Sixty-two United Methodists will serve in 109th Congress Nov. 9, 2004 A UMNS Feature By Albert J. Menendez* Sixty-two United Methodists will serve in the 109th Congress, an increase of one from the 108th Congress. The
United Methodist Church remained in third place among all religious
groups represented in the Senate and House of Representatives. The
lawmakers will be working with an administration in which the
president, George Bush, and vice president, Dick Cheney, are United
Methodist. There are 13 United Methodists in the Senate and 49 in the House. Republicans outnumber Democrats 38 to 24. A
pastor will join the United Methodist congressional contingent in the
new Congress. Emanuel Cleaver II, a Democrat, won a seat in Missouri’s
5th Congressional District, centered in Kansas City. Also elected in
Missouri was Democrat Russ Carnahan, son of the late Gov. Mel Carnahan
and former U.S. Sen. Jean Carnahan. Carnahan won the seat formerly held
by Dick Gephardt. The third United Methodist among the House freshmen is Dan Boren, a Democrat from Oklahoma and son of a former U.S. senator. In
the Senate, United Methodist Republicans replaced United Methodist
Democrats in Georgia, where Johnny Isakson succeeded retiring Sen. Zell
Miller, and in North Carolina, where Richard Burr succeeded John
Edwards, who ran unsuccessfully for the vice presidency of the United
States. Both Burr and Isakson had served in the House before winning
their Senate seats. Texas
contributed the largest number of congressional United Methodists, 10,
followed by five in Ohio, four from Florida, and three each from
Arkansas and Nebraska. Thirty states elected at least one United
Methodist to Congress in this election cycle, compared to 29 states last
time. Thirty-five
United Methodists represent states in the South or Border South, while
15 hail from the Midwest, eight from the Far West and Pacific Coast, and
four from the Northeast. In
terms of strength within state delegations, United Methodists are
strongest in Nebraska, where three of five members belong to the
denomination, and in New Mexico, where two of five members are United
Methodists. A third or more of the members from Arkansas, Kansas and
Wyoming are United Methodists. Nearly a third — 30 percent — of the
Texans in Congress are United Methodists. United
Methodists are in third place in Congressional membership, following
Roman Catholics in first place and Baptists in second. Presbyterians,
Episcopalians and Jews are in fourth, fifth and sixth places in the
rankings, as they were in the 108th Congress. Nondenominational
Protestants, Lutherans, Mormons and nondenominational Christians fill
out the top 10 religious groups represented in Congress. The new Congress will convene Jan. 16. *Menendez is a freelance writer and director of research for Americans for Religious Liberty. News media contact: Tim Tanton, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
|