George Nethercutt

{{Short description|American lawyer, author, and politician (1944–2024)}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = George Nethercutt

| image name = George Nethercutt (high-resolution portrait).jpg

| birth_name = George Rector Nethercutt Jr.

| birth_date = {{birth date|1944|10|7}}

| birth_place = Spokane, Washington, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2024|06|14|1944|10|07}}

| death_place = Colorado, U.S.

| state = Washington

| district = 5th

| term_start = January 3, 1995

| term_end = January 3, 2005

| predecessor = Tom Foley

| successor = Cathy McMorris Rodgers

| party = Republican

| spouse = {{marriage|Mary Beth Socha|1977}}

| children = 2

| education = {{nobr|Washington State University (BA)}}
Gonzaga University (JD)

}}

George Rector Nethercutt Jr. (October 7, 1944 – June 14, 2024) was an American lawyer, author, and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he rose to national attention upon his election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994, when he defeated Tom Foley, the speaker of the house, in Washington's 5th congressional district. Nethercutt served five terms and left the House in 2004, when he mounted an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate.

Early life

George Rector Nethercutt Jr. was born in Spokane, Washington,{{Cite web |date=2024-06-14 |title=Former Spokane Congressman George Nethercutt, who gained national fame by defeating House speaker, dies at 79 |url=https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2024/jun/14/former-spokane-congressman-george-nethercutt-who-g/ |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=Spokesman.com |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Roberts |first=Sam |date=2024-06-17 |title=George R. Nethercutt Jr., Who Ousted a House Speaker, Dies at 79 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/17/obituaries/george-r-nethercutt-jr-dead.html |access-date=2025-05-15 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} in 1944, the son of Nancy (Sampson) and George Nethercutt, a school board president.{{cite web |title=George Rector Nethercutt, Jr Profile {{!}} Spokane, WA Lawyer {{!}} Martindale.com |url=https://www.martindale.com/attorney/george-rector-nethercutt-jr-1777042/ |website=www.martindale.com |access-date=April 19, 2022 |archive-date=July 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230715222818/https://www.martindale.com/attorney/george-rector-nethercutt-jr-1777042/ |url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/17/obituaries/george-r-nethercutt-jr-dead.html|title=George R. Nethercutt Jr., Who Ousted a House Speaker, Dies at 79|last=Roberts|first=Sam|authorlink=Sam Roberts (journalist)|date=June 17, 2024|accessdate=June 17, 2024|url-access=limited|newspaper=The New York Times}} A graduate of North Central High School, he earned a B.A. in English from Washington State University in 1967 and a J.D. degree from Gonzaga University in 1971.[http://www.iop.harvard.edu/spring-2012-fellows Spring 2012 Fellows] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924040908/http://www.iop.harvard.edu/spring-2012-fellows |date=September 24, 2015}}. Harvard University Institute of Politics. Retrieved September 22, 2015. He worked as a clerk for Alaskan federal Judge Raymond Plummer. Nethercutt then served as staff counsel and later chief of staff to Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) from 1972 to 1977 before returning to private practice in Washington State.

Nethercutt served as a town attorney for the communities of Reardan, Creston and Almira.{{Cite web |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32437121740928&view=1up&seq=306&q1=Nethercutt |title=2003-2004 Official Congressional Directory: 108th Congress |access-date=February 19, 2021 |archive-date=July 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230716024830/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32437121740928&view=1up&seq=306&q1=Nethercutt |url-status=live}} He was a chair of the Spokane County Republican Party. He was the co-founder of the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery.

Congressional career

File:President George W. Bush and George Nethercutt.jpg in June 2004]]

Nethercutt was first elected to Congress in 1994 in a dramatic election in which he unseated the Speaker of the House, Tom Foley. It was the first time he had run for office. The district had been growing more conservative since the early 1980s, but Foley had held on mainly by running up his totals in Democratic-leaning Spokane. In the 1994 election, however, Nethercutt ran up his totals in the more rural areas of the district while holding Foley to a margin of only 9,000 votes in Spokane and 3,000 in Spokane County, which allowed him to prevail by 4,000 votes. This marked the first time a sitting Speaker of the House was unseated since 1862, and was part of a massive national Republican landslide that saw the GOP take control of the House for the first time in 40 years. In Congress, he sat on the House Appropriations Committee and the House Science Committee. Like most Republicans elected in the 1994 wave, he had a strongly conservative voting record.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Nethercutt's campaign against Foley, a 30-year incumbent, included significant attention to Foley's opposition to term limits. In 1992, Washington state voters approved a ballot measure limiting the terms of Washington officials, including federal officials such as U.S. Representatives. Foley brought suit contesting the constitutionality of this limit and won in court. Nethercutt repeatedly cited the caption of Foley's lawsuit – "Foley against the People of the State of Washington." He also promised to serve no more than three terms (six years) in the House.{{cite web| url=http://www.triplicate.com/20101102110664/Opinion/Editorials/Editors-Note-Another-GOP-revolution| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717102243/http://www.triplicate.com/20101102110664/Opinion/Editorials/Editors-Note-Another-GOP-revolution| archive-date=July 17, 2011| title=Editor's Note: Another GOP revolution? {{!}} Crescent City California News, Sports, & Weather {{!}} The Triplicate}}

In the 1996 elections, the Democrats mounted a serious bid to regain the seat, but Nethercutt won by an unexpectedly large 12-point margin even as Bill Clinton narrowly carried the district. He was handily reelected in 1998. In 2000, when his self-imposed three-term limit would have kicked in, Nethercutt changed his mind and announced his intention to run again, infuriating term-limits supporters. Nethercutt was nevertheless re-elected without much difficulty in 2000 and 2002.

