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.
|
Korean News
