Pat Toomey

Patrick Joseph Toomey Jr. (born November 17, 1961) is an American businessman and politician who served as a United States senator from Pennsylvania from 2011 to 2023.

Toomey was born on November 17, 1961, in Providence, Rhode Island, the third of six children of Catholic parents, Mary Ann (née Andrews) of East Providence and Patrick Joseph Toomey of Providence.

His father was of Irish descent and his mother of Portuguese ancestry.

His mother's grandparents were all born in the Azores.

His father was a union worker who laid cable for the Narragansett Electric Company, and his mother worked as a part-time secretary at St. Martha's Catholic Church.

Toomey was a member of the Boy Scouts of America and attained the organization's highest rank, Eagle Scout.

Toomey attended La Salle Academy on scholarship participating in the Close Up Washington civic education program.

He graduated as valedictorian of his high school class.

He graduated from Harvard College in 1984 with an A.B. in government.

After graduation, Toomey was hired by Chemical Bank where he was involved in currency swap transactions.

In 1986, he was hired by Morgan, Grenfell & Co., where he dealt in multiple foreign currencies, interest rates, and currency-related derivatives.

In 1991, Toomey resigned from Morgan, Grenfell after it was acquired by Deutsche Bank.

He later said he resigned out of concern that Deutsche Bank would impose a less flexible and entrepreneurial work environment.

The same year, Toomey and two younger brothers, Steven and Michael opened Rookie's Restaurant in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

In 1994, Toomey was elected to Allentown's newly established Government Study Commission.

During his term, he drafted a new charter for the commission requiring a supermajority for any tax increase and established a split-roll tax system that levied taxes on land at higher rate than taxes on buildings.

Allentown voters approved the charter on April 23, 1996.

In 1998, Toomey ran for the Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district, based in the Lehigh Valley region after Democratic incumbent U.S. Representative Paul McHale decided to retire.

Toomey won the six-candidate Republican primary with 27% of the vote.

In the general election, Toomey faced state Senator Roy Afflerbach, a former state Representative.

During the campaign, Toomey criticized the agenda of the Clinton-Gore administration, especially its plans to modify the Internal Revenue Service.

He said the plan did not "address the real fundamental problems plaguing American taxpayers" and said the IRS should be abolished.

Later in the campaign, Toomey and Afflerbach debated the effectiveness of a flat tax-based system, an issue on which they sharply disagreed.

Toomey promised to serve no more than three terms if elected.

He defeated Afflerbach, 55%–45%.

Toomey was reelected to a second term, defeating Ed O'Brien, president of the Bethlehem-based United Steelworkers Local 2598, 53%–47%.

He won Lehigh County with 54% and Northampton with 51%.

Toomey was reelected to a third term, defeating O'Brien again, 57%–43%.

He won Lehigh with 58% and Northampton with 54%.

In accordance with his 1998 pledge not to serve more than three terms in the House, Toomey did not run for reelection in 2004.

He decided to challenge incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Arlen Specter in the primary instead.

A member of the Republican Party, he served three terms as the U.S. representative for PA's 15th congressional district, from 1999 to 2005.

Of mixed Irish Catholic and Azorean descent, Toomey graduated from Harvard College.

A former Wall Street banker, Toomey narrowly lost the Republican primary for United States Senate in 2004.

From 2005 to 2009, he served as president of the Club for Growth.

Toomey won the Republican primary for the 2010 U.S. Senate election in Pennsylvania, and was elected to the seat after defeating the Democratic nominee, former U.S. Navy three-star admiral and congressman Joe Sestak, in the general election.

He was reelected to the Senate in 2016, defeating Democratic nominee Katie McGinty.

On October 5, 2020, Toomey announced that he would not run for reelection to a third Senate term in 2022.

On February 13, 2021, Toomey was one of seven Republican senators to vote to convict Donald Trump of incitement of insurrection in his second impeachment trial.

After leaving office, Toomey joined the board of Apollo Global Management.