 2006 election. Three-term incumbent Tom Osborne gave up the seat to make an unsuccessful run for Governor of Nebraska.

Smith won the Republican primary with 39% of the vote in a field of five candidates. He faced Democrat Scott Kleeb, a ranch hand and Yale graduate, in the general election.

Approximately one-third of the funding of his campaign came from members of the Club for Growth, a fiscally conservative group that supports tax cuts, limited government, school choice, and advocates eliminating all agricultural subsidies and the elimination of the US Department of Agriculture.[6]

For a time, Smith was presumed to be a prohibitive favorite in this overwhelmingly Republican district. The 3rd is one of the most Republican districts in the nation; presidential and statewide candidates routinely win it with 70 percent or more of the vote. The 3rd is extremely difficult to campaign in and has few unifying influences. It covers nearly 65,000 square miles (170,000 km²), two time zones, and 68.5 of Nebraska's 93 counties (one of which, Cherry County, is larger than the entire state of Connecticut). However, Kleeb raised more money than any other Democrat had raised in the district in decades. Overall, the race was the most expensive in the district since it assumed its current configuration in 1963.

As the race become more competitive than expected, it received late national attention from the House campaign committees. [7] [8]

President George W. Bush also made an appearance in the district two days before the election to campaign for Smith—a sign that the national party was very concerned about its chances in what had long been presumed to be a very safe Republican seat. [9]

In the end, Smith won by 10 percentage points, taking 55 percent of the vote to Kleeb's 45 percent. [10] This was the closest a Democrat had come to winning the district in 16 years; in 1990, Republican Bill Barrett only defeated fellow Unicameral member Sandra Scofield by 4,400 votes. It was also only the third time a Democrat had come reasonably close to winning this district in its current configuration; besides Barrett's narrow win in 1990, Virginia D. Smith only won her first term by 737 votes in 1974.

Besides Bush's visit two days before the election, Smith likely rode the coattails of Governor Dave Heineman, who won many of the counties in the district with 80 percent or more of the vote in his bid for a full term.

Smith won the primary with 87% of the vote.[11] He won re-election to a second term, defeating Democrat Jay Stoddard 77%–23%.[12]

Smith won the primary with 88% of the vote.[13] He won re-election to a third term, defeating Democrat Rebekah Davis 70%–18%.[14]

He won the Republican primary with 82% of the vote.[15] He won re-election to a fourth term, defeating Democrat Mark Sullivan 74%–26%.[16]

He won the Republican primary with 68% of the vote. He won re-election to a fifth term, defeating Democrat Mark Sullivan for the second time 75%–25%.[17]

He was unopposed in the Republican primary and won with 100% of the vote. He was unopposed in the general election and won re-election to a sixth term with 100% of the vote.[18]

He won the Republican primary with 66% of the vote. He won re-election to a seventh term, defeating Democrat Paul Theobald 77%–23%.[19]

In December 2020, Smith was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives who signed an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden prevailed[20] over incumbent Donald Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of the election held by another state.[21][22][23]

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement that called signing the amicus brief an act of "election subversion." Additionally, Pelosi reprimanded Smith and the other House members who supported the lawsuit: "The 126 Republican Members that signed onto this lawsuit brought dishonor to the House. Instead of upholding their oath to support and defend the Constitution, they chose to subvert the Constitution and undermine public trust in our sacred democratic institutions."[24][25] New Jersey Representative Bill Pascrell, citing section three of the 14th Amendment, called for Pelosi to not seat Smith and the other Republicans who signed the brief supporting the suit. Pascrell argued that "the text of the 14th Amendment expressly forbids Members of Congress from engaging in rebellion against the United States. Trying to overturn a democratic election and install a dictator seems like a pretty clear example of that."[26]

• Committee on Ways and Means
  • Subcommittee on Trade
  • Subcommittee on Social Security

• Congressional Rural Caucus (co-chair)
• Republican Study Committee
• Tea Party Caucus
• Congressional Constitution Caucus[27]