U.S. House of Representatives
Elections ;1992 After his father announced his retirement from Congress in 1992, Jones ran for his father's seat in
North Carolina's 1st congressional district. He ranked first in the
Democratic primary with 38% of the vote, but failed to reach the 40% threshold to win the nomination. In the run-off election, he was defeated by
Eva Clayton, Chairwoman of the
Warren County Board of Commissioners, by a margin of 55–45%. Clayton received support from three of the defeated primary candidates and from the African American community. Jones Sr. died before his term expired, and Clayton was elected to serve out the last two months of his term. ;1994 In 1994, he switched parties and ran in
North Carolina's 3rd congressional district, which had absorbed a large chunk of his father's former territory. His race against incumbent Democrat
Martin Lancaster was initially very close until Jones released a picture of Lancaster jogging with President
Bill Clinton, whose socially liberal stances (especially on gays in the military) angered many voters in the district. Although Democrats had a large advantage in registered voters, the 3rd district had a very strong social conservative tint.
Jesse Helms in particular had a large base of support there. As part of the
1994 Republican takeover of Congress, Jones defeated Lancaster 53–47%. With his victory, Jones became the first Republican to represent a significant portion of Eastern North Carolina in the House since
Reconstruction. ;1996–2004 From 1994 on Jones won re-election with at least 61% in every general election. His most serious general election challenge came in 2000, when his opponent spent well in excess of $1.4 million in attempting to unseat him. Jones garnered 61% of the vote in that contest, largely helped by
George W. Bush, winning the 3rd with his highest victory margin in the state. ;2006 He was easily re-elected to a 7th term in 2006, receiving 69% of the vote despite a
very bad national result for Republicans overall. ;2008 Jones' change of heart on the Iraq War (see below) resulted in him facing serious primary opposition for the first time since his initial run for Congress. He was challenged by
Onslow County Commissioner
Joe McLaughlin. Jones defeated the poorly funded McLaughlin 59–41%. In the general election, Jones defeated Craig Weber 66–34%. ;2010 In the general election, he defeated Johnny Rouse with 73% of the vote. ;2012 He faced Frank Palombo, a former
New Bern police chief in the Republican primary on May 8 and won. He won against Marine Corps Veteran Erik Anderson in the general election. ;2014 He faced Taylor Griffin, a former aide to
President George W. Bush, who was heavily supported by outside money, and won the Republican Party primary on May 6. ;2016 He defeated Democrat Ernest Reeves by 67–32%. ;2018 Jones was re-elected to his final term in November 2018 unopposed.
Tenure , left, meets with Jones on July 10, 2013, at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia Jones had a lifetime rating of 84.69 from the
American Conservative Union. However, his voting record had become somewhat more moderate in the years prior to his death, according to the group's ranking. In recent years, he had received some of the lowest ACU ratings of any Republican from the South. In 2006, he received a 79, in 2007 he received a 71, in 2008 he received a 58, in 2009 he received an 83, in 2010 he received a 65, and in 2011 he received a 60. The former five ratings were the lowest recorded in those years for a Republican from North Carolina. Jones was ranked as the 37th most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives during the
114th United States Congress (and the most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina) in the Bipartisan Index created by
The Lugar Center and the
McCourt School of Public Policy that ranks members of the United States Congress by their degree of bipartisanship (by measuring the frequency each member's bills attract co-sponsors from the opposite party and each member's co-sponsorship of bills by members of the opposite party). Jones said that his father was able to vote his conscience until he became a member of the House Democratic leadership, at which time he had to vote with the party line. For instance, his father voted for the 1975 federal bailout of a bankrupt New York City even though he personally opposed it. Jones said of that vote, "He had to vote it that way. I would rather do what I think is right than to sell my political soul." and voted for H.R. 4411, the
Goodlatte-Leach Internet Gambling Prohibition Act. Jones sided with the Democrats on economic issues such as raising the
minimum wage. He was an animal lover and said he would like a memorial created on the
National Mall for war dogs. In an annual survey conducted by
Washingtonian magazine, congressional staffers voted Jones the kindest member of the House. He also was the only Republican co-sponsor of legislation to challenge
Tom DeLay's proposed changes to House ethics rules. At the 2009 ceremony, Jones said that "The Republican Party needs to have a face that can be seen and identified with by people of all races. The future of the Republican Party lies in being able to relate to the average working family." On April 15, 2011, Jones was one of four Republican members of Congress to vote against
The Path to Prosperity. In December 2012, Jones was one of four House Republicans removed from their committees by Speaker of the House
John Boehner and Majority Leader
Eric Cantor for defying party leadership. Jones was removed from the
Financial Services Committee, a plum seat for fundraising, ostensibly as reprisal for not raising money for the Republican Party. However, it was speculated that Jones, who was popular in the caucus, was only removed to give "cover" for the removals of
Justin Amash of Michigan,
Tim Huelskamp of Kansas and
David Schweikert of Arizona who lost their own plum committee assignments, characterized as a result of them being "assholes". Representative
Lynn Westmoreland concluded, "some people ... just don't want to work within the system." Jones maintained his seat on the
Armed Services Committee. He is the author of
Corolla Wild Horses Protection Act (H.R. 126;113th Congress). In February 2017, Jones signed a letter to urge Congress to request President
Donald Trump's tax returns so that they can be reviewed in a closed session of Congress and determined whether the returns can be released to the public. During the
115th United States Congress, Jones voted in line with Trump's stated positions 49.3 percent of the time, the lowest rate of any Republican conference member. On March 28, 2017, Jones became the first Republican Congressman to call for Representative
Devin Nunes to recuse himself as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, and for the establishment of an independent commission to investigate
Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. He cited the alleged impropriety of Congressman Nunes' meeting at the
White House the previous week as the reason for breaking with his party on the issue.
