Bob Etheridge

Biography

U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge is a longtime Democratic Congressman and a member of the influential House Ways and Means Committee.

Early Life and Education

Bobby Ray Etheridge was born Aug. 7, 1941, in Turkey, N.C.

He graduated from the Cleveland School, a historic school in Johnston County. 

He played forward on Campbell University's basketball team, graduating with a bachelor of science in business administration in 1965. 

Political Career 

After four years as a Harnett County commissioner, he was elected to the N.C. House of Representatives in 1978, serving ten years.

In 1988, he was elected N.C. Superintendent of Public Instruction, and he was re-elected in 1992.

Congress '96-present 

In 1996, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, representing the Second Congressional District, which covers rural and suburban areas around Wake County.

Despite the district's strong Republican leanings, Etheridge has been re-elected easily.

In office, he has advocated for tobacco farmers and in 2003 passed a bill to extend benefits to the survivors of public safety officers who died of heart attacks and strokes on duty. He voted for the Iraq war resolution.

In 2009, he was appointed to the influential House Ways and Means Committee after a reshuffling of the regional apportionment. He had a special focus on trade matters.

On that committee, he helped get a measure to spend money on school construction into a massive economic stimulus bill that was estimated to bring $551 million to North Carolina for new schools.

Research and reporting by Ryan Teague Beckwith. 

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