U.S. House of Representatives
Elections 2010 Dold ran for the open seat, as five-term incumbent
Mark Kirk was retiring to
run for the U.S. Senate. In his first radio ad of the general election campaign, Dold described himself as a small business owner, fiscal conservative, and social moderate. He won the primary election on February 2, 2010, and faced Democrat Dan Seals in the general election. Seals, a business consultant, had been the nominee for this seat in 2006 and 2008, losing both times to Kirk. Dold was endorsed by the
Chicago Tribune, whose editorial page editor,
R. Bruce Dold, is not related to Bob Dold. The
US Chamber of Commerce and the Electrical Contractors' Association also endorsed him. Former New York City mayor
Rudy Giuliani campaigned for Dold. After reporting nearly equal fund-raising for the second quarter, Dold's fundraising outpaced Seals' in the third quarter, and he began the final quarter with more cash on hand. At the request of the
Federal Election Commission, the Dold campaign amended its second quarter filing in September 2010 to reflect debts and expenditures that had been incurred in the second quarter but had not yet been billed when the filing period ended. Dold won the general election with 51% of the vote to Seals' 49%.
2012 The
Cook Political Report named Dold one of the top 10 Republicans most vulnerable to redistricting in 2012; the 10th was already a Democratic-leaning district, and became even more so due to redistricting. The endorsement of Senator Mark Kirk, who was popular in the district at the time, was expected to help Dold. Dold had a strong cash-on-hand advantage over his opponent
Brad Schneider. Dold earned the endorsement of the
Chicago Tribune and
Daily Herald. Schneider defeated Dold 51%–49%, a difference of just 3,000 votes.
2014 On May 8, 2013, Dold announced in an e-mail to supporters that he would run for his old seat in 2014. The
National Republican Congressional Committee actively recruited him to run again. The race was expected to be one of the most competitive in the country, and was ranked by
Roll Call as the seventh most likely flip for 2014 House rematches. Billionaire and former New York City mayor
Michael Bloomberg spent nearly $2 million to help Dold. Dold was also endorsed by
The Chicago Tribune and
The Chicago Sun-Times. He refused to endorse Republican nominee
Donald Trump in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and said he would instead write in an alternative candidate's name. In the general election, Dold lost to Schneider by 5 percentage points, as Democratic presidential nominee
Hillary Clinton won the district by nearly 30.
Tenure Reputation Dold is a
moderate Republican who had a centrist voting record in Congress. The non-partisan organization
GovTrack has ranked Dold in the political center of Congress.
National Journal did a comprehensive study of key votes in the House, ranking Dold as one of the most independent members of Congress. The district had traditionally elected moderate Republicans, such as Dold and his predecessors
John Edward Porter and
Mark Kirk. Dold is an original member of the
No Labels movement which, Dold stated, he hoped would help to end the gridlock in Washington, DC. Dold is a member of the
Tuesday Group, an informal caucus of moderate Republicans in the U.S. House. In 2015, Dold was elected co-chair of the Tuesday Group. An editorial in
The Daily Herald noted Dold's spirit of bipartisanship and called for more Bob Dolds in Congress. According to
Roll Call, Dold has moved further to the center during his second term in Congress.
Political positions Dold supports abortion rights. In 2012, Dold introduced H.R. 5650, the Protecting Women's Access to Health Care Act, which prevents lawmakers from blocking funds to
Planned Parenthood. He has voiced support for stem cell research. Dold voted for the
fiscal cliff compromise bill, which permanently extended most of the Bush middle class tax cuts. He has stated his support for gay marriage and immigration reform. He became the first House Republican to support the
Equality Act, which would amend the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include a ban on discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Regarding the
Affordable Care Act, he has stated his desire to improve the law rather than fight to repeal or defund it. Upon his return to the House in 2015, Dold became one of just three Republican Congressmen to vote against repeal of the Affordable Care Act – the first time any elected Republicans at the federal level voted against such a measure. Dold supports gun control measures. In 2015, he signed onto a bipartisan bill that would expand background checks for gun purchasers. He accepts the
scientific consensus on climate change and believes steps should be taken to address the issue. In 2016, Dold introduced a bill to create a grant to expand the availability of
naloxone, a heroin overdose antidote.
Personnel Upon taking office in 2011, Dold hired former lobbyist Eric Burgeson, who grew up in Illinois' 10th district, as his congressional
Chief of Staff. Burgeson and Dold had previously worked together on Sen.
Bob Dole's 1996 presidential campaign. Dold instituted a policy that "staff may not work on matters of substance with former clients."
Committee assignments Dold was originally appointed to the Committee on Financial Services for the 114th Congress, but after the resignation of fellow Illinois Republican
Aaron Schock, Dold was chosen to replace him on the powerful Ways and Means Committee. •
Committee on Ways and Means •
Subcommittee on Human Resources •
Subcommittee on Social Security ;Previous •
Committee on Financial Services •
Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises •
Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity ==Post-congressional work==