Joe Cunningham

Joseph Kendrick Cunningham (born May 26, 1982) is an American lawyer and politician who is a member of the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina's 1st congressional district. The district is based in Charleston includes much of South Carolina's share of the Atlantic Coast, from Charleston to Hilton Head Island.

A member of the Democratic Party, Cunningham defeated Republican Katie Arrington in the 2018 general election.

Cunningham was born in Caldwell County, Kentucky and grew up in Kuttawa, Kentucky. He graduated from Lyon County High School. Cunningham attended the College of Charleston for two years before transferring to Florida Atlantic University, where he obtained his Bachelor of Science in ocean engineering in 2005. He became an ocean engineer with a company in Naples, Florida.

Five years later, he was laid off in the 2008 recession. He enrolled in law school at Northern Kentucky University's Salmon P. Chase College of Law in 2011.

Elections

2018 general election

In July 2017, Cunningham announced his candidacy for the United States House of Representatives in South Carolina's 1st congressional district. Cunningham won the nomination, defeating nonprofit consultant Toby Smith, receiving 71.5% of the vote.

Cunningham expected to face Republican incumbent Mark Sanford. However, Sanford was defeated in the Republican primary by State Representative Katie Arrington. Cunningham defeated Arrington with 50.7% of the vote, marking the first time since 1986 that South Carolina Democrats have flipped a U.S. House seat. His victory was widely considered a major upset.

While Arrington carried four of the district's five counties, Cunningham prevailed by winning Charleston County by almost 17,000 votes–more than four times the overall margin of 4,000 votes. Cunningham is the first Democrat to represent the Charleston-based district since 1981. He is also the first white Democrat to win a House seat in the Deep South since John Barrow won reelection in 2012.

Tenure

In his first vote as a U.S. Representative, Cunningham declined to back Nancy Pelosi for Speaker of the House. Cunningham instead voted for Rep. Cheri Bustos of Illinois. Cunningham has joined the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of moderate and conservative Democrats.

On March 8, 2019, while NOAA assistant administrator for fisheries Chris Oliver was testifying at a Natural Resources Water, Oceans and Wildlife Subcommittee hearing on the effects of seismic testing on right whales, Cunningham blasted an air horn to demonstrate how disruptive commercial air guns were to whales. Cunningham argued that the sound of commercial air guns was up to 16,000 times louder than an air horn.

Cunningham was one of the few Democrats who opposed an impeachment inquiry against president Trump after the Ukraine allegations emerged, stating that a partisan rush to impeach the President would be bad for the country. On October 31, 2019, however, Cunningham voted in favor of a resolution to lay out rules to proceed with an impeachment inquiry of President Trump. In spite of his earlier opposition to an impeachment inquiry, on December 16, Cunningham announced that he would support both articles of impeachment pending in the House of Representatives.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Natural Resources
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
  • Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife
• Committee on Veterans' Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity
  • Subcommittee on Technology Modernization

Caucus memberships

• Blue Dog Coalition
• Future Forum Caucus
• LGBT Equality Caucus
• New Democrat Coalition

Cunningham lives in Charleston, South Carolina with his wife Amanda and their son, Boone. Cunningham is an Eagle Scout. His father, Bill Cunningham, is a former Kentucky Supreme Court Justice and author of historical fiction.