Fred Keller (politician)
Fred Keller | |
---|---|
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 12th district | |
Assumed office May 21, 2019 | |
Preceded by | Tom Marino |
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 85th district | |
In office January 4, 2011 – May 22, 2019 | |
Preceded by | Russ Fairchild |
Succeeded by | David H. Rowe |
Personal details | |
Born | Page, Arizona, U.S. | October 23, 1965
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Kay Payne (m. 1985) |
Children | 2 |
Website | House website |
Frederick B. Keller (born October 23, 1965) is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, who serves as the U.S. representative for Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district.[1] He was a Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 85th district from 2011 until his resignation in May 2019 following election to the U.S. House.[2][3]
On February 28, 2022, Keller announced that he would not seek reelection in 2022 after being drawn out of his Congressional district.[4]
Early life and career
Keller was born in Page, Arizona, to parents who were native Pennsylvanians that had moved west for work.[5] After graduating from Shikellamy High School in 1984,[3] Keller got a job at Conestoga Wood Specialties, a factory that makes cabinets and other wooden kitchen products, in Beavertown, Pennsylvania. He was ultimately promoted to become the plant operations manager.[6][7] In 1990, Keller began a real estate property business, and attended Don Paul Shearer Real Estate school in 1995.[2][5]
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
In 2010, Keller ran as a Republican for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in the 85th district, seeking to succeed Republican Russ Fairchild, who was retiring.[7] He was elected to the Pennsylvania House, and was reelected every two years through 2018.[8] He was appointed to the board of trustees of the Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System in 2019.[9]
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2019 special election
Following Tom Marino's resignation from the United States House of Representatives in January 2019, Keller declared his candidacy in the 2019 Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district special election.[10]
He won the Republican nomination at a conference meeting on March 2.[11] Keller won the general election on May 21, defeating previous 2018 Democratic nominee Marc Friedenberg, and resigned from his state House seat on May 22.[12][13] He was sworn in on June 3.[14]
2020
Keller ran for and won reelection on November 3, 2020, against Lee Griffin, gaining 70.8% of the vote.[15]
Tenure
In December 2020, Keller was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives who signed an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden prevailed[16] over incumbent Donald Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of the election held by another state.[17][18][19]
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement that called signing the amicus brief an act of "election subversion." Additionally, Pelosi reprimanded Keller and the other House members who supported the lawsuit: "The 126 Republican Members that signed onto this lawsuit brought dishonor to the House. Instead of upholding their oath to support and defend the Constitution, they chose to subvert the Constitution and undermine public trust in our sacred democratic institutions."[20][21]
Immigration
Keller voted against the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 which authorizes DHS to nearly double the available H-2B visas for the remainder of FY 2020.[22][23]
Keller voted against Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 1158) which effectively prohibits ICE from cooperating with Health and Human Services to detain or remove illegal alien sponsors of unaccompanied alien children (UACs).[24]
Committee assignments
Caucus memberships
- Chairman, Bureau of Prisons Reform Caucus[27]
- Conservative Climate Caucus[28]
- Republican Study Committee[29]
Electoral history
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Fred Keller | 90,000 | 68.1% | +2.0% | |
Democratic | Marc Friedenberg | 42,195 | 31.9% | -2.0% | |
Total votes | 132,195 | 100.0% | N/A | ||
Republican hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Fred Keller (incumbent) | 14,714 | 67.7% | -32.3% | |
Democratic | Jennifer Rager-Kay | 7,012 | 32.3% | N/A | |
Total votes | 21,726 | 100.0% | N/A | ||
Republican hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Fred Keller (incumbent) | 21,304 | 100.0% | +30.8% | |
Total votes | 21,304 | 100.0% | N/A | ||
Republican hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Fred Keller (incumbent) | 10,895 | 69.2% | -11.9% | |
Democratic | Michael Sundberg | 4,857 | 30.8% | N/A | |
Total votes | 15,752 | 100.0% | N/A | ||
Republican hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Fred Keller (incumbent) | 16,900 | 81.1% | 15.1% | |
Libertarian | Erik Viker | 3,935 | 18.9% | 9.9% | |
Total votes | 20,835 | 100.0% | N/A | ||
Republican hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Fred Keller | 11,412 | 66.0% | -4.4% | |
Democratic | Trey Casimir | 4,323 | 25.0% | -4.6% | |
Libertarian | Erik Viker | 1,551 | 9.0% | N/A | |
Total votes | 17,286 | 100.0% | N/A | ||
Republican hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Fred Keller | 3,237 | 44.9% | N/A | |
Republican | Maurice Brubaker | 2,092 | 29.0% | N/A | |
Republican | Betsy M. Snook | 1,886 | 26.1% | N/A | |
Total votes | 7,215 | 100.0% | N/A |
Personal life
Keller has three siblings. Soon after he began working, Keller married his wife Kay. Together, they have two grown children, one of whom survived after being hospitalized on life support and being told there was no chance for recovery. As of April 2019, the Kellers also had two grandchildren.[5]
References
- ^ "Keller, Frederick B." (PDF). Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
- ^ a b "Representative Fred Keller's Biography". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved November 22, 2012.
