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'Michael Dean "Mike" Crapo' (pronounced "Cray-poe") (born May 20, 1951) is the junior United States Senator from Idaho. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Contents

Education and early career

US Senate

Environmental record

Personal life

Footnotes

External links

Education and early career

Crapo was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho to Melba Olsen and George Lavelle Crapo.^[1] He is distantly related to Henry Howland Crapo, who served as Governor of Michigan from 1865 to 1869, and William Crapo Durant, Henry's grandson, who founded General Motors. Mike Crapo and Henry Crapo are first cousins, five times removed, as Henry's father, Jesse Crapo, and Mike's great-great-great grandfather, Charles Crapo, were brothers. Crapo earned a B.A. from Brigham Young University in 1973 and J.D. from the Harvard Law School in 1977. He served for one year as clerk to Judge James M. Carter, United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit and then returned to Idaho to become a lawyer. While practicing law in Idaho Falls, Idaho in the 1980s, he was active in the Republican Party's campaigns for seats in the state legislature.
Crapo was elected to the state senate in 1984. He was a member of the state senate from 1985 until 1992, serving as Senate President Pro Tempore from 1988 to 1992, when he was elected to the United States House of Representatives. He was a member of the House from 1993 until 1999, being re-elected in 1994 and 1996.
He married Susan Diane Hasleton in June 1974; the couple have five children: Michelle, Brian, Stephanie, Lara and Paul.

US Senate

Crapo was elected to the United States Senate in 1998, gaining the seat of Republican Dirk Kempthorne, who ran for governor and was elected to that position. In his Senate bid, as in his House campaigns, his campaign signs had a macron placed over the "a" in his name ("Cray-poe") to hint at the correct pronunciation.
Crapo was re-elected in 2004 with 99% of the vote, with the other 1% going to write-in candidates. He was the only Senate candidate in 2004 to run unopposed on the ballot. Some Republicans want him to be appointed to a high position in the Senate Republican leadership because his seat is considered one of the 'safest' in the entire Senate. Senator Harry Reid, then the Democratic Senate Minority Leader of Nevada, also suggested Crapo be considered for the vacancy on the United States Supreme Court occasioned by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's retirement announcement.
In the 110th Congress, Crapo currently serves on the following Senate Committees: Agriculture; Banking, Housing and Urban Development; Budget; and Finance. He co-chairs the Senate Nuclear Caucus, the Canada-U.S. Interparliamentary Group (IPG); the COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) Caucus, which he also founded; and the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus.

Environmental record

In 2006, Crapo was given the lowest possible score (0%) by the League of Conservation Voters for his voting record in the Senate. This followed his score of 5% in 2005 to bring his lifetime score down to 4%. Reasons for the low score include his votes for offshort drilling, for arctic refuge drilling, against funding to help "low-income families insulate and weatherize their homes", against funding for the environment and natural resources, against independent review of Army Corps of Engineers projects, and for having the Army Corps of Engineers review themselves.^[2]

Personal life

Crapo was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1999 and underwent a radical prostectomy in January 2000. While he had a full recovery and was declared cancer-free at that time, prostate cancer recurred in 2005 and he underwent a series of radiation treatments. His experience led him to become active in advocating for early detection tests for cancer and other treatable diseases.
Crapo is an Eagle Scout, awarded in 1966, and was awarded the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award (DESA) in 2000. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Footnotes

1. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~battle/senators/crapo.htm
2. National Environmental Scorecard

External links

★ United States Senator Mike Crapo, Senate site

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★ Federal Election Commission — Michael D Crapo campaign finance reports and data

★ On the Issues — Michael Crapo issue positions and quotes

★ OpenSecrets.org — Mike Crapo campaign contributions profile

★ SourceWatch Congresspedia — Mike Crapo profile