Dan Bishop

James Daniel Bishop (born July 1, 1964)[3][4] is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. Representative for North Carolina's 9th congressional district since 2019. He also served in the North Carolina State Senate from 2017 to 2019. A Republican, his district includes south-central Mecklenburg, Union, Anson, Richmond, Scotland, Robeson, Bladen, and Cumberland counties. He previously served in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 2015 to 2017, and the Mecklenburg County Commission from 2005 to 2009.

Dan Bishop
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's 9th district
Incumbent
Assumed office September 17, 2019
Preceded by	Robert Pittenger
Member of the North Carolina Senate from the 39th district
In office January 1, 2017 – September 17, 2019
Preceded by	Bob Rucho
Succeeded by	Rob Bryan
Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from the 104th district
In office January 1, 2015 – January 1, 2017
Preceded by	Ruth Samuelson
Succeeded by	Andy Dulin
Member of the Mecklenburg County Commission from the 5th district
In office January 2005 – January 2009
Preceded by	Ruth Samuelson[1]
Succeeded by	Neil Cooksey[2]
Personal details
Born	James Daniel Bishop July 1, 1964 Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Jo Bishop
Children	1
Education	University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (BS, JD)
Website	House website

Bishop was the lead author of North Carolina's so-called "bathroom bill" which prohibited transgender individuals from using public restrooms other than those by their biological sex as defined on their birth certificates.[5][6]

Bishop won the 2019 special election to the U.S. House of Representatives with 50.7% of the vote to Dan McCready's 48.7% on September 10, 2019.[7][8]

Education

Bishop received a B.S. in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1986 and a J.D. in 1990 from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1990.[9] He is a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity.

County Commission and North Carolina House of Representatives (2005–2016)

Bishop with President Donald Trump in September 2019

Bishop was a member of the Mecklenburg County Commission from 2004 to 2008. After a six-year absence from politics, he was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives from a south Charlotte seat for a single term (2015-2017), running against a Libertarian opponent, Eric Cable, but without a Democratic one.[10] Bishop's district was House District 104.[9] He succeeded Ruth Samuelson, who retired from the House.[10]

North Carolina State Senate

Bishop won his North Carolina State Senate District 39 seat in November 2016 to succeed Bob Rucho who was not seeking re-election. He received 58,739 votes (52.81%), defeating Democrat Lloyd Scher, who received 44,655 (47.19%).[11]

During the 2017-2018 legislative session, Bishop was the co-chairman of the Select Committee on Judicial Reform and Redistricting, the vice-chairman of the Select Committee on Elections, and a member of several additional committees.[12]

Bishop has attracted attention for statements attacking journalists, which have been likened to statements by Donald Trump.[13] On one occasion, Bishop criticized the Raleigh press corps over coverage of the state budget, calling reporters the "jihad media."[14]

LGBT rights

Bishop was the architect of the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, or House Bill 2.[15][16][6] This controversial "bathroom bill" legislation restricted transgender individuals from using gender-segregated public facilities, other than those identified for use by their biological sex as defined on their birth certificates.[15] The bill, signed into law by Republican Governor Pat McCrory, also invalidated a local nondiscrimination law passed by the Charlotte City Council and prohibited any local government in North Carolina from enacting new protections for gay, lesbian, or transgender individuals.[16] Bishop used his sponsorship of HB 2 in fundraising emails, stating that he stood up to the "radical transgender agenda."[15] Bishop's role in promoting HB 2 raised the profile of the freshman state senator.[15]

In 2017, after a public backlash against the legislation and economic harms of $3.7 billion, HB 2 was repealed and replaced with new compromise legislation brokered between Democratic Governor Roy Cooper and the Republican leadership of the state legislature.[6] Bishop was the sole senator to make a floor speech against HB 2's revocation, calling it a "betrayal of principle."[17] In emails from Bishop subsequently made public under North Carolina's public-records law, Bishop compared LGBT rights activists to the Taliban.[18]

Following release of a video showing a group of people following former Governor Pat McCrory, shouting "shame", and calling McCrory a bigot, Bishop said he would introduce legislation "to make it a crime to threaten, intimidate, or retaliate against a present or former North Carolina official in the course of, or on account of, the performance of his or her duties."[19]

U.S. House of Representatives

2019 special election

On March 14, 2019, Bishop entered the 9th congressional district special election.[20] He won the Republican Party primary on May 14, 2019, with 47% of the vote.[21][22] In the general election on September 10, 2019, Bishop defeated Democratic nominee Dan McCready 50.7% to 48.7%.

