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Eric Burlison
Rep. Eric Burlison - 118th Congress.jpg
Official portrait, 2023
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Missouri's 7th district
Assumed office
January 3, 2023
Preceded byBilly Long
Member of the Missouri Senate
from the 20th district
In office
January 9, 2019 – January 3, 2023
Preceded byJay Wasson
Succeeded byCurtis Trent
Member of the Missouri House of Representatives
from the 30th district
In office
January 5, 2009 – January 4, 2017
Preceded byB. J. Marsh
Succeeded byKevin Austin
Personal details
Born (1976-10-02) October 2, 1976 (age 46)
Springfield, Missouri, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseAngie Burlison
Children2
EducationMissouri State University (BA, MBA)
WebsiteHouse website

Eric Wayne Burlison (born October 2, 1976) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative from Missouri's 7th congressional district since 2023. He previously served as the representative for District 133 (Greene County) in the Missouri House of Representatives. A Republican, Burlison was elected to the Missouri House in 2008 and left office at the end of 2016. In 2018, he was elected to the Missouri Senate, representing District 20. He was elected to Congress in 2022.[1]

Early life and education

A 1995 graduate of Parkview High School in Springfield, Missouri, Burlison received a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy in 2000 and a Master of Business Administration in 2002 from Southwest Missouri State University.[2][3]

Early career

Burlison was employed at CoxHealth as a software engineer before being promoted to business analyst. He now works for Cerner.[2][3][4]

Burlison is a member of the Freedom of Road Riders, Missouri Right to Life, National Rifle Association, and the Missouri Chamber of Commerce.[2][5][6]

Missouri House of Representatives

Burlison served in the Missouri House from 2009 to 2016.[7] During that time, he chaired the House Committee on Professional Registration and Licensing and was vice chair of the House Special Committee on Health Insurance.[8]

In 2011, Burlison sponsored a bill that made Missouri join the Health Care Compact.[9] The compact became law in Missouri and seven other states.[10]

In 2014, Burlison passed a bill to provide children with dyslexia better access to educational services. The legislation added dyslexia to a state grant program to help the families of children with disabilities pay for special education programs.[11]

In 2016, Burlison sponsored and passed a bill to eliminate conceal and carry requirements in Missouri.[12]

Missouri Senate

In 2018, Burlison was elected to the Missouri Senate, representing the 20th District, which comprises Christian County and part of Greene County.[13] Burlison's committee assignments included:

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2022

See also: 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Missouri § District 7

In 2022, Burlison defeated Democratic nominee Kristen Radaker-Sheafer in the race for Missouri's 7th congressional district with 70.9% of the vote to Radaker-Shefer's 26.9%.[1] His term of office in the 118th U.S. Congress began on January 3, 2023.[14]

Tenure

In a speech on the House floor at the start of his term, Burlison criticized DirectTV for removing Newsmax TV from its listings. He invoked the Holocaust while condemning DirectTV's actions, quoting the poem "First they came ..." by Martin Niemoller and suggesting that cable companies were censoring conservatives.[15]

Syria

In 2023, Burilson was among 47 Republicans to vote in favor of H.Con.Res. 21, which directed President Joe Biden to remove U.S. troops from Syria within 180 days.[16][17]

Caucus memberships


Personal life

Burlison lives outside of Springfield with his wife Angie and two daughters.[2][4][19] He attends Destiny Church in Republic, Missouri, and is active in supporting campus ministries such as The Potter's House and Campus Crusade for Christ. Burlison is involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks and was named the Big Brother of the Year in 2005. He serves on the board of D.R.E.A.M and the Harmony House for battered and abused women.[2][4][19]

Electoral history

State Representative

2008 Election for Missouri’s 136th District House of Representatives[20]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Eric Burlison 11,060 57.9
Democratic Nick Beatty 8,047 42.1
2010 Election for Missouri’s 136th District House of Representatives[21]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Eric Burlison 8,381 71.3 +13.4
Democratic Devon Cheek 3,372 28.7 -13.4
2012 Election for Missouri’s 133rd District House of Representatives[22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Eric Burlison 11,878 70.5 -0.8
Democratic Nicholas Ivan Ladendorf 4,972 29.5 +0.8
2014 Election for Missouri's 133rd District House of Representatives[23]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Eric Burlison 7,047 100.00% +29.5

State Senate

2018 Election for Missouri's 20th District Senate[24]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Eric Burlison 62,209 73.9% -26.1
Democratic Jim Bellido 22,004 26.1% +26.1

U.S House of Representatives

2022 Election for Missouri's 7th congressional district
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Eric Burlison 178,592 70.9% 2.9%
Democratic Kristen Radaker-Sheafer 67,485 26.8% 0.75%
Libertarian Kevin A. Craig 5,869 2.3% -45.2%

References

  1. ^ a b Staff, KY3. "Republican Eric Burlison wins election for Missouri's U.S. House District 7 open seat". www.ky3.com. Retrieved 2022-11-09.
  2. ^ a b c d e Member Biography - Retrieved June 17, 2009
  3. ^ a b "The Voter's Self Defense System".
  4. ^ a b c "Eric Burlison". Ozark Insurance Day. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  5. ^ "Transportation bills give, or take, freedom on road".
  6. ^ "Springfield News-Leader".
  7. ^ Representative Eric Burlison - Retrieved June 17, 2009
  8. ^ 2009 House Special Committee on Health Insurance Members - Retrieved June 17, 2009
  9. ^ "House endorses health care compact". News Tribune. 2011-03-31. Retrieved 2022-08-10.
  10. ^ Lankford, James (2014-02-23). "The Health Care Compact: Fixing American Health Care, One State At A Time". Forbes. Retrieved 2014-05-23.
  11. ^ Shorman, Jonathan (2014-05-16). "Dyslexia legislation approved". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved 2014-05-23.
  12. ^ "Springfield lawmaker will try to override Constitutional Carry veto".
  13. ^ "Senator Eric Burlison – Missouri Senate". Retrieved 2021-11-09.
  14. ^ "Newest Members of Congress". Representative Burlison. 2023-01-03. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
  15. ^ Bacharier, Galen (2023-02-01). "Southwest MO's congressman invokes Holocaust quote during speech about Newsmax". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  16. ^ https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/118-2023/h136
  17. ^ https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2023-03-08/house-votes-down-bill-directing-removal-of-troops-from-syria
  18. ^ "Crane, Fellow Freedom Caucus Freshmen Launch New Podcast". Representative Crane. 2023-03-14. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  19. ^ a b "2011 40 Under 40 Honoree: Eric Burlison". Springfield Business Journal. May 16, 2011. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  20. ^ Missouri Secretary of State Election Archives - Retrieved June 17, 2009
  21. ^ Missouri Secretary of State Election Archives - Retrieved May 23, 2014 Archived February 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ Missouri Secretary of State Election Archives - Retrieved May 23, 2014
  23. ^ "All Results; Official Results". Missouri Secretary of State. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  24. ^ "All Results; Official Results". Missouri Secretary of State. Retrieved April 30, 2020.

External links

U.S. House of Representatives Preceded byBilly Long Member of the U.S. House of Representativesfrom Missouri's 7th congressional district 2023–present Incumbent U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) Preceded byNikki Budzinski United States representatives by seniority 367th Succeeded byYadira Caraveo
Missouri's current delegation to the United States Congress
Current members of the United States House of Representatives
Missouri's delegation(s) to the 118th–present United States Congresses (ordered by seniority)
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