Nethercutt's congressional papers are held at Gonzaga University.{{Cite web|url=http://researchguides.gonzaga.edu/c.php?g=67720&p=436862|title=LibGuides: Manuscript Collections: Nethercutt|last=Plowman|first=Stephanie|website=researchguides.gonzaga.edu|language=en|access-date=October 26, 2018|archive-date=October 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181027101302/http://researchguides.gonzaga.edu/c.php?g=67720&p=436862|url-status=live}}

2004 Senate race

Rather than running for a sixth term in the House of Representatives, Nethercutt decided to run for U.S. Senate in 2004, hoping to unseat the incumbent, Senator Patty Murray. He was encouraged to run for the seat by President George W. Bush. Term limits again became an issue in the campaign, as Democrats quickly seized on Nethercutt's broken term-limits pledge.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Nethercutt was also hampered by his lack of name recognition in the more densely populated western part of the state, home to two-thirds of the state's population. Washington has not elected a senator from east of the Cascades since Clarence Dill in 1928. Other important issues included national security and the war in Iraq. Nethercutt supported the invasion of Iraq, while Murray opposed it.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Nethercutt was a heavy underdog, and his campaign never gained much traction. In November, he lost by 345,124 votes, receiving 43% of the vote to Murray's 55%. While he dominated the eastern portion of the state, including his own congressional district, he only won two counties west of the Cascades, Clark County and Lewis County.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Post-congressional life

Nethercutt left the House of Representatives at the end of his term in January 2005, but said that he would probably not completely retire from politics. In 2005, he and two other political veterans (former Interior Department deputy secretary J. Steven Griles and former White House national energy policy director Andrew Lundquist) formed the political lobbying firm Lundquist, Nethercutt & Griles, LLC.{{Cite web|url=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2005/jan/31/nethercutt-joins-firm-led-by-ex-cheney-energy/|title=Nethercutt joins firm led by ex-Cheney energy adviser|website=www.spokesman.com|date=January 31, 2005 |access-date=December 17, 2018|archive-date=December 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181218102036/http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2005/jan/31/nethercutt-joins-firm-led-by-ex-cheney-energy/|url-status=live}} Griles resigned in 2007, after he pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in connection with the Abramoff scandal, the top Bush administration official to do so.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062601472.html|title=Judge Orders Prison Time for Ex-Interior Deputy|last1=Grimaldi|first1=James|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=December 17, 2018|archive-date=January 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190104054318/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062601472.html|url-status=live}}

Nethercutt served as Chairman of Nethercutt Consulting LLC, was of counsel for the law firms of Bluewater Strategies and Lee & Hayes, and was a member of several corporate boards. He was the author of the book In Tune with America: Our History in Song. He wrote a monthly column for The Pacific Northwest Inlander newspaper, and recorded radio commentaries for several radio stations.{{cite web|url=https://news.wsu.edu/2010/09/07/ex-congressman-nethercutt-to-address-mba-students/|title=Ex-Congressman Nethercutt to address MBA students|date=September 7, 2010|publisher=WSU Insider|access-date=December 17, 2018}}

He was also a board member on the Dutch board of JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation).{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Nethercutt founded The George Nethercutt Foundation in Spokane, Washington. The Foundation is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization{{Cite web |url=http://www.taxexemptworld.com/organizations/spokane-county-wa-washington.asp?spg=7 |title=Spokane County WA – Tax Exempt Organizations and Spokane Washington Non Profit Organizations |access-date=July 18, 2008 |archive-date=July 16, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716194507/http://www.taxexemptworld.com/organizations/spokane-county-wa-washington.asp?spg=7 |url-status=live}} dedicated to fostering civic involvement. The foundation accepts applications from college students who aspire to be Nethercutt Fellows. The Nethercutt Fellowship involves, among other things, a trip to Washington, D.C. where fellows have the opportunity to see the inner-workings of the United States government.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Personal life and death

Nethercutt married Mary Beth Socha in 1977, and they had two children. He died from progressive supranuclear palsy in Colorado on June 14, 2024, at the age of 79.{{cite news|url=https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2024/jun/14/former-spokane-congressman-george-nethercutt-who-g/|title=Former Spokane Congressman George Nethercutt, who gained national fame by defeating House speaker, dies at 79|last=Camden|first=Jim|date=June 14, 2024|accessdate=June 14, 2024|newspaper=The Spokesman-Review|archive-date=June 14, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240614170919/https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2024/jun/14/former-spokane-congressman-george-nethercutt-who-g/|url-status=live}}

