Spencer Bachus

Spencer Thomas Bachus III (born December 28, 1947) is an American politician.

Bachus was born in Birmingham, Alabama, the son of Edith (née Wells) and Jim Bachus Jr. He graduated from Auburn University in 1969 where he became a member of the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity.

He served in the Alabama National Guard from 1969 to 1971, during the Vietnam War, while attending law school; Bachus earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Alabama Law School in 1972.

In 1982, Bachus was elected to the Alabama Senate.

Because new legislative elections were scheduled for 1983, he served only one year.

In 1983 he was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives.

He served in the Alabama National Guard before being elected to the Alabama State School Board in 1986 and holding the position of Alabama Republican Party Chairman in 1991.

In 1986, he was elected as the first Republican to the Alabama State Board of Education, serving one four-year term representing the 6th District.

In 1990, he ran unsuccessfully for Attorney General of Alabama.

Alabama's 6th congressional district was redistricted based on the 1990 United States Census.

In 1991, he became Chairman of the Alabama Republican Party, serving in that position until his campaign for Congress.

He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992, and was re-elected by wide margins.

Prior to his political career, he owned a sawmill and practiced law until 1992.

In the 1992 election, Bachus defeated incumbent Democrat Ben Erdreich.

Bachus was endorsed by The Birmingham News.

Bachus got a major assist from redistricting, which drew most of Birmingham's black neighborhoods into the majority-black 7th district, replacing them with suburban and Republican territory around Birmingham and Tuscaloosa.

He is a former U.S. Representative for the state of Alabama, serving from 1993 to 2015.

The new 6th was almost 97 percent white; in contrast, the old 6th was 35 percent black.

Despite being outspent almost 2 to 1, the 7th's more Republican bent was enough to give Bachus the victory by seven points.

He was undoubtedly helped by George H. W. Bush winning the district by over 30 points.

Bachus would never face another contest nearly that close.

No Democrat even filed from 2000 to 2010; before then, he defeated three nominal Democratic challengers with over 70 percent of the vote each time.

In the 2004 Republican primary, Bachus defeated Phillip Jauregui, a member of former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore's legal team.

Bachus was unopposed in the 2004 general election.

From 2006 to 2012, Bachus was the leading Republican on the House Financial Services Committee, serving as committee chairman when his party held a House majority during the 112th Congress.

From 2006 to 2012, Bachus was the leading Republican on the House Financial Services Committee, serving as committee chairman when his party held a House majority during the 112th Congress.

Due to House Republican term limits on committee leadership positions, Bachus was named Chairman Emeritus of the Financial Services Committee and rejoined the Judiciary Committee, which he had to take leave of when named Financial Services Chair.

A member of the Republican Party, he served as ranking member (2007–2011) and chairman (2011–2013) of the House Financial Services Committee.

In the 2010 midterm elections, Bachus easily turned back a challenge from pastor Stan Cooke in the Republican primary, winning 75% of the vote.

Bachus sought reelection in 2012 after the 6th was redrawn to cut out its share of Tuscaloosa.

In the Republican primary, he drew three challengers, most notably State Senator Scott Beason.

Beason ran well to Bachus's right and called for "true conservative leadership."

Bachus heavily outspent him.

On September 30, 2013, Bachus announced his retirement from Congress.

Due to House Republican term limits on committee leadership positions, Bachus was succeeded by Congressman Jeb Hensarling in 2013.

On September 30, 2013, Bachus announced his retirement from Congress.

Upon his retirement in 2014, Norman Ornstein wrote a column in the National Journal lamenting the "Exodus of Problem Solvers on Capitol Hill."

His term ended in 2015.

Born and raised in Birmingham, Bachus graduated from Auburn University and the University of Alabama Law School.

His term ended in January 2015.