Kevin Eltife

Eltife was born in Tyler, Texas, and grew up there. He is a Lebanese American; all of his grandparents immigrated to the United States from Lebanon.{{cite news|author=Aman Batheja|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/15/us/kevin-eltife-is-one-gop-senator-unafraid-to-say-raise-taxes.html|title=A G.O.P. Senator Who Is Unafraid to Suggest Raising Taxes|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170104090642/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/15/us/kevin-eltife-is-one-gop-senator-unafraid-to-say-raise-taxes.html |archive-date=January 4, 2017 |newspaper=New York Times|date=March 14, 2013}} His father died when he was under two years old.

Eltife is the owner and operator of Eltife Properties, a commercial real estate company.

He first entered politics in 1991, when he ran for a city council seat. He subsequently served as mayor of Tyler for two terms (six years).

He defeated Paul Sadler in the special election for Texas Senate; in 2012, Sadler was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee against Ted Cruz for one of the two Texas seats in the United States Senate. The position opened when state Senator and former Lieutenant Governor Bill Ratliff of Mount Pleasant resigned with less than a year remaining in his state Senate term.

Eltife was a strong proponent of raising sales taxes and reducing property taxes. He wishes to use additional sales tax revenue to reduce the debt of the Texas Department of Transportation.

He was considered one of the most liberal of the nineteen (as of 2013) Texas Senate Republicans, along with Robert L. Duncan of Lubbock, Kel Seliger of Amarillo, Bob Deuell of Greenville, and John Carona of Dallas, according to an analysis by Mark P. Jones of the political science department at Rice University in Houston. Jones also found that these Republicans saw passage of 90 percent of the bills for which they voted.{{cite news|url=http://lubbockonline.com/interact/blog-post/enriquerangel/2014-02-24/why-state-sen-kel-seliger-has-republican-primary#.Uxt638uPIfh|title=Enrique Rangel, "Why state Sen. Kel Seliger has a Republican primary challenger," February 24, 2014|newspaper=Lubbock Avalanche-Journal|accessdate=March 8, 2014|archive-date=March 10, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140310160854/http://lubbockonline.com/interact/blog-post/enriquerangel/2014-02-24/why-state-sen-kel-seliger-has-republican-primary#.Uxt638uPIfh|url-status=live}} Of these five senators, Deuell lost a runoff election on May 27, 2014, and Carona was narrowly defeated for re-nomination on March 4.{{cite web|url=https://team1.sos.state.tx.us/enr/results/mar04_169_state.htm?x=0&y=8866&id=965 |title=Republican primary election returns, March 4, 2014 |publisher=team1.sos.state.tx.us |accessdate=March 5, 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20140305183835/https://team1.sos.state.tx.us/enr/results/mar04_169_state.htm?x=0&y=8866&id=965 |archivedate=March 5, 2014 }} Duncan, meanwhile, resigned from the Senate to become chancellor of the Texas Tech University System.

In 2015, Eltife announced that he would not seek reelection to the Senate in 2016.{{cite web|url=http://www.hendersondailynews.com/news/eltife-won-t-run-in/article_de0508d4-137c-11e5-b156-9bfebbbb6488.html|title=Eltife won't run in 2016|date=June 15, 2015|publisher=Henderson Daily News|accessdate=November 30, 2015}} He was succeeded in office by Republican state Representative Bryan Hughes of Mineola, who defeated Republican state Representative David Simpson of Longview in the Republican primary and automatically won the seat because there was no Democratic opponent.{{cite news|author=Roy Maynard|url=http://www.tylerpaper.com/TP-Breaking+Silent/236353/bryan-hughes-wins-senate-district-1-seat-defeating-david-simpson |title=Bryan Hughes wins Senate District 1 seat, defeating David Simpson|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170104162815/http://www.tylerpaper.com/TP-Breaking%20Silent/236353/bryan-hughes-wins-senate-district-1-seat-defeating-david-simpson |archive-date=January 4, 2017 |newspaper=Tyler Morning Telegraph|date=May 24, 2016}}

