Fred Keller (politician)

Frederick B. Keller (born October 23, 1965) is an American politician from Pennsylvania, who is the U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district.[1] He was a Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 85th district from 2011 until his resignation in May 2019 following election to the U.S. House.[2][3]

Fred Keller
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 12th district
Assumed office
June 3, 2019
Preceded byTom Marino
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
from the 85th district
In office
January 4, 2011 – May 22, 2019
Preceded byRuss Fairchild
Succeeded byDavid H. Rowe
Personal details
Born (1965-10-23) October 23, 1965
Page, Arizona, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)
Kay Payne
​
(m. 1985)​
Children2
WebsiteHouse website

Early life and career

Keller was born in Page, Arizona, to parents who were native Pennsylvanians that had moved west for work.[4] After graduating from Shikellamy High School in 1984,[3] Keller got a job at Conestoga Wood Specialties, a factory that makes cabinets and other wooden kitchen products, in Beavertown, Pennsylvania. He was ultimately promoted to become the plant operations manager.[5][6] In 1990, Keller began a real estate property business, and attended Don Paul Shearer Real Estate school in 1995.[2][4]

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

In 2010, Keller ran as a Republican for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in the 85th district, seeking to succeed Republican Russ Fairchild, who was retiring.[6] He was elected to the Pennsylvania House, and was reelected every two years through 2018.[7] He was appointed to the board of trustees of the Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System in 2019.[8]

U.S. House of Representatives

2019 special election
Main article: 2019 Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district special election

Following Tom Marino's resignation from the United States House of Representatives in January 2019, Keller declared his candidacy in the 2019 Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district special election.[9]

He won the Republican nomination at a conference meeting on March 2.[10] Keller won the general election on May 21, defeating previous 2018 Democratic nominee Marc Friedenberg, and resigned from his state House seat on May 22.[11][12] He was sworn in on June 3.[13]

2020
See also: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania § District 12

Keller ran for and won reelection on November 3, 2020, against Lee Griffin, gaining 70.8% of the vote.

Tenure

In December 2020, Keller 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[14] 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.[15][16][17]

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement that called signing the amicus brief an act of "election subversion." Additionally, Pelosi reprimanded Keller 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."[18][19] New Jersey Representative Bill Pascrell, citing section three of the 14th Amendment, called for Pelosi to not seat Keller 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."[20]

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

Electoral history
Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district special election, 2019[25]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Fred Keller 90,000 68.08% +2.04%
Democratic Marc Friedenberg 42,195 31.92% -2.04%
Total votes '132,195' '100.0%' N/A
Republican hold
Pennsylvania's 85th house district election, 2018[26]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Fred Keller (incumbent) 14,714 67.70% -32.3%
Democratic Jennifer Rager-Kay 7,012 32.30% N/A
Total votes '21,726' '100.0%' N/A
Republican hold
Pennsylvania's 85th house district election, 2016[26]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Fred Keller (incumbent) 21,304 100.00% +30.8%
Total votes '21,304' '100.0%' N/A
Republican hold
Pennsylvania's 85th house district election, 2014[26]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Fred Keller (incumbent) 10,895 69.20% -11.9%
Democratic Michael Sundberg 4,857 30.80% N/A
Total votes '15,752' '100.0%' N/A
Republican hold
Pennsylvania's 85th house district election, 2012[26]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Fred Keller (incumbent) 16,900 81.1% 15.08%
Libertarian Erik Viker 3,935 18.9% 9.9%
Total votes '20,835' '100.0%' N/A
Republican hold
Pennsylvania's 85th house district election, 2010[26]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Fred Keller 11,412 66.02% -4.43%
Democratic Trey Casimir 4,323 25.0% -4.55%
Libertarian Erik Viker 1,551 9.0% N/A
Total votes '17,286' '100.0%' N/A
Republican hold
Pennsylvania's 85th house district Republican primary election, 2010[26]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Fred Keller 3,237 44.86% N/A
Republican Maurice Brubaker 2,092 29.0% N/A
Republican Betsy M. Snook 1,886 26.14% N/A
Total votes '7,215' '100.0%' N/A

Personal life

Keller has three siblings. Soon after he began working, Keller married his wife Kay. Together, they have two grown children, one of whom survived after being hospitalized on life support and being told there was no chance for recovery. They also have two grandchildren.[4]

References
  1. "Keller, Frederick B." (PDF). Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  2. "Representative Fred Keller's Biography". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved November 22, 2012.
  3. "Fred Keller". Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Archived from the original on May 4, 2019. Retrieved November 22, 2012.
  4. Stout, Larry (April 17, 2019). "Congressional Candidate Fred Keller". Webb Weekly. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  5. Bowman, Bridget (May 21, 2019). "Republican Fred Keller wins Pennsylvania special election". Roll Call. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  6. Marcia MooreThe Daily Item (October 5, 2010). "Keller: I'm no political insider | News". dailyitem.com. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  7. Moore, Marcia (November 6, 2018). "Keller wins fifth consecutive term in 85th state House | News". dailyitem.com. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  8. Moore, Marcia (January 16, 2019). "State Rep. Keller appointed to school retirement board of trustees | News". dailyitem.com. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  9. Krawczeniuk, Borys. "List grows for those seeking Marino seat". citizensvoice.com. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  10. Moore, Marcia (March 2, 2019). "Fred Keller wins GOP nod to replace Marino | News". dailyitem.com. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  11. Almukhtar, Sarah; Lee, Jasmine C. (May 21, 2019). "Pennsylvania Special Election Results: 12th House District". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  12. Moore, Marcia (May 22, 2019). "Deadlines may keep Keller out of Washington office until June". Daily Item. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  13. "Keller to take the oath of office on June 3". Daily Item. May 24, 2019. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  14. Blood, Michael R.; Riccardi, Nicholas (December 5, 2020). "Biden officially secures enough electors to become president". AP News. Archived from the original on December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  15. Liptak, Adam (December 11, 2020). "Supreme Court Rejects Texas Suit Seeking to Subvert Election". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  16. "Order in Pending Case" (PDF). Supreme Court of the United States. December 11, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  17. Diaz, Daniella. "Brief from 126 Republicans supporting Texas lawsuit in Supreme Court". CNN. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  18. Smith, David (December 12, 2020). "Supreme court rejects Trump-backed Texas lawsuit aiming to overturn election results". The Guardian. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  19. "Pelosi Statement on Supreme Court Rejecting GOP Election Sabotage Lawsuit" (Press release). Speaker Nancy Pelosi. December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  20. Williams, Jordan (December 11, 2020). "Democrat asks Pelosi to refuse to seat lawmakers supporting Trump's election challenges". TheHill. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  21. "Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives - Official Alphabetical List". clerk.house.gov. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  22. "House Committee on Education and Labor". edlabor.house.gov. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  23. "Keller kicks off Bureau of Prisons Reform Caucus". The Review. Towanda, Pennsylvania. October 1, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  24. "2020 Election Results". us11.campaign-archive.com. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  25. "2019 Special Election 12th Congressional District". Pennsylvania Department of State. May 21, 2019. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  26. "Fred Keller". Ballotpedia. Lucy Burns Institute. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Preceded by
Russ Fairchild		 Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
from the 85th district
2011–2019		 Succeeded by
David Rowe
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Tom Marino		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district
2019–present		 Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Ron Wright		 Current United States Representatives by seniority
370th		 Succeeded by
Dan Bishop
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.