Steven Joseph Chabot is an American politician and lawyer who has been the United States Representative for since 2011. Chabot, a member of the Republican Party, previously represented the district from 1995 to 2009.
Early life, education, and pre-political career
Chabot was born in 1953 in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Gerard Joseph and Doris Leona Chabot; paternally, he is of French-Canadian descent. He graduated from La Salle High School in Cincinnati in 1971, and then from the College of William and Mary in 1975, earning a Bachelor of Arts in physical education. He went on to obtain a Juris Doctor degree from Northern Kentucky University Salmon P. Chase College of Law, in Highland Heights, Kentucky, in 1978. He worked as an elementary school teacher in 1975–1976 while taking law classes at night. Steve also remained very active in the community, teaching political science at the University of Cincinnati and chairing for the Boy Scouts of Cincinnati. As a practicing attorney from 1978 to 1994, Chabot handled domestic disputes and the drafting of wills as a sole practitioner. He operated out of a small law office in Westwood.
Early political career
Although Chabot ran unsuccessfully for the Cincinnati City Council as an independent candidate in 1979 and as a Republican in 1983, He won a republican seat in 1985 and was re-elected for the next four years. Then, in 1988, he ran for the U.S. House of Representatives against seven-term incumbent Democrat Tom Luken, who won against Chabot, 56–44%. However, after that he was appointed a Commissioner of Hamilton County, Ohio, in 1990, and was elected later that year and again in 1992, staying until 1994.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
In 1994, Chabot ran for the U.S. House again and defeated Democratic incumbent David S. Mann of Ohio's 1st congressional district, 56%–44%. In 1996, he defeated Democrat Mark Longabaugh, a member of the Cincinnati City Council, 54%–43%. In 1998, he defeated Cincinnati Mayor Roxanne Qualls, 53% to 47%. In the series of debates during that campaign, Qualls criticized Chabot for not funneling enough federal spending back to his home district. Chabot countered that he would not support "wasteful or unnecessary" federal programs. In 2000, he defeated City Councilman and Harvard graduate John Cranley 53–44%. In 2002, he defeated Greg Harris, with 65% of the vote. In 2004, he defeated Greg Harris again, with 60% of the vote. ;2006 Chabot defeated Democratic challenger John Cranley again, this time by a narrower margin of 52–48%. ;2008 He was defeated by State Representative Steve Driehaus 52%–48%. ;2010 In a rematch, Chabot defeated Democratic incumbent Steve Driehaus, Libertarian Jim Berns, and Green Party nominee Richard Stevenson. Chabot won by a margin of 51%–46%. ;2012 Steve Chabot defeated Democratic nominee Jeff Sinnard 58%–38%, with Green nominee Rich Stevenson, and Libertarian nominee Jim Berns picking up the balance. He was helped by the 2010 round of redistricting, which shifted the majority of heavily Republican Warren County to the 1st Congressional District.
*Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 2004, Rich Stevenson received 198 votes. In 2008, Eric Wilson received 85 votes and Rich Stevenson received 67 votes.
Political positions
As of January 2018, Chabot had voted with his party in 98.2% of votes in the 115th United States Congress and voted in line with President Trump's position in 94.9% of votes.
On the topic of man-made climate change, Chabot said "the evidence concerning man-made climate change is far from conclusive". Chabot said cap-and-trade was an "extreme proposal" that would harm the economy.
Other
In 1999, Chabot was one of the managers appointed to conduct the impeachment proceedings of President Bill Clinton. On August 22, 2011, Chabot asked Cincinnati police to confiscate cameras being used by private citizens to record a town-hall meeting, even as media television cameras recorded the incident. YouTube videos of the incident provided wide awareness of the incident, and the participating police officer was later disciplined. In 2002, Chabot advocated teaching intelligent design alongside the theory of evolution by natural selection in Ohio high schools. Chabot has called for ending logging subsidies in the Tongass National Forest in Alaska, and promoted relations with Taiwan. In 2002, Chabot helped spearhead the local campaign against building a light rail system in Hamilton County. As of 2016, Chabot had traveled on congressional fact-finding missions to 46 countries at a cost of $200,000.
Personal life
Chabot lives with his wife Donna in Westwood. The Chabots have two children, Erica and Randy, and a grandson, Reed.
