Ben Cline

Early life and education

Cline was born on February 29, 1972, in Stillwater, Oklahoma, He is the son of Philip L. Cline and Julie Cline.

Cline graduated from Lexington High School in 1990, and graduated with a B.A. from Bates College in 1994. He earned a J.D. degree from University of Richmond School of Law in 2007.

Career outside of politics

From 2002 to 2007, including his years in law school, Cline was president of NDS Corporation, a Virginia-based company providing sales and marketing assistance to rural Internet and technology businesses. After graduating from law school, he served as an assistant Commonwealth's Attorney for Rockingham County and the city of Harrisonburg until 2013. Before his election to Congress, Cline maintained a private law practice in Lexington, Harrisonburg, and Amherst.

Political career

Cline worked on Capitol Hill from 1994-2002 for U.S. Representative Bob Goodlatte. During his tenure with his predecessor, he rose from legislative correspondent to become Rep. Goodlatte's chief of staff.

Cline began his political career in 2002 in a special election to the Virginia House of Delegates, replacing incumbent delegate Vance Wilkins, who resigned due to sexual harassment allegations. Cline won with 57% of the vote against Democratic former Lexington mayor Mimi Elrod. Cline represented the 24th district, which consisted of Bath and Rockbridge counties, the cities of Buena Vista and Lexington, and parts of Amherst and Augusta counties.

In 2003, Cline won again with 69% of the vote against independent E. W. Sheffield. In 2005, he won with 62% of the vote against Democrat David Cox. Cline ran unopposed in 2007. In 2009, Cline ran against Democratic Amherst native Jeff Price and won with 71% of the vote, taking the Lexington City precinct for the first time since Price's election in 2002 and every precinct in the 24th House of Delegates district. Cline ran unopposed in both 2011 and 2013. In 2015, Cline won 71% of the vote against Democrat Ellen Arthur. In 2017, he was reelected with 72% of the vote against independent candidate John Winfrey.

In November 2017, Cline announced he would run for Congress in Virginia's 6th congressional district in 2018 for the seat being vacated by retiring incumbent Bob Goodlatte. On May 19, 2018, Cline won the Republican nomination on the first ballot at the district convention.

Cline won the election on November 6, 2018, winning 15 Virginia localities, but with a historically low 59.8% versus Democrat Jennifer Lewis. He resigned from the Virginia House of Delegates on December 18, 2018.

State legislative career

Committee assignments

Cline served on the House of Delegates Committees on Commerce and Labor, Courts of Justice, Finance, and chaired the Militia, Police and Public Safety. He was also a member of Commerce and Labor Subcommittee #2, Commerce and Labor Special Subcommittee on Energy, Courts of Justice Subcommittee on Criminal Law, Courts of Justice Subcommittee on Judicial Systems and Finance Subcommittee #2. Cline also co-chaired the Virginia Joint Legislative Conservative Caucus, co-chaired in the Senate of Virginia by Mark Obenshain.

Government regulation

In 2006, Cline passed two bills, HB1130 and HB1131, that changed the administrative setup of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. In 2009, he passed HB2285, which created a searchable database of Virginia's agency expenditures. Additionally, Cline went after the Virginia Lottery in 2009 for the allotment of over $1 million of state funds to use the likeness of Howie Mandel and Donald Trump on lottery tickets.

Public safety

Cline was named Legislator of the Year by the Virginia Court Clerks' Association in 2011 and by the Virginia Sheriff's Association in 2012.

Cline also introduced several bills regarding the rights of defendants and inmates. In 2003, he introduced HB2231, which gives probation officers greater access to juvenile defendants' records so that risk assessments could be more easily prepared. In 2009 he opposed the closure of the Natural Bridge Juvenile Correctional Center, the last remaining facility solely for nonviolent offenders in the Commonwealth of Virginia at the time of its closing, and introduced HB873 in 2010 to require the Department of Juvenile Justice to keep at least one facility open for nonviolent juvenile offenders. In 2012, Cline helped negotiate a compromise between law enforcement and prisoner advocates regarding HB836, which restricted the usage of restraints on pregnant inmates, by supporting the intent of the legislation in the form of a rule change by the Virginia Board of Corrections, winning praise locally for his involvement on the issue. In 2013, Cline helped craft and supported HB2103, which improves parole process for inmates still eligible for parole in Virginia.