Electoral history

class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em ; font-size:95%"

|+ {{ushr|Washington|5

}: Results 1994–2002{{cite web|url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/index.html |title=Election Statistics |access-date=August 8, 2007 |publisher=Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080730201058/http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/index.html |archive-date=July 30, 2008}}

!|Year

!|Democratic

!|Votes

!|Pct

!|Republican

!|Votes

!|Pct

!|3rd Party

!|Party

!|Votes

!|Pct

|1994

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{nowrap|Thomas S. Foley}} (incumbent)

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} align="right" |106,074

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} |49%

|{{Party shading/Republican}} |{{nowrap|George R. Nethercutt, Jr.}}

|{{Party shading/Republican}} align="right" |110,057

|{{Party shading/Republican}} |51%

|1996

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} |Judy Olson

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} align="right" |105,166

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} |44%

|{{Party shading/Republican}} |{{nowrap|George R. Nethercutt, Jr.}} (incumbent)

|{{Party shading/Republican}} align="right" |131,618

|{{Party shading/Republican}} |56%

|1998

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} |Brad Lyons

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} align="right" |73,545

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} |38%

|{{Party shading/Republican}} |{{nowrap|George R. Nethercutt, Jr.}} (incumbent)

|{{Party shading/Republican}} align="right" |110,040

|{{Party shading/Republican}} |57%

|{{Party shading/Independent}} |John Beal

|{{Party shading/Independent}} |American Heritage

|{{Party shading/Independent}} align="right" |9,673

|{{Party shading/Independent}} align="right" |5%

|2000

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} |Tom Keefe

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} align="right" |97,703

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} |39%

|{{Party shading/Republican}} |{{nowrap|George R. Nethercutt, Jr.}} (incumbent)

|{{Party shading/Republican}} align="right" |144,038

|{{Party shading/Republican}} |57%

|{{Party shading/Libertarian}} |Greg Holmes

|{{Party shading/Libertarian}} |Libertarian

|{{Party shading/Libertarian}} align="right" |9,473

|{{Party shading/Libertarian}} align="right" |4%

|2002

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} |Bart Haggin

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} align="right" |65,146

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} |32%

|{{Party shading/Republican}} |{{nowrap|George R. Nethercutt, Jr.}} (incumbent)

|{{Party shading/Republican}} align="right" |126,757

|{{Party shading/Republican}} |63%

|{{Party shading/Libertarian}} |Rob Chase

|{{Party shading/Libertarian}} |Libertarian

|{{Party shading/Libertarian}} align="right" |10,379

|{{Party shading/Libertarian}} align="right" |5%

class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em ; font-size:95%"

|+ Washington Senator (Class III) results: 2004

!|Year

!|Democratic

!|Votes

!|Pct

!|Republican

!|Votes

!|Pct

!|3rd Party

!|Party

!|Votes

!|Pct

!|3rd Party

!|Party

!|Votes

!|Pct

2004

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{nowrap|Patty Murray}} (incumbent)

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} align="right" |1,549,708

|{{Party shading/Democratic}} |55%

|{{Party shading/Republican}} |{{nowrap|George R. Nethercutt, Jr.}}

|{{Party shading/Republican}} align="right" |1,204,584

|{{Party shading/Republican}} |43%

|{{Party shading/Libertarian}} |J. Mills

|{{Party shading/Libertarian}} |Libertarian

|{{Party shading/Libertarian}} align="right" |34,055

|{{Party shading/Libertarian}} align="right" |1%

|{{Party shading/Green}} |Mark B. Wilson

|{{Party shading/Green}} |Green

|{{Party shading/Green}} align="right" |30,304

|{{Party shading/Green}} align="right" |1%

Books

Nethercutt Jr., George R. (with Tom M. McArthur). (2010) In Tune with America: Our History in Song. Marquette Books LLC. {{ISBN|978-0-982-65970-0}}
Nethercutt Jr., George R. (2022) Saving Patriotism: American Patriotism in a Global Era. Marquette Books LLC. {{ISBN|978-1-732-71972-9}}

References

External links

{{CongBio|N000051}}
{{C-SPAN|8019}}
[http://www.issues2000.org/Senate/George_Nethercutt.htm George Nethercutt on the Issues]
[http://www.nethercuttfoundation.org/ The Nethercutt Foundation website]
[http://www.inlander.com/spokane/by-author-722-3.html Nethercutt's columns in The Pacific Northwest Inlander]

{{US House succession box

| state=Washington

| district=5

| before=Tom Foley

| years=1995–2005

| after=Cathy McMorris Rodgers}}

{{succession box

| before= Linda Smith

| title= Republican nominee for United States Senator from Washington
(Class 3)

|years= 2004

|after= Dino Rossi}}

Category:1944 births