American politician (born 1968)
Richard Dean McCormick (born October 7, 1968) is an American politician and physician. A member of the Republican Party , he has represented Georgia's 6th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2023.[ 2]
McCormick represents the wealthiest congressional district in the state of Georgia.[ 3]
Education and military service
McCormick was born in Las Vegas in 1968 and graduated from Central Catholic High School in Portland, Oregon in 1986.[ 4] He earned a Bachelor of Science from Oregon State University in 1990.[ 5] He earned his Master of Business Administration from National University in 1999 and his Doctor of Medicine at Morehouse School of Medicine in 2010.[ 6]
McCormick served in the United States Marine Corps and United States Navy for over 20 years, spending time in Africa, South Korea, Afghanistan, and the Persian Gulf.[ 7] In the Marine Corps, he was a Naval Aviator and helicopter pilot; in the Navy, he was a Medical Corps officer and reached the rank of commander . He is an emergency physician and works at Gwinnett Medical Center .[ 8]
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
With Rob Woodall not running for reelection to the United States House of Representatives for Georgia's 7th congressional district in the 2020 elections , McCormick announced his candidacy. He won the primary election, receiving more than 50% of the vote, avoiding a runoff election.[ 9] McCormick lost the general election to Democrat Carolyn Bourdeaux .[ 10]
Following redistricting due to the 2020 U.S. census , McCormick announced his candidacy in the 2022 elections for the newly-redrawn Georgia's 6th congressional district , which became much more Republican-leaning.[ 11] In a Republican primary with nine candidates, McCormick and Jake Evans advanced to a primary runoff.[ 12] He defeated Evans in the runoff[ 13] and won the November 8 general election against Democrat Bob Christian.[ 14]
Tenure
McCormick was among the 71 Republicans who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.[ 15]
On November 7, McCormick's H.Res. 845 censured Rashida Tlaib for "promoting false narratives regarding the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and for calling for the destruction of the state of Israel".[ 16] [ 17]
In December 2023, fellow Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene accused McCormick of grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her, following a public spat between the two. She asked Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to investigate her claims. McCormick said he apologized for the interaction and despite an investigation by the Speaker of the House including a review of surveillance footage and dozens of witnesses, her allegations could not be corroborated.
Following the 2024 New Hampshire Republican primary in January, McCormick endorsed Donald Trump 's 2024 presidential campaign , writing, "I am calling on my fellow conservatives to join me in uniting behind Donald Trump for president." McCormick had previously supported Ron DeSantis 's presidential bid .[ 18] During an October 2024 rally for Trump's campaign at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta, McCormick said that Trump should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize .[ 19]
Speaking to Maria Bartiromo on Mornings with Maria in December 2024, McCormick said non-discretionary federal spending should be cut, explaining that:[ 20]
We're going to have to have some hard decisions. We got to bring the Democrats in to talk about Social Security , Medicaid , Medicare . There's hundreds of billions of dollars to be saved, and we know how to do it, we just have to have the stomach to actually take those challenges on.[ 21]
Committee assignments
For the 118th Congress :[ 22]
Electoral history
2022
2020
Personal life
McCormick has three sons from his first marriage. McCormick's second wife, Debra Miller, is an oncologist. They separated in 2024. Shortly thereafter, Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne confirmed she and McCormick were in a relationship.[ 28]
McCormick was the runner up of the seventh season of the initial run of American Gladiators , losing in the final to Pat Csizmazia.[ 29]
McCormick enjoys skateboarding .[ 7] CNN reported that they have "regularly spotted" McCormick skateboarding in the halls of Congress.[ 30]
References
^ Olmsted, Edith. "Republican Congresswoman Confirms Relationship Amid Affair Rumors" . The Daily Beast . The Daily Beast. Retrieved May 17, 2024 .
^ "Georgia Sixth Congressional District Election Results" . The New York Times . November 8, 2022. ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved November 11, 2022 .