Tenure

He took office on September 17, 2019.

On January 6-7, 2021, Bishop was one of the 139 House Representatives who voted to sustain one or both of the objections to certify electors from Arizona and Pennsylvania for President-elect Joseph R. Biden.[23]

Texas v. Pennsylvania

In December 2020, Bishop 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[24][25] 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.[26][27][28]

2021 electoral vote certification

On January 6, 2021, Bishop was one of 147 Republican lawmakers who objected to the certification of electoral votes from the 2020 presidential election after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol and forced an emergency recess of Congress.[29] [30]

Committee assignments

• Committee on Homeland Security
• Committee on the Judiciary

Caucus memberships

• Freedom Caucus[31]

Contributions to social network Gab

In August 2017, Bishop contributed $500 toward the establishment of the social network Gab, a website criticized for allegedly allowing white supremacist content.[32] Bishop said he decided to make the contribution in response to what he called a California "tech giants' Big Brother routine", referring to companies such as PayPal and Facebook canceling accounts used by organizers and funders of the Unite the Right rally, in Charlottesville, Virginia.[13] Bishop's crowdfunding contribution attracted attention the following year, after the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting.[32] Bishop responded that he was being "smeared," saying "I don't use Gab, but if its management allows its users to promote violence, anti-Semitism, and racism on the platform they have misled investors and they will be gone quickly, and rightfully so."[32] The contribution came up again during the 2019 election season, one week following the 2019 El Paso shooting and a month before the election. A group called Stand Up Republic aired criticism of Bishop's contribution towards Gab.ai as part of a $500,000 dollar advertising campaign. Bishop criticized the advertising, arguing that it was "defamatory."[33]

Electoral history

Mecklenburg County, North Carolina 5th District County Commissioner General Election, 2004[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dan Bishop	42,452	100.0
Total votes			42,452	100.0

Mecklenburg County, North Carolina 5th District County Commissioner General Election, 2006[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dan Bishop (incumbent)	23,925	100.0
Total votes			23,925	100.0

North Carolina 104th State House District General Election, 2014[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dan Bishop	18,576	74.78
	Libertarian	Eric Cable	6,266	25.22
Total votes			24,842	100.0

North Carolina 39th State Senate District General Election, 2016[35]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dan Bishop	58,739	56.81
	Democratic	Lloyd Scher	44,655	43.19
Total votes			103,394	100.0

North Carolina 39th State Senate District Republican Primary, 2018[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dan Bishop (incumbent)	8,778	71.28
	Republican	Beth Monaghan	3,537	28.72
Total votes			12,315	100.0

North Carolina 39th State Senate District General Election, 2018[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dan Bishop (incumbent)	49,698	52.89
	Democratic	Chad Stachowicz	44,273	47.11
Total votes			93,971	100.0

North Carolina 9th Congressional District Special Republican Primary, 2019[38]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dan Bishop	14,405	47.68
	Republican	Stony Rushing	5,882	19.47
	Republican	Matthew Ridenhour	5,166	17.10
	Republican	Leigh Brown	2,672	8.84
	Republican	Stevie Rivenbark Hull	906	3.00
	Republican	Fern Shubert	438	1.45
	Republican	Chris Anglin	382	1.26
	Republican	Kathie Day	193	0.64
	Republican	Gary Dunn	105	0.35
	Republican	Albert Lee Wiley, Jr.	62	0.21
Total votes			30,211	100.0

North Carolina 9th Congressional District Special Election, 2019[39]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Dan Bishop	96,573	50.69	+1.44
	Democratic	Dan McCready	92,785	48.70	-0.23
	Libertarian	Jeff Scott	773	0.41	-1.40
	Green	Allen Smith	375	0.20	N/A
Total votes			190,506	100.0	N/A