In January 2017, Governor Greg Abbott appointed Eltife, along with two others, as a regent of the University of Texas System.{{cite news|author=Nicole Cobler|title=Texas Supreme Court rules against UT regent|newspaper=San Antonio Express-News|date=February 4, 2017|page=A4}}

{{Election box begin

| title=Texas general election, 2006: Senate District 1{{cite web|url=http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist.exe |title=2006 General Election |accessdate=December 28, 2006 |publisher=Office of the Secretary of State (Texas) |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109062336/http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist.exe |archivedate=January 9, 2014 }}

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Republican Party (US)|candidate=Kevin P. Eltife|votes=109,450|percentage=83.13|change=+14.96}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Libertarian Party (US)|candidate=Jason Albers|votes=22,211|percentage=16.87|change=+16.87}}

{{Election box majority|votes=87,239|percentage=66.26|change=+29.92}}

{{Election box turnout|votes=131,661|percentage=|change=-21.23}}

{{Election box hold with party link no swing

| winner = Republican Party (US)

}}

{{Election box end}}

{{Election box begin

| title=Special runoff election, 15 August 2004: Senate District 1, Unexpired term{{cite web|url=http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist.exe |title=Special Election Runoff, State Senate, District 1 |accessdate=December 28, 2006 |publisher=Office of the Secretary of State (Texas) |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109062336/http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist.exe |archivedate=January 9, 2014 }}

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link

| party= Republican Party (US)

| candidate = Kevin Eltife

| votes = 46,437

| percentage = 51.86

| change = change from special election+15.85

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link

| party= Democratic Party (US)

| candidate = Paul Sadler

| votes = 43,103

| percentage = 48.14

| change = +8.63

}}

{{Election box majority

| votes = 3,334

| percentage = 3.72

| change =

}}

{{Election box turnout

| votes = 89,540

| percentage =

| change = +29.38

}}

{{Election box hold with party link no swing

| winner = Republican Party (US)

}}

{{election box end}}

{{Election box begin

| title=Special election, 12 August 2004: Senate District 1, Unexpired term{{cite web|url=http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist.exe |title=Special Election, State Senate, District 1 |accessdate=December 28, 2006 |publisher=Office of the Secretary of State (Texas) |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109062336/http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist.exe |archivedate=January 9, 2014 }}

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Republican Party (US)|candidate=Kevin Eltife|votes=24,919|percentage=36.01|change=}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Republican Party (US)|candidate=Bill Godsey|votes=502|percentage=0.73|change=}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Republican Party (US)|candidate=Tommy Merritt|votes=14,786|percentage=21.36|change=}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Democratic Party (US)|candidate=Paul Sadler|votes=27,339|percentage=39.50|change=}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Constitution Party (US)|candidate=Daryl WareSecretary of State’s web page says party is "CON"; {{cite web|url=http://www.constitutionparty.com/news_print.php?aid=47|title=Daryl Ware to Run for Texas State Senate|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080319235823/http://www.constitutionparty.com/news_print.php?aid=47 |archive-date=March 19, 2008|date=August 15, 2004}} confirms it is the Constitution Party|votes=480|percentage=0.69|change=}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Republican Party (US)|candidate=Jerry Yost|votes=1,180|percentage=1.71|change=}}

{{Election box turnout|votes=69,206|percentage=|change=}}

{{election box end}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080119202136/http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members/dist1/dist1.htm Senate of Texas - Senator Kevin Eltife] (official TX Senate website)
• [http://www.votesmart.org/bio.php?can_id=15354 Project Vote Smart - Senator Kevin P. Eltife (TX)] profile
• Follow the Money - Kevin Eltife
• [http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/candidate.phtml?si=200643&c=418667 2006] campaign contributions

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{{s-ttl|title=President pro tempore of the Texas Senate|years=2015–2017}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Eltife, Kevin}}

Category:1959 births

Category:American people of Lebanese descent

Category:Businesspeople from Texas

Category:Living people

Category:Mayors of Tyler, Texas

Category:People from Tyler, Texas

Category:Texas city council members

Category:Republican Party Texas state senators

Category:Presidents pro tempore of the Texas Senate

Category:McCombs School of Business alumni

Category:21st-century members of the Texas Legislature