Cedric Richmond

Early life and education

Richmond was born in New Orleans in 1973 and raised in New Orleans East, where he attended public schools. His father died when he was seven years old. His mother was a public school teacher and small business owner. Richmond graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Morehouse College, and a Juris Doctor from Tulane School of Law. He also completed an executive program at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. While at Morehouse, Richmond played college baseball as a pitcher for the Morehouse Maroon Tigers in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. He married Raquel Greenup in 2015.

Louisiana legislature

Richmond was elected and served as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from the 101st district (Orleans Parish) from 2000 to 2011. He was elected shortly after his 27th birthday and was one of the youngest legislators ever to serve in Louisiana when he took office. He served as the chairman of the House Committee on Judiciary and as a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, House Executive Committee, and the Legislative Audit Advisory Council.

U.S. House of Representatives

Richmond was elected to the US House of Representatives from Louisiana's 2nd congressional district for the first time in 2010. He took office in 2011. He was reelected in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020. In 2012, Richmond publicly opposed a plan for Louisiana to redirect federal hurricane-recovery funds toward Superdome renovations, specifically raising concerns about the priorities of the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District's facility funding.

On June 9, 2014, Richmond introduced the Honor Flight Act, a bill that would direct the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to establish a process for providing expedited and dignified passenger screening services for veterans traveling on an Honor Flight to visit war memorials that had been built to honor their service.

That year Richmond defended his Republican colleague Vance McAllister, who had become embroiled in an alleged adultery scandal. Richmond said that he associated the controversy around McAllister with "gotcha moments" in which the "two parties in this country have gone overboard...and taken joy in the pain of their supposed opponents".

Richmond was one of a few Democrats who voted to authorize the Keystone XL pipeline. In 2020, he was described as the fifth-biggest recipient of money from fossil fuel donors among House Democrats. The League of Conservation Voters gave him one of the lowest ratings of all Democratic members of Congress.

Richmond was active in the Congressional Black Caucus. On November 30, 2016, he was elected chair of the Congressional Black Caucus for the 115th United States Congress.

On December 18, 2019, Richmond voted for the first impeachment of Donald Trump.

Elections

2008

Richmond came in third place in the seven-candidate primary election for the Democratic nomination for Louisiana's 2nd congressional district, behind U.S. Representative William J. Jefferson and television newscaster Helena Moreno. During a primary debate, Richmond accused Moreno of drug use, and she criticized him for his disqualification from the 2005 New Orleans City Council "D" district election.

Later in 2008, the Louisiana Supreme Court suspended Richmond's law license for six months in a 5–2 decision. It found that he had falsified a sworn statement claiming more than two years of residency in New Orleans's "D" district in order to be eligible for the district's city council seat.

2010

Richmond challenged Republican incumbent Joseph Cao for . Richmond was the first candidate in the 2010 elections to have President Barack Obama appear in a television ad on his behalf.

Most analysts considered Richmond a strong favorite to retake this seat for the Democrats, even in what was forecast to be a Republican year nationally. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index of D+25, the second district was the most Democratic district in the country to be represented by a Republican. Richmond won the November 2 election with 65% of the vote.

2012

2020

Richmond's campaign received almost $113,000 from the oil and gas sector, which donated more than any other sector to his campaign. He was reelected with 63.6% of the vote.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Homeland Security
  • Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies (chair)
  • Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery
• Committee on the Judiciary
  • Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet
  • Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security

Congressional caucuses

• Congressional Black Caucus
• New Democrat Coalition

Controversies

In January 2017, Richmond became involved in an argument with Republican lawmakers over whether a particular painting should continue to hang in the United States Capitol. The painting shows police officers apprehending suspects, and the police are depicted as pigs. It was painted by someone from Richmond's district who had won a local award, and Republicans objected to it. Richmond said that escalating the issue might "open up Pandora's Box" because there are other paintings that some people might also find offensive.

In March 2017, Richmond was criticized for making a crude joke about a controversial photograph of Kellyanne Conway kneeling on the Oval Office couch. Richmond appeared to compare Conway to Monica Lewinsky, saying, "I really just want to know what was going on there, because she really looked kind of familiar there in that position there. But don't answer. And I don't want you to refer back to the '90s." Richmond later said the joke was not meant to be sexual. "Since some people have interpreted my joke to mean something that it didn't. I think it is important to clarify what I meant", he said in a statement. "Where I grew up saying that someone is looking or acting 'familiar' simply means that they are behaving too comfortably."

Congressional Baseball Game

Richmond played in the annual Congressional Baseball Game. He was the starting Democratic pitcher for each of the five years since his election and the Democrats won each game. He had a 2.85 earned run average, 1.67 walks plus hits per inning pitched and 45 strikeouts in his 27 innings pitched in that span. In 2016, Joe Barton, the Republican team manager, called him the best player to ever participate in the game. Richmond lost his first game in 2016, a day after participating through the night in the 2016 United States House of Representatives sit-in.

Biden administration

Richmond was a national co-chair of the Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign. On November 17, 2020, he announced that he would join the Biden administration as Senior Advisor to the President and director of the White House Office of Public Liaison. His resignation became official on January 15, 2021. His departure triggered a 2021 special election. Justice Democrats criticized Richmond's appointment, alleging that he was one of the top Democratic recipients of donations from the fossil fuel industry.