Foreign wars cafeteria featuring freedom fries Jones was initially a strong supporter of the conflict in Iraq, but then became one of the leading Republicans opposed to continued involvement in Iraq. Jones became well known for leading the effort, along with GOP Rep.
Bob Ney, to have
French fries renamed "
freedom fries" on House cafeteria menus as a protest against French opposition to the
2003 invasion of Iraq. Jones later modified his stance on the war to a considerable extent. In 2005, he stated that he had come to believe that there had been little reason to go to war, despite his earlier support, which had been based upon selective intelligence supplied to Congress. He said of his previous position on the fries, "I wish it had never happened." In July 2006, the names were quietly changed back. On March 17, 2005, he sponsored a bill endorsing the conduct of his
Camp Lejeune constituent, controversial
Marine Corps Lieutenant
Ilario Pantano, who faced charges (subsequently dropped) for having shot two Iraqis (allegedly unarmed civilians) on April 15, 2004. Jones called on
President George W. Bush to apologize for misinforming Congress to win
authorization for the war. Jones said, "If I had known then what I know today, I wouldn't have voted for that resolution." Jones contended that the United States went to war "with no justification." Jones covered the hallway outside his office with photographs of soldiers who had died in Iraq. On January 12, 2007, he introduced H. J. Res. 14: Concerning the use of military force by the United States against Iran in the 110th congress. According to Jones on his web site, the resolution requires that – absent a national emergency created by an attack, or a demonstrably imminent attack, by Iran upon the United States or its armed forces – the President must consult with Congress and receive specific authorization prior to initiating any use of military force against
Iran. This resolution was removed from a military spending bill for the war in Iraq by House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi (D–CA) on March 13, 2007. On March 23, 2007, Jones was one of two Republicans to vote for a bill that would have required President
George W. Bush to bring combat troops home from
Iraq by September 1, 2008. The other Republican was
Wayne Gilchrest of
Maryland's 1st congressional district. Jones' views on the war in Iraq did not ingratiate him to Bush or to the Republican leadership, which prevented him from succeeding the late
Jo Ann Davis as ranking Republican on the
Readiness Subcommittee of the Armed Forces Committee. He was passed over for
Randy Forbes when the 110th Congress convened because the full committee's ranking member,
Duncan Hunter of California, did not agree with Jones' change of heart on the war. He had been approached by some Democrats about bolting the GOP and either becoming an independent caucusing with the Democrats or switching back to the Democratic Party outright. Additionally, Jones' changed views on the war and other issues angered many Republicans in his district, which has the largest military presence of any in North Carolina. In April 2017, Jones criticized U.S. involvement in
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen, highlighting that
Al-Qaeda in Yemen "has emerged as a de facto ally of the Saudi-led militaries with whom [Trump] administration aims to partner more closely." In the wake of the 2016
Orlando nightclub shooting, Jones put out a press release calling it "horrific and senseless." He expressed that he was mourning the loss of Shane Evan Tomlinson, a graduate from
East Carolina University. Jones co-sponsored the
No More Presidential Wars Act with
Democrat Tulsi Gabbard in 2017.
Committee assignments (115th Congress) •
Committee on Armed Services •
Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces •
Subcommittee on Military Personnel Caucus memberships Jones served on the
Liberty Caucus (sometimes called the Liberty Committee), a group of
libertarian-minded Republican congressional representatives. Congressman
Ron Paul originally hosted a luncheon for the Liberty Caucus every Thursday. The caucus was subsequently hosted and chaired by Congressman
Justin Amash. Other members included
Jim Duncan of
Tennessee,
Roscoe Bartlett of
Maryland, and
Jeff Flake of
Arizona. Jones was a member of the
Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus and the
Veterinary Medicine Caucus. ==Political positions==