John M. McHugh - Congressional Career

Congressional Career

He ran successfully for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992 to replace Congressman David O'Brien Martin in the 24th district, which was renumbered as the 23rd district after the 2000 census. This part of Upstate New York has historically been very Republican at the congressional level, though it has recently become more competitive in presidential elections. The district (and its predecessors) has been in Republican hands continuously since 1871, and some parts of the district have not been represented by a Democrat since 1851. McHugh has been reelected eight times with no substantive opposition, even running unopposed in 2002.

McHugh was the ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, and is also a senior member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He was chairman of the Oversight Committee's Post Office Subcommittee for six years, and worked to pass legislation to significantly reform the U.S. Postal Service for the first time since it was demoted from a Cabinet-rank department with passage of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (Pub.L. 109-435) in 2006. He was a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence from 2005 to 2007.

McHugh defeated his Democratic opponent, Dr. Robert J. Johnson, in 2004 and again in 2006. During the campaign, Dr. Johnson found himself unable to fly due to his name appearing on the No Fly List. At the time, Johnson speculated that he was added to the list because of his anti-war views and opposition to McHugh. McHugh's office denied any wrongdoing. A later CBS News investigation discovered that the name "Robert Johnson" appeared on the list due to its use as an alias by a man convicted of plotting bombings in Toronto. Several other men named Robert Johnson were affected by its inclusion.

McHugh was the only one of New York's eight Republican incumbents to win over 60% in 2006. The other seven were either defeated or were held below 60% by their Democratic challengers. McHugh defeated Democrat Mike Oot in 2008, garnering 65.3% of the vote.