In an interview before the inauguration of Joe Biden, Richmond noted his potential work in reaching out to conservatives in different parts of the country. Richmond was reported to be working with the Biden administration on addressing reparations for slavery.

Richmond resigned from the White House on May 18, 2022, to become a senior adviser at the Democratic National Committee.

Electoral history

U.S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District November Election, 2016

U.S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District-November Election, 2014

U.S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District-November Election, 2012

U.S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District-Democratic Party, 2010 August 28, 2010

U.S. Representative, 2nd Congressional District-Democratic Party, 2008

Threshold 50%

First Ballot, November 2, 2004

Louisiana State Representative, 101st District, 2007

October 20, 2007

Louisiana State Representative, 101st District, 2003

October 4, 2003

Louisiana State Representative, 101st District, 1999

Threshold 50%

First Ballot, October 23, 1999

Second Ballot, November 20, 1999

References

References

1. "Elections 2012 - AP Election Guide : NPR".
2. (January 2, 2019). "Congressional Black Caucus Chair Cedric Richmond Says Goodbye to Seat as he Prepares to Pass "Chair" to Rep. Karen Bass".
3. "Cedric Richmond sworn in as chairman of Congressional Black Caucus".
4. "Membership". Congressional Black Caucus.
5. Glueck, Katie. (May 31, 2019). "Cedric Richmond, Biden's New Co-Chairman, Sees a Path to the Nomination in the South". The New York Times.
6. (September 28, 2020). "Cindy McCain Joins Biden-Harris Transition Team's Advisory Board".
7. (November 9, 2017). "Biden Transition Organization - Staff, Advisors".
8. (November 17, 2020). "Cedric Richmond officially announces that he will vacate congressional seat for role with Biden administration". WDSU News.
9. (November 17, 2020). "Joe Biden names 9 top White House appointees, including Rep. Cedric Richmond and campaign manager O'Malley Dillon". USA Today.
10. (November 17, 2020). "Biden to Name Campaign Manager, Congressional Ally and Close Friend to Key Staff Jobs". The New York Times.
11. "Meet Cedric Richmond | Cedric Richmond for Congress - Louisiana 2nd District". Cedricrichmond.com.
12. (June 14, 2017). "Analysis {{!}} Congressional ballgame builds bipartisan friendship. Exhibit A: Steve Scalise and Cedric Richmond". [[The Washington Post]].
13. Alpert, Bruce. (May 23, 2015). "Scalise meets A-Rod, Richmond gets hitched and GOP opposes EPA water rule - On the Hill". Times-Picayune.
14. (January 23, 2011). "Voters pick Bishop, Mills in legis races". Wbrz.com.
15. "About Cedric". cedricrichmond.com.
16. Deslatte, Melinda. (2012-03-30). "Louisiana Congressman Objects to Shifting Recovery Money to Dome".
17. "H.R. 4812 - Summary". United States Congress.
18. Alpert, Bruce. (April 11, 2014). "Richmond reaches out to McAllister: He admonishes both parties". Times-Picayune.
19. Frazin, Rachel. (November 17, 2020). "Progressive group slams Biden White House pick over tie to fossil fuel industry". The Hill.
20. (November 17, 2020). "Biden Appoints Fossil Fuel Ally as His Climate Movement Liaison". Daily Beast.
21. Rainey, Richard. (November 30, 2016). "Cedric Richmond elected chair of Congressional Black Caucus". The Times-Picayune.
22. "WHIP COUNT: Here's which members of the House voted for and against impeaching Trump".
23. Donze, Frank. (September 26, 2008). "Moreno, Richmond trade barbs at 2nd District talk". The Times-Picayune.
24. Donze, Frank. (December 2, 2008). "State Rep. Cedric Richmond's law license suspended". The Times-Picayune.
25. Burns, Alexander. (October 4, 2010). "La.'s Richmond gets Obama's 1st ad". Politico.
26. (November 2, 2010). "Cedric Richmond wins 2nd District House race; Joseph Cao concedes". The Times-Picayune.
27. "Members". New Democrat Coalition.
28. Marcos, Cristina. (January 13, 2017). "Democrat re-hangs painting depicting cops as pigs". The Hill.
29. (January 10, 2017). "CBC: 'We may just have to kick somebody's ass' over painting removal". Politico.
30. Heil, Emily. "Rep. Cedric Richmond made an awkward joke about Kellyanne Conway, but he says it wasn't meant to be sexual". [[The Washington Post]].
31. (June 23, 2016). "Cedric Richmond: Congressional Baseball's Best Player Ever?". [[Roll Call]].
32. (November 17, 2020). "Biden Taps Several Senior Campaign Aides For Key White House Positions". NPR.
33. (January 6, 2021). "Special Election - U.S. House of Representatives Second Congressional District". State of Louisiana.
34. "Executive Proclamation Number 3".
35. Budryk, Zack. (November 17, 2020). "Progressive group Justice Democrats criticizes Biden appointments".
36. (December 11, 2020). "Incoming White House Public Engagement Director On His Plans For The Job".
37. "Biden adviser Cedric Richmond sees first-term progress on reparations".
38. "Top Biden adviser and former congressman resigns from White House".
39. (June 15, 2022). "Former Atlanta Mayor Bottoms joining Biden White House". [[Reuters]].
40. "Louisiana Secretary of State - Live Election Results".
41. "Elections Division". Louisiana Secretary of State.