Abortion

Carmen Forman of The Roanoke Times called Cline "staunchly anti-abortion." In 2007 and subsequent years, he introduced legislation requiring that information regarding the option of providing anesthesia to the baby be given to women seeking abortions after 20 weeks and requiring doctors to do so if requested by the mother.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018

Convention

Cline announced his candidacy for the United States House of Representatives, in a bid to replace outgoing Representative Bob Goodlatte, for whom Cline had previously served as chief of staff. He entered a field of eight candidates, his top rival being Cynthia Dunbar, the incumbent RNC Committeewoman from Virginia.

The convention process was immediately tainted by accusations that the District Committee leadership was attempting to slant the convention in Dunbar's favor. 6th District Chairman Scott Sayre was heard admonishing the other candidates that their primary goal needed to be to defeat Cline. 6th District Vice Chair Matthew Tederick was a paid staffer for Dunbar, as were several other members of the District Committee.

Led by Dunbar supporters, the District Committee attempted to push through a "plurality" rule for the Congressional race so that whoever got the highest vote on the first ballot would win. In a field of eight candidates, that number could have been significantly lower than 51% (even as low as 20%), which elicited accusations that the District Committee thought that Dunbar couldn't beat Cline on her own merits. This rule was challenged to the State Central Committee of the Republican Party of Virginia and overturned by the SCC. It turned out to be unnecessary since Rockingham County Clerk of Court Chaz Haywood (another candidate) dropped out of the race at the Convention and endorsed Cline. With that endorsement, Cline received 52.62% of the vote to Dunbar's 39.15%.

The final tally was: Cline, 52.62%; Dunbar, 39.15%; Douglas Wright, 3.63%; Elliot Pope, 2.59%; Michael Desjadon, 1.19%; Eduardo Justo, 0.51%; Kathryn McDaniel Lewis, 0.25%, and Haywood, who appeared on the ballot despite his late withdrawal, 0.06%. With Cline winning a majority on the first ballot, he secured the nomination and moved on to the general election.

General election

According to Amy Friedenberger of The Roanoke Times, Cline established himself in his 16 years in the Virginia House of Delegates "as a conservative who opposes abortion rights and seeks to protect gun rights... [who said] he would take his fiscal conservatism to Washington." At his election victory celebration, Representative-elect Cline told his supporters, "Being part of the checks and balances that our Founding Fathers envisioned is a responsibility that I will guard seriously."

2020

Cline was reelected in 2020 with 64.7% of the vote, defeating Democrat Nicholas Betts.

2022

Tenure

Cline's assignments in the House include serving on the Judiciary Committee, which includes some responsibilities regarding the Mueller Report.

In December 2020, Cline was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign 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 defeated incumbent Donald Trump.

On January 6, 2021, Cline voted against certifying the election of President-elect Biden.

According to an algorithm developed by researchers at FiveThirtyEight, although Cline is a member of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, his voting record aligns more with "far-right obstructionists" like Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Israel

He voted to provide Israel with support following October 7 attacks

Committee assignments

• Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
• Committee on the Budget

Caucus memberships

• Freedom Caucus
• Problem Solvers Caucus
• Republican Study Committee
• Rare Disease Caucus
• Congressional Western Caucus

Electoral history

Personal life

Cline married Elizabeth Rocovich Cline in 2007; they have twin daughters. Since his election to Congress, he has moved from his longtime home in Rockbridge County, near Lexington, to Botetourt County. He is Catholic and attends St. Patrick's Church in Lexington.

