Terri Sewell

2010

After four-term Democratic incumbent Artur Davis gave up the seat to run for governor, Sewell entered the Democratic primary—the real contest in this majority Democratic, majority-black district. She finished first in the four-way primary with 36.8 percent of the vote.[11] In the runoff, she defeated Jefferson County commissioner Sheila Smoot with 55 percent of the vote.[12][13]

In the general election, Sewell defeated Republican opponent Don Chamberlain in a landslide, taking 72.4 percent of the vote to become the first black woman elected to Congress from Alabama. The 7th is so strongly Democratic that Sewell essentially clinched her seat by winning the primary.[14]

2012

Sewell was the only candidate to file for the Democratic nomination in 2012, and won the general election over Chamberlain as in 2010.[15][16]

2014

Sewell was challenged in the Democratic primary by Tamara Harris Johnson, a former Birmingham City Attorney. No Republican candidate filed. Sewell defeated Johnson with 83.9% of the primary vote, effectively clinching a third term.

2016

Sewell was again unchallenged by a Republican in the 2016 general election. She easily won a fourth term against a write-in opponent.

2018

Sewell was once again unchallenged by a Republican in the 2018 general election. She easily won a fifth term against a write-in opponent.

2020

Like in 2016 and 2018, Sewell was unchallenged by a Republican in the 2020 general election. She easily won a sixth term against a write-in opponent.

Sewell and former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden in 2020

Sewell and U.S. Senator Doug Jones in January 2018

Since being elected, Sewell has voted with her party 91% of the time. She was a strong supporter of President Obama's policies.[17][18] She has a lifetime rating of 8% from Heritage Action for America for voting for pro-conservative laws.[19] Despite this, for the 114th United States Congress, Sewell was ranked as the 94th most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives (and the most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Alabama) in the Bipartisan Index created by The Lugar Center and the McCourt School of Public Policy that ranks members of the United States Congress by their degree of bipartisanship (by measuring the frequency each member's bills attract co-sponsors from the opposite party and each member's co-sponsorship of bills by members of the opposite party).[20] Sewell has established herself as a liberal with a focus on job creation.[21] Sewell is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus.[22]

In January 2020, Sewell endorsed Joe Biden for president.[23]

On January 15, 2021 Sewell was appointed as Speaker Pro Tempore in the absence of Speaker Pelosi.[24]

Terri Sewell is pro-choice.[25] As of 2018, she has as 100% rating for her voting record on pro-choice legislation by NARAL.[26] Sewell opposed the Human Life Protection Act, which went into effect in 2019. She described the bill on Twitter as "both blatantly unconstitutional and a brazen, extremist attack on women’s rights."[27]

Terri Sewell with John Lewis and Frederick D. Reese in 2016

Sewell has a 79% rating from the ACLU for her pro-civil rights voting record.[28] As of 2015, she is the only representative from Alabama to have a 100% rating from the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda for supporting Latino civil rights related legislation.[29] She has a 94% rating from the NAACP for her voting history regarding legislature supporting African Americans.[30]

Sewell has been endorsed by the Feminist Majority in past elections.[31] In 2011, Sewell signed the Equal Rights Amendment. Two years later, in 2013, Sewell voted in support of reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act.[32] In 2019, she voted in support of the Paycheck Fairness Act.[33]

She has a score of "85" out of 100 for her voting on pro-LGBTQ laws from the Human Rights Campaign.[34] She co-sponsored the Student Non-Discrimination Act in 2013 which, if enacted, would have protected LGBT students from anti-gay bullying and discrimination in public schools.[32]

Sewell is a staunch advocate for voting rights. In 2019, she sponsored the Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would update the Voting Rights Act of 1965, by providing increased oversight over voting changes, updating the pre-clearance formula to oversee contemporary discrimination patterns, and expanding the power of the Attorney General to send federal observers to jurisdictions in areas at risk for discrimination during voting.[35] In 2019, she co-sponsored the For the People Act of 2019.[33]

