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Rick Allen (politician)

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Rick Allen
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Georgia's 12th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2015
Preceded byJohn Barrow
Personal details
Born
Richard Wayne Allen

(1951-11-07) November 7, 1951 (age 73)[1]
Augusta, Georgia, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseRobin Reeve[1]
Children4
Residence(s)Augusta, Georgia, U.S.
EducationAuburn University (BS) (1973)[1]
WebsiteHouse website
Rick Allen's voice
Rick Allen speaks on the birth of his thirteenth grandchild
Recorded December 12, 2018

Richard Wayne Allen (born November 7, 1951[1]) is an American politician and businessman who has served as the Republican Party's U.S. representative for Georgia's 12th congressional district since 2015. Georgia's 12th district favors Republicans by seven points according to the 2025 Cook Partisan Voting Index.[2] From 2014 to present, Allen has been re-elected to successive biennial terms.

Career

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Allen attended Auburn University and graduated in 1973 with a Bachelor of Science in building construction.[1][3] While at Auburn he joined Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.[citation needed] He worked for three years as a project manager for a builder before founding R.W. Allen and Associates in 1976, which is an Augusta-based construction company. It is ran by Allen with operations also in Athens.[4]

U.S. House of Representatives

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Georgia's 12 district

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Georgia's 12th congressional district favors Republicans by seven points according to the 2025 Cook Partisan Voting Index.[2] It is located in East Central Georgia and includes the cities of Augusta, Statesboro, and Vidalia[2] among many others.[5]

Campaigns

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See also: 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia § District 12

Allen ran in the Republican primary for the 12th district against three other candidates. He advanced to the runoff, but lost to state representative Lee Anderson, 49.7% to 50.3%.[6] Anderson went on to lose the general election to incumbent John Barrow.

See also: 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia § District 12

Allen ran again in 2014, spending "nearly a million dollars of his own money" and winning a "five-way primary with 54% of the vote," thus making it to the general election.[4] In the general, he defeated the incumbent Blue Dog Democrat[4] Barrow with 54.7% of the vote, a result considered an upset even though the 12th district had been made significantly more Republican by redistricting.[7][8] Barrow was "Georgia’s only remaining white Democrat in the House."[4]

See also: 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia § District 12

Allen was reelected with 61.6% of the vote in 2016. He ran against the Democratic candidate Tricia Carpenter McCracken.

See also: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia § District 12

In 2018, Allen was reelected with 59.5% of the vote. He ran against the Democratic candidate—a lawyer and pastor—Francys Johnson.[9]

See also: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia § District 12

Allen was reelected with 58.4% of the vote in 2020. He ran against the Democratic candidate Elizabeth Johnson.[10]

See also: 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia § District 12

Allen was reelected with 59.6% of the vote in 2022. He ran against the Democratic candidate Elizabeth Johnson.

See also: 2024 United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia § District 12

Allen was reelected with 60.3% of the vote in 2024. He ran against the Democratic candidate Elizabeth Johnson.

2020 Presidential election results

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Given the refusal to accept the 2020 election loss of Donald Trump by allies and supporters, Allen voted to reject the results in both Arizona and Pennsylvania immediately after the January 6th Capitol attack.[11] He was one of 139 Republican House members who objected to certify Biden as president.[11][12]

Committee assignments

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For the 118th Congress:[13]

Caucuses

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Tenure

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LGBT rights

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In 2015, Allen cosponsored a resolution to amend the Constitution to ban same-sex marriage.[15] Allen also cosponsored an amendment disagreeing with the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which held that same-sex marriage bans violated the constitution.[16]

During a closed-door Republican meeting about an amendment that prohibited discrimination against LGBT workers, Allen read a Bible verse that says of homosexuals, "they which commit such things are worthy of death."[17] He told the assembled Republicans that they were "going to Hell" if they voted for the amendment.[18]

After the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting, Allen offered prayers to the families of the victims but did not apologize or retract his past comments.[19][17]

In 2022, Allen voted against H.R.8404—the Respect for Marriage Act—which would codify same-sex and interracial marriages.[20]

In October 2023, Allen said he could not support Speaker of the House candidate Tom Emmer on the grounds that Emmer had previously supported a bill that would offer the same federal protections to same-sex couples as heterosexual couples.[21]

Texas v. Pennsylvania

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Allen speaking to the Georgia State Senate in 2017

In December 2020, Allen 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[22] 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 an election held by another state.[23][24][25]

Foreign policy

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In 2019, Allen was one of 60 representatives to vote against condemning President Trump's withdrawal from Syria.[26][non-primary source needed]

In 2020, Allen voted against the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021, which would prevent the president from withdrawing soldiers from Afghanistan without congressional approval.[27][non-primary source needed]

Allen voted to provide Israel with support following 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.[28][29] This is in keeping with his view that any opposition to Israel will provoke a curse from God.[30]

Marijuana

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Rick Allen has an "F" rating from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) for his voting history regarding cannabis-related causes.[31]

Apparent STOCK act violations

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In September 2021, an analysis by Business Insider found that Allen appeared to have violated the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012, or STOCK Act, by failing to list on his 2020 financial disclosure form stock holdings in seven companies, worth up to $140,000, that appeared on his 2019 annual financial disclosure form, as well as being about 15 months late in reporting a stock purchase made by his wife in June 2020.[32]