References

References

1. Virginia House of Delegates Staff. (2019-07-24). "Benjamin L. 'Ben' Cline". State of Virginia.
2. and grew up in [[Rockbridge County, Virginia]].''[[Who's Who Among American High School Students]]'' (Educational Communications, Inc., 1989), p. 294 (accessed 2022-08-23 on [[Google Books]])
3. Jeff Hanna, [https://columns.wlu.edu/wl-mourns-loss-of-phil-cline-emeritus-economics-professor/ "W&L Mourns Loss of Phil Cline, Emeritus Economics Professor"] ''The Columns'' 2010-01-14 https://columns.wlu.edu/wl-mourns-loss-of-phil-cline-emeritus-economics-professor/ (accessed 2022-08-23)
4. Ben Cline for Delegate. "Delegate Ben Cline – Biography".
5. "About Ben".
6. "About | U.S. Representative Ben Cline".
7. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-cline-7517406/
8. (2002-06-14). "Wilkins Calls it Quits One Week After Sexual Harassment Allegations Surfaced, Leader Leaves Post Saying He Feels He Was 'Abandoned' by the GOP". The Virginian-Pilot.
9. Virginia Department of Elections Staff. (2017-11-13). "2017 November General—Official Results". Results.Elections.Virginia.gov.
10. (2017-11-09). "Delegate Ben Cline Announces Run for Goodlatte's Seat in Congress". WHSV-TV3.
11. Friedenberger, Amy. (2018-11-06). "Republican Ben Cline Defeats Democrat Jennifer Lewis in 6th District Race". The Roanoke Times.
12. (2019-12-21). "Virginia house [election results, map]". [[CNN]].
13. Friedenberger, Amy. (2018-11-09). "After Del. Ben Cline's Congressional Win, Special Election to Fill Seat Set for Dec. 18". The Roanoke Times.
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17. "LIS > Bill Tracking > HB1131 > 2006 Session".
18. "LIS > Bill Tracking > HB2285 > 2009 Session".
19. Cline, Ben. "Delegate cline announces the passage of budget transparency bill".
20. "Del. Ben Cline receives service award from Virginia Sheriffs' Association".
21. "LIS > Bill Tracking > HB2231 > 2003 Session".
22. "Del. Ben Cline says 1,700+ sign petition to keep Natural Bridge Juvenile Correctional Center open".
23. "LIS > Bill Tracking > HB873 > 2010 Session".
24. "LIS > Bill Tracking > HB836 > 2012 Session".
25. "Virginia prisons board tentatively OKs shackling rules".
26. "Editorial: Unshackling pregnant inmates".
27. "LIS > Bill Tracking > HB2103 > 2103 Session".
28. Forman, Carmen. (January 16, 2017). "Ben Cline's 'Day of Tears' Abortion Mourning Resolution Advances in General Assembly". The Roanoke Times.
29. "LIS > Bill Tracking > HB2456 > 2007 Session".
30. "LIS > Bill Tracking > HB1556 > 2008 Session".
31. "LIS > Bill Tracking > HB2634 > 2009 Session".
32. (May 19, 2018). "Convention selects Ben Cline as nominee for open seat in Va.". [[Associated Press.
33. (November 6, 2018). "Del. Ben Cline Wins 6th District U.S. House Race". Staunton News Leader.
34. Fair, Julia. (January 3, 2019). "Ben Cline Made It to Congress, Here's How His First Day Went". Staunton News Leader.
35. Rosario, Nicole Del. (2020-11-04). "Ben Cline projected to win reelection in Virginia's 6th Congressional District, according to NBC News".
36. (8 November 2022). "Virginia Sixth Congressional District Election Results". The New York Times.
37. Simon, Scott. (March 23, 2019). "Rep. Ben Cline On The Mueller Report". [[National Public Radio.
38. (December 5, 2020). "Biden officially secures enough electors to become president".
39. (2021-01-07). "The 147 Republicans Who Voted to Overturn Election Results". The New York Times.
40. (1 May 2024). "The 8 Types Of Democrats And Republicans In The House".
41. "538 algorithm groups House members by how they actually vote". ABC News.
42. Demirjian, Karoun. (2023-10-25). "House Declares Solidarity With Israel in First Legislation Under New Speaker". The New York Times.
43. (2023-10-25). "Roll Call 528 Roll Call 528, Bill Number: H. Res. 771, 118th Congress, 1st Session".
44. "Committees and Caucuses".
45. (2018-10-31). "As House Republicans Brace for Losses, Freedom Caucus Prepares for Growth".
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49. "Caucus Memberships". Congressional Western Caucus.
50. (November 9, 2018). "Official Results". Virginia Department of Elections.
51. "2020 November General Official Results".
52. "2024 November General November 5, 2024 OFFICIAL RESULTS".