Nick Lampson

Nicholas V. Lampson (born February 14, 1945) is an American politician from the state of Texas. He was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas' 9th District from 1997 to 2005, and is currently the leading Democratic candidate in the neighboring 22nd District, the home district of longtime Republican power broker Tom DeLay, in 2006.

Career in the U.S. House

Lampson didn't seek a ninth term as tax assessor in 1994, but in 1996 won the Democratic nomination for Texas' 9th Congressional District, which included Beaumont. The district had been represented by fellow Democrat Jack Brooks for 42 years, but Brooks had been one of the most prominent victims of the 1994 wave that brought the House into Republican hands for the first time since 1954. Lampson narrowly defeated Steve Stockman, the Republican who had upset Brooks, in November with 46 percent of the vote. However, a runoff was necessary in several Houston-area districts because the 18th District of fellow Democrat Sheila Jackson-Lee, a majority-black district, had been struck down as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. Lampson defeated Stockman in the December runoff with 52 percent of the vote.

Related Topics:
1994 - 1996 - Jack Brooks - 1954 - Steve Stockman - November - Sheila Jackson-Lee - December

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Just months into his first term, a family in his district suffered a terrible tragedy. A 12-year-old girl from Friendswood, Texas was abducted and found murdered two weeks later. Lampson was so moved by the family's courage and the caring response of the community in banding together to search for the child, that he established the first-ever Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus, which now numbers more than 120 members from both parties.

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With the power of this caucus behind him, the former high school science teacher fought in Congress to help families protect their children and aid communities and law enforcement searching for missing children. He sponsored legislation to fund law enforcement efforts to stop child pornography and exploitation on the Internet.

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In addition to his own caucus, Lampson was active in other issue-oriented Congressional caucuses, including Manufactured Housing, Correctional Officers, I-69 Highway, Coast Guard, Coastal, Human Rights, Spina Bifida, Cancer, Asian and Pacific American and Arts. He also served as the Chairman of the Congressional Study Group on Germany.

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