References

1. "Our Campaigns - Mecklenburg County Commissioner - District 5 Race - Nov 02, 2004". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved Sep 14, 2019.
2. "Our Campaigns - Mecklenburg County Commissioner - District 5 Race - Nov 07, 2006". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved Sep 14, 2019.
3. "2006-2008 Board of County Commissioners" (PDF). Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
4. The Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory - Google Books. 2001. ISBN 9781561604395. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
5. Staff (September 6, 2019). "NC-09: Republicans Risk Special Election Loss in Critical 2020 State". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved September 8, 2019. In May, Republican voters chose Bishop, an attorney best known for sponsoring North Carolina's so-called "bathroom bill," as their new nominee.
6. Kilgore, Ed (2019-05-13). "Bathroom Bill Author Most Likely GOP Nominee in North Carolina Special Election". Intelligencer. Retrieved 2019-05-18.
7. Live results: North Carolina elections, Politico, September 10, 2019.
8. Republican Dan Bishop wins special election for House seat in North Carolina special election, NBC News projects, NBC News, September 10, 2019.
9. NC Senate District 39: Dan Bishop faces Lloyd Scher, Charlotte Observer (October 18, 2016).
10. Fred Clasen-Kelly, NC House District 104: Former county commissioner re-emerges as leader for state House seat, Charlotte Observer (November 4, 2014).
11. "11/08/2016 General Election Results". Raleigh, North Carolina: North Carolina State Board of Elections. 8 November 2016.
12. Senator Dan Bishop (Rep): Committee Assignments, 2017-2018 Session, North Carolina General Assembly.
13. Billy Corriher, Meet the N.C. legislator who invested in the alt-right's social media platform, Facing South, Institute for Southern Studies (November 2, 2018).
14. Colin Campbell, NC senator blasts 'jihad media' on Twitter in response to budget article, News & Observer (June 22, 2017).
15. Colin Campbell, Rep. Dan Bishop: Leader of House Bill 2, Charlotte Observer (April 23, 2016).
16. Steve Harrison, N.C. Gov Pat McCrory signs into law bill restricting LGBT protections, Charlotte Observer (March 23, 2016).
17. Colin Campbell, Craig Jarvis & Lynn Bonner, NC Senate, House approve HB2 repeal compromise, News & Observer (March 30, 2017).
18. Erik Spanberg, EXCLUSIVE: Inside HB 2 author's legislative emails on LGBT issues, Charlotte Business Journal (June 9, 2016).
19. Abbie Bennett, Does Pat McCrory need protection? One NC senator thinks so, News & Observer (January 23, 2017).
20. "Sponsor of N Carolina anti-LGBT bill to run for US House". WRAL. Associated Press. March 14, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
21. Republican voters nominate N.C. state lawmaker who sponsored controversial 'bathroom bill' in 9th Congressional District race The Washington Post, Felicia Sonmez and Amy Gardner, May 14, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
22. North Carolina 9th District special election results, The Washington Post, May 14, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
23. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/01/07/us/elections/electoral-college-biden-objectors.html
24. 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.
25. Figueroa, Ariana (10 December 2020). "More than half of U.S. House Republicans back Texas suit claiming election 'irregularities'". Pennsylvania Capital-Star. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
26. Liptak, Adam (2020-12-11). "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 2020-12-12.
27. "Order in Pending Case" (PDF). Supreme Court of the United States. 2020-12-11. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
28. 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.
29. Yourish, Karen; Buchanan, Larry; Lu, Denise (January 7, 2021). "The 147 Republicans Who Voted to Overturn Election Results". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
30. https://danbishop.house.gov/media/press-releases/bishop-objects-ga-pa-mi-wi-electoral-certifications
31. HFF (September 13, 2019), Two Big Wins in North Carolina, House Freedom Fund
32. Jim Morrill, NC lawmaker says he's being 'smeared' for investment in site tied to white supremacists, Charlotte Observer (October 31, 2018).
33. Morrill, Jim (12 August 2019). "New ad in NC9 focuses on Bishop's investment in a media platform used by extremists". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
34. "11/04/2014 OFFICIAL GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS - STATEWIDE". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
35. "11/08/2016 OFFICIAL GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS - STATEWIDE". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
36. "05/08/2018 OFFICIAL LOCAL ELECTION RESULTS - STATEWIDE". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
37. "11/06/2018 OFFICIAL GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS - STATEWIDE". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
38. "05/14/2019 OFFICIAL LOCAL ELECTION RESULTS - STATEWIDE". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
39. "US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DISTRICT 09 - REP (VOTE FOR 1)". NC State Board of Elections. Retrieved September 15, 2019.

External links

• Congressman Dan Bishop official U.S. House website
• Campaign website
• Dan Bishop at Ballotpedia
• Our Campaigns – Dan Bishop (NC) profile
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Appearances on C-SPAN