- ^ a b "Fred Keller". Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Archived from the original on May 4, 2019. Retrieved November 22, 2012.
- ^ "Pa. Rep. Fred Keller not seeking re-election". WFMZ-TV. February 28, 2022. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
- ^ a b c Stout, Larry (April 17, 2019). "Congressional Candidate Fred Keller". Webb Weekly. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
- ^ Bowman, Bridget (May 21, 2019). "Republican Fred Keller wins Pennsylvania special election". Roll Call. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
- ^ a b Marcia MooreThe Daily Item (October 5, 2010). "Keller: I'm no political insider | News". dailyitem.com. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
- ^ Moore, Marcia (November 6, 2018). "Keller wins fifth consecutive term in 85th state House | News". dailyitem.com. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
- ^ Moore, Marcia (January 16, 2019). "State Rep. Keller appointed to school retirement board of trustees | News". dailyitem.com. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
- ^ Krawczeniuk, Borys. "List grows for those seeking Marino seat". citizensvoice.com. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
- ^ Moore, Marcia (March 2, 2019). "Fred Keller wins GOP nod to replace Marino | News". dailyitem.com. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
- ^ Almukhtar, Sarah; Lee, Jasmine C. (May 21, 2019). "Pennsylvania Special Election Results: 12th House District". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ Moore, Marcia (May 22, 2019). "Deadlines may keep Keller out of Washington office until June". Daily Item. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ "Keller to take the oath of office on June 3". Daily Item. May 24, 2019. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
- ^ "Pennsylvania Election Results: 12th Congressional District". The New York Times. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
- ^ Blood, Michael R.; Riccardi, Nicholas (December 5, 2020). "Biden officially secures enough electors to become president". AP News. Archived from the original on December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
- ^ Liptak, Adam (December 11, 2020). "Supreme Court Rejects Texas Suit Seeking to Subvert Election". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
- ^ "Order in Pending Case" (PDF). Supreme Court of the United States. December 11, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
- ^ Diaz, Daniella. "Brief from 126 Republicans supporting Texas lawsuit in Supreme Court". CNN. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
- ^ Smith, David (December 12, 2020). "Supreme court rejects Trump-backed Texas lawsuit aiming to overturn election results". The Guardian. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
- ^ "Pelosi Statement on Supreme Court Rejecting GOP Election Sabotage Lawsuit" (Press release). Speaker Nancy Pelosi. December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
- ^ "Text - H.R.1865 – 116th Congress (2019–2020): Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020". December 20, 2019.
- ^ "Roll Call 689 Roll Call 689, Bill Number: H. R. 1865, 116th Congress, 1st Session". December 17, 2019.
- ^ "H.R. 1158: DHS Cyber Hunt and Incident Response Teams Act … -- House Vote #690 -- Dec 17, 2019".
- ^ a b "Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives – Official Alphabetical List". clerk.house.gov. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
- ^ "House Committee on Education and Labor". edlabor.house.gov. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
- ^ "Keller kicks off Bureau of Prisons Reform Caucus". The Review. Towanda, Pennsylvania. October 1, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ^ "Conservative Climate Caucus Members". Congressman John Curtis. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
- ^ "Member List". Republican Study Committee. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ^ "2019 Special Election 12th Congressional District". Pennsylvania Department of State. May 21, 2019. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f "Fred Keller". Ballotpedia. Lucy Burns Institute. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
External links
- Congressman Fred Keller official U.S. House website
- Fred Keller for Congress
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
- Profile at Vote Smart
- State Representative Fred Keller, official caucus site
- Fred Keller (R), official PA House site (archived May 2019)
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Articles with short description
- Short description with empty Wikidata description
- Use mdy dates from March 2019
- Articles without Wikidata item
- All articles with unsourced statements
- Articles with unsourced statements from December 2020
- People appearing on C-SPAN
- AC with 0 elements
- 1965 births
- 21st-century American politicians
- American cabinetmakers
- Living people
- Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
- People from Page, Arizona
- People from Snyder County, Pennsylvania
- Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
- Candidates in the 2019 United States elections