^ Andrew DePietro (October 1, 2024). "The Richest Congressional Districts In Every State Of 2024" . Forbes .
^ "Candidate Conversation: Rich McCormick (R) | News & Analysis" . Inside Elections. Retrieved November 17, 2022 .
^ "MDJ Voter Guide, 6th Congressional District" . MDJOnline.com . May 7, 2022. Retrieved June 22, 2022 .
^ Hallerman, Tamar; Bluestein, Greg. "Who could run for Georgia's 7th District" . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Retrieved June 13, 2020 .
^ a b "Rep. Rich McCormick on Congressional News of the Day" . C-SPAN. December 14, 2023.
^ "Physician touts conservative credentials for District 7 race" . www.forsythnews.com . Retrieved June 13, 2020 .
^ "McCormick declared winner of District 7 Republican Primary" . www.forsythnews.com . Retrieved June 13, 2020 .
^ Millhiser, Ian (November 7, 2020). "Democrats capture Georgia US House seat held by Republicans since 1995" . Vox . Retrieved June 22, 2022 .
^ Cindy Morley. "Republican Dr. Rich McCormick sets sights on Georgia's 6th District | InsiderAdvantageGeorgia" . Insideradvantage.com. Retrieved November 17, 2022 .
^ Mitchell, Tia. "Evans, McCormick headed to runoff in Georgia's 6th Congressional District" . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . ISSN 1539-7459 . Retrieved June 22, 2022 .
^ "Rich McCormick defeats Trump-backed opponent in Georgia primary runoff" . June 22, 2022.
^ "Rich McCormick wins election in Georgia's 6th Congressional District" . Ajc.com. November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 17, 2022 .
^ Gans, Jared (May 31, 2023). "Republicans and Democrats who bucked party leaders by voting no" . The Hill . Retrieved June 6, 2023 .
^ Wong, Scott; Stewart, Kyle; Richards, Zoë (November 7, 2023). "House censures Rep. Rashida Tlaib over Israel remarks" . NBC News .
^ Grisales, Claudia (November 7, 2023). "House votes to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib for Israel-Hamas war comments" . NPR . Retrieved November 7, 2023 .
^ Bluestein, Greg (January 23, 2024). "Trump wins New Hampshire primary, dealing blow to Haley's prez bid" . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution .
^ Bluestein, Greg; Mitchell, Tia (October 28, 2024). "Trump labels Harris a 'fascist' in Atlanta, flipping Democratic attack against him" . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution .
^ Ventura, Juliann (December 3, 2024). "House Republican: 'Hard decisions' needed on Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare" . The Hill . Retrieved December 4, 2024 .
^ "Congress facing 'hard decisions' when it comes to cutting government waste, GA rep says" . Fox Business . December 3, 2024. Retrieved December 4, 2024 .
^ "Richard McCormick" . Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved May 8, 2023 .
^ "General Primary/Special Election - Unofficial Results" . GEORGIA SECRETARY OF STATE. May 29, 2022. Retrieved May 30, 2022 .
^ "General Primary/Special Election Runoff - Official & Complete Results" . June 21, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022 .
^ "REP - US House Dist 6" . Georgia Secretary of State . November 8, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2022 .
^ "REP - US House Dist 7" . Georgia Secretary of State . July 2, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2022 .
^ "US House Dist 7" . Georgia Secretary of State . November 20, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2022 .
^ Nava, Victor (May 16, 2024). "Republican congressman files for divorce amid rumored relationship with House GOP colleague" . The NY Post . Retrieved November 15, 2024 .
^ Picket, Kerry (February 19, 2024). "Freshman GOP lawmaker known for pullups once competed on 'American Gladiators' " . The Washington Times . Retrieved May 17, 2024 .
^ Fossum, Sam; Raju, Manu; Talbot, Haley (January 31, 2024). "GOP congressman admits to doing pull-ups at top of Capitol Dome and insists 'there was nothing unsafe' about it" . CNN . Retrieved February 1, 2024 .
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