Sewell has a 92% lifetime rating for her pro-union voting history from the AFL-CIO and a 97% lifetime rating from the AFSCME.[36][37] She has a lifetime score of 61% from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for her pro-business votes.[38] Sewell is a proponent of a $15 minimum wage.[39]

Sewell’s stance has been generally anti-drug. Although she supports scientific research to evaluate the medical use of marijuana, she does not support legalization of cannabis in Alabama. Sewell has a "D" rating from NORML, and a score of 3 out of 6 from National Cannabis Industry Association, regarding her voting record for cannabis.[40][41]

Sewell is a major supporter of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In 2019, she sponsored a bill, which passed, funding HBCUs $70 million for capital improvements and to support their educational work.[42]

Sewell opposes offshore drilling and opposes allowing the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.[43]

In 2018, the Humane Society of the United States gave Sewell a rating of 45% for her pro-animal welfare voting history.[44] She has a 79% rating from the League of Conservation Voters for her pro-environment voting record.[45]

Sewell has worked with Ivanka Trump to develop policies related to paid parental leave.[39]

Sewell supported Obama's decisions regarding Afghanistan, citing "trust" for his policies.[17] She was part of a bipartisan delegation to accompany Nancy Pelosi on a 2-day trip to Afghanistan in May 2012. While there, they spent time "with American service-members and meeting local officials to discuss security and women's issues."[46]

Sewell supports tariffs on countries involved in currency manipulation. She signed the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act 2010.[47]

Sewell co-sponsored the STOCK Act in 2011 and the DISCLOSE Act in 2012. That same year, she also co-sponsored the SIMPLE Voting Act, to require a minimum of 15 days of nationwide early voting.[48]

In 2019, Sewell voted in support for the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019, requiring background checks on anyone seeking to buy a firearm.[33]

Sewell is the only representative from Alabama to have a 100% rating from Planned Parenthood for voting history of support for women's health.[49]

Sewell voted in favor of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). She supports Medicaid expansion and offering incentives for states to do so. She is currently sponsoring bills to lower prescription drug costs, expand funding for rural hospitals, and to support more health studies on African American health disparities.[39]

Sewell supported extending the PATRIOT Act's wiretapping.[50] She voted against funding to support Trump's wall.[45]

When Alabama governor Kay Ivey shared that she had performed in a college skit in blackface, Sewell responded calling Ivey's actions "reprehensible" and "deeply offensive,” adding that "racism – in any of its forms – is never acceptable, not in the 1960s and not now."[51]

As of 2018, Sewell has a 96% lifetime score from the Alliance of Retired Americans for her pro-retirement voting record.[52]

Sewell supported President Obama's plan to extend tax cuts for low- and middle-income Americans, but declined to discuss her stance on taxation for high-income Americans.[17] In response to Obama's Framework for Business Tax Reform, Sewell said: "I applaud the President for outlining a bold framework for reforming the U.S. business tax system."[53]

Sewell wants to see the Military Widow’s Tax eliminated.[54]

On December 18, 2019, Sewell voted for both articles of impeachment against President Donald J. Trump and was the lone Representative from Alabama in the House to do so.[55]

Sewell opposed removing armed forces from Afghanistan in 2011.[56]

Sewell has voted in opposition to work requirements for welfare recipients.[57]

Representative Sewell currently serves on the following House committees:[58]

• House Committee on Ways and Means (Vice Chair)
  • Subcommittee on Health
  • Subcommittee on Worker and Family Support
  • Subcommittee on Trade
• Committee on Intelligence
  • Subcommittee on Defense Intelligence and Warfighter Support (Chair)
  • Subcommittee on Intelligence Modernization and Readiness

• Congressional Black Caucus[58]
• New Democrat Coalition[58] (Vice Chair)
• Congressional Voting Rights Caucus[58]