In June 2024, an analysis by Raw Story found that Allen appeared to have violated the STOCK Act by being as much as six-and-a-half years late in reporting 136 stock and other financial transactions, worth up to $8.5 million, on his 2023 financial disclosure form.[33] In response, a spokesperson for Allen blamed the reporting issues on a compliance firm hired by Allen, and stated that Allen had hired a new compliance firm "to ensure all trades have been properly reported."[33]

Personal life

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Allen lives in Augusta, Georgia with his wife Robin, and they wed in 1973. Allen has four children and 14 grandchildren. He is a Methodist and "active member" of Trinity on the Hill United Methodist Church.[3] Allen spent almost a million dollars of his own money on the 2014 Georgia Republican primary, which he won.[4] His only son, Andy, has worked as a foreign service officer with the State Department.[34]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Cohen, Richard; Cook, Charlie; Jacobson, Louis; Peck, Louis; Barnes, James A.; Barone, Michael (August 9, 2019). The Almanac of American Politics 2020. Columbia Books & Information Services. p. 536. ISBN 978-1-938939-88-4.
  2. ^ a b c "2025 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List (119th Congress)". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Representative Rick W. Allen Biography". allen.house.gov. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e Cohen, Richard; Cook, Charlie; Jacobson, Louis; Peck, Louis; Barnes, James A.; Barone, Michael (August 9, 2019). The Almanac of American Politics 2020. Columbia Books & Information Services. p. 537. ISBN 978-1-938939-88-4.
  5. ^ https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/cong_dist/cd119/cd_based/ST13/CD119_GA12.pdf
  6. ^ McCord, Susan (September 5, 2012). "Vote recount certifies Lee Anderson as winner of GOP runoff for U.S. District 12 seat". The Augusta Chronicle. Archived from the original on September 13, 2012. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  7. ^ Galloway, Jim (November 4, 2014). "Nunn, Carter, and Barrow defeated; Georgia's Democratic revolution is stillborn". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  8. ^ Davis, Janel (November 5, 2014). "Rick Allen upsets John Barrow for Georgia congressional seat". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on March 23, 2020. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  9. ^ Suggs, Ernie (July 25, 2017). "Georgia NAACP president steps down with an eye toward politics". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on June 15, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  10. ^ "Georgia Election Results: 12th Congressional District". The New York Times. November 3, 2020. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  11. ^ a b Chang, Alvin (January 7, 2021). "The long list of Republicans who voted to reject election results". The Guardian. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  12. ^ Yourish, Karen; Buchanan, Larry; Lu, Denise (January 7, 2021). "The 147 Republicans Who Voted to Overturn Election Results". The New York Times. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  13. ^ "Rick W. Allen". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  14. ^ "Membership". Republican Study Committee. December 6, 2017. Archived from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  15. ^ Huelskamp, Tim (February 12, 2015). "Cosponsors - H.J.Res.32 - 114th Congress (2015-2016): Marriage Protection Amendment". www.congress.gov. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
  16. ^ Steve, King (July 29, 2015). "Cosponsors - H.Res.359 - 114th Congress (2015-2016): Providing that the House of Representatives disagrees with the majority opinion in Obergefell et al. v. Hodges, and for other purposes". www.congress.gov. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  17. ^ a b Shutt, Jennifer (May 26, 2016). "Homosexuals 'Worthy of Death' Bible Verse Read Before Key Vote". Roll Call. Archived from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  18. ^ Badash, David (May 26, 2016). "GOP Congressman Quotes Bible, Tells Republicans They Are 'Going to Hell' if They Vote for LGBT Bill". The New Civil Rights Movement. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  19. ^ Shutt, Jennifer (June 15, 2016). "Congressman Who Read Anti-Gay Bible Verse Prays for Orlando Victims' Loved Ones". Roll Call. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  20. ^ "Roll Call 373 Roll Call 373, Bill Number: H. R. 8404, 117th Congress, 2nd Session". July 19, 2022.
  21. ^ Edmondson, Catie (October 24, 2023). "Who is Tom Emmer?". The New York Times. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  22. ^ 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.
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ^ "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.
  25. ^ 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.
  26. ^ "H.J.Res. 77: Opposing the decision to end certain United States ... -- House Vote #560 -- Oct 16, 2019".
  27. ^ "H.R. 6395: William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act ... -- House Vote #152 -- Jul 21, 2020".
  28. ^ Demirjian, Karoun (October 25, 2023). "House Declares Solidarity With Israel in First Legislation Under New Speaker". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  29. ^ Washington, U. S. Capitol Room H154; p:225-7000, DC 20515-6601 (October 25, 2023). "Roll Call 528 Roll Call 528, Bill Number: H. Res. 771, 118th Congress, 1st Session". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved October 30, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  30. ^ "Columbia Leaders Grilled at Antisemitism Hearing Over Faculty Comments". The New York Times. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
  31. ^ https://vote.norml.org/politicians/136062
  32. ^ Leonard, Kimberly; Levinthal, Dave; Rojas, Warren; Hall, Madison (September 29, 2021). "Four more Republican members of Congress appear to have violated a federal law designed to combat insider trading and conflicts of interest". Business Insider. Archived from the original on April 28, 2023. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  33. ^ a b Jacobson, Alexandria (June 5, 2025). "43 members of Congress violated stock law". Raw Story. Archived from the original on June 6, 2024. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  34. ^ also accessible from Wikipedia. Ultimately from house.gov on December 12, 2018.
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U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Georgia's 12th congressional district
2015–present 		Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by United States representatives by seniority
130th 		Succeeded by
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