Frank Wolf (politician)

Frank Rudolph Wolf (born January 30, 1939) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for VA's 10th congressional district from 1981 to 2015.

Wolf entered politics in 1968, at the age of 29, when he became a legislative assistant to Edward Biester, the Republican congressman from Pennsylvania's 8th congressional district.

From 1971 to 1975, Wolf served as an assistant to Secretary of the Interior Rogers Morton.

During the 1976 presidential election year, Wolf's first campaign for Virginia's 10th congressional district ended with his loss in the Republican primary to Vince Callahan by 45%–42%.

Two years later, amidst the 1978 midterm elections, he won the Republican nomination unopposed, but lost the general election to the incumbent Democrat, Joseph L. Fisher, 53%–47%.

In the 1980 House election, when Ronald Reagan's decisive victory in the presidential election brought with it a 34-seat swing in the House, Wolf's third run proved to be successful; he won the Republican primary with 75% of the vote and then defeated Fisher in a rematch, 51%–49%.

In the 1982 midterms, Wolf won re-election with 53% of the vote.

He would never face another contest anywhere near that close.

After 1982, his closest races were in the Democratic wave elections of 2006 and 2008.

On both occasions he defeated professor Judy Feder, by 57%–41% and 59%–39%, respectively.

Those were the only occasions after 1982 that he received below 60 percent of the vote.

Wolf has traveled extensively to places around the world where people are suffering, including five times to the Sudan since 1989.

He has advocated for relief of the Darfur genocide.

He has also convened conferences in his district to address human rights issues around the world.

The 1990 redistricting by a Democratic Virginia General Assembly drew heavily Democratic Arlington County into the neighboring 8th District, while drawing the more Democratic portions of Fairfax County into the new 11th district.

Allen chose not to challenge Wolf, instead running for Governor of Virginia in 1993.

Wolf did not face a Democratic opponent in 1994 and 2000, winning both with over 80% of the votes against third-party candidates.

The district kept approximately the same complexion after the 2000 apportionment by a Republican Virginia General Assembly, but lost territory in the outlying areas of the district to allow for population growth in Fairfax and Loudoun.

The neighboring 11th district was taken by Democrat Gerry Connolly in 2008, while the last Republican representing a district on the Maryland side, Connie Morella, had been defeated in 2002.

In 2022 Wolf's grandson, Caleb Max, ran for his seat in the Republican Firehouse Primary for Virginia's then redistricted 10th Congressional District.

Max was unsuccessful receiving only 728 votes.

Max was eliminated in round 8 of the ranked choice ballet counting which included 11 candidates total.

Wolf has been especially prominent in three areas: transportation, human rights, and gambling.

Before he retired, he was the co-chair of the US Congress Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, formerly the Human Rights Caucus.

Some other pre-2009 rankings include 0% from Clean Air Flow Energy, 100% from National Right to Life, 0% from the Human Rights Campaign, 17% from the National Educational Association, 5% from the League of Conservation Voters, 92% from the United States Border Control and 10% by the Alliance for Retired Americans.

To make up for the loss of population, the 10th was pushed to the west and south to encompass parts of the congressional district held by U.S. Rep. George Allen, which was eliminated to create a black-majority district in accordance with the Voting Rights Act.

In 2010, the NRA Political Victory Fund gave him a B+ and the American Civil Liberties Union gave him 13%, dropping to 0% in 2011.

In the 2012 election, as Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney carried the district by 1%, Wolf was re-elected by 20%.

A member of the Republican Party, he announced in December 2013 that he would not run for reelection in 2014.

In September 2013, it was announced that Wolf was to be challenged in the 2014 election by Democrat Richard Bolger, a Fairfax attorney and small business owner.

In December 2013, Wolf announced his intention to retire from politics, leaving office in January 2015 – just days before his 76th birthday.

He was succeeded by his former aide, Republican State Delegate Barbara Comstock.

Wolf's district was significantly redrawn several times during his 34 years in office.

For his first six terms, he represented a compact Northern Virginia-based district covering Fairfax, Arlington, and Loudoun Counties.

In 2013, the Fairfax portion of the district held about 40 percent of the population, Loudoun County held 30 percent, and the remainder of the district at 30 percent.

During his final three terms, Wolf was the only Republican representing a district based in the Washington suburbs on either side of the Potomac River.

Wolf retired at the conclusion of his 17th term in office, in January 2015.

At the time of his retirement, he was the dean of the state's congressional delegation, having served for 34 consecutive years.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Wolf overcame an early speech impediment which caused him to stutter.

Attending Pennsylvania State University, he was a member of Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity, received a degree in political science and subsequently earned a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. He then joined the United States Army as a reservist and became a lawyer for the military.