This translation is not completely accurate as it was automatically generated by a computer.
Powered by
By Albert J. Menendez*
7:00 A.M. EST Jan. 25, 2011
Republican gains in the 2010 election produced a dramatic shift in
the party affiliations of United Methodists serving in Congress.
United Methodist Republican legislators outnumber United Methodist
Democrats two to one, or 32 to 16, in the 112th Congress. Democrats had a
slight edge of 27 to 26 in the outgoing Congress.
Overall, five fewer United Methodists serve in the new Congress. In
the Senate, United Methodists increased from nine to 11. However, they
declined from 44 to 37 in the House.
Texas still has the largest United Methodist contingent, with nine
members, followed by five in Ohio, and four in Florida and Kansas. There
was at least one United Methodist elected in 24 states.
The South and Border South are home to 27 United Methodist
legislators, while 16 represent states in the Midwest and five are from
the Far West. There are no United Methodists from the Northeast serving
in the 112th Congress.
There are seven new United Methodists in Congress, all Republicans.
They are Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio and Reps. Steve Stivers and Bob Gibbs
of Ohio, Rob Woodall of Georgia, Kevin Yoder of Kansas, Stephen Fincher
of Tennessee and Richard Nugent of Florida. Jerry Moran of Kansas moved
from a House seat to the U.S. Senate.
United Methodists remained in third place in the number of
congressional lawmakers, behind Catholics, who were first, and Baptists.
On the state level, there is one new United Methodist governor.
Republican Nikki Haley is South Carolina’s first woman governor and the
first woman governor of Asian Indian ancestry in the United States.
Haley joins Democrat Jay Nixon of Missouri and Republican Rick Perry of
Texas among United Methodist governors now serving.
*Menendez is a freelance writer and research director for Americans for Religious Liberty.
News media contact: Tim Tanton, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
Korean News
About UMC.org
RSS Feed
Press Center
Contact Us