Quick Facts
Biography
John Bradley "Brad" Ashford (born November 10, 1949) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party from the state of Nebraska, who was the U.S. Representative for Nebraska's 2nd congressional district from 2015 to 2017. He was formerly a member of the Nebraska Legislature, representing the 6th district from 1987 to 1995 and the 20th district from 2007 to 2015.
He was elected to the U.S. House in 2014, defeating incumbent Republican Lee Terry. In 2016, he lost his bid for re-election to Republican Don Bacon.
Early life, education and career
Born in Omaha, Nebraska, he attended Westside High School. He received his B.A. from Colgate University in 1971. He earned his J.D. from Creighton University School of Law in 1974.
Political career
Ashford served as an attorney in the general counsel's office of the Federal Highway Administration from 1974 to 1975, and as a judge on the Nebraska Court of Industrial Relations from 1984 to 1986.
Nebraska legislature
He was first elected to the Legislature in 1986 serving Nebraska's 6th legislative district. He was reelected in 1990 and retired in 1994. He ran for legislature again in 2006, and was elected to serve Nebraska's 20th legislative district. He served as the chairman of the Judiciary Committee and served on the Education Committee and the Committee on Committees.
He was on the following committees:
- Business and Labor, Member
- Judiciary, Chair
- Urban Affairs, Member
Omaha Mayoral election, 2013
Ashford ran for Mayor of Omaha in 2013 as an independent candidate. He was defeated in the primary.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Jean Stothert | 18,870 | 32.20 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jim Suttle (incumbent) | 14,309 | 24.41 | |
| Nonpartisan | Dave Nabity | 10,204 | 17.41 | |
| Nonpartisan | Brad Ashford | 7,745 | 13.21 | |
| Nonpartisan | Dan Welch | 7,083 | 12.08 | |
| Nonpartisan | Maura DeLuca | 195 | 0.33 | |
| Nonpartisan | Mort Sullivan | 153 | 0.26 | |
| Write-in | 52 | 0.09 | ||
| Total votes | 58,611 | 100 | ||
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
1994
In 1994, Ashford, then a state senator, ran in the Republican primary for Nebraska's 2nd congressional district seat. Jon Christensen won the 1994 primary with 26,494 votes, for 52.7% of the total. Ashford was second in the primary with 12,340 votes (24.5%), and Ron Staskiewicz finished third in the primary with 11,436 votes (22.7%).
In the general election, Christensen defeated incumbent Congressman Peter Hoagland of the Democratic Party by a margin of 92,516–90,750 (49.9%–49.0%), with 2,044 write-ins.
2014
In 2014, Ashford was elected as Representative for the 2nd Congressional District, defeating 8-term Republican incumbent Lee Terry with 49.0% of the vote to Terry's 45.7%.
2016
Ashford ran unopposed in the Democratic primary on May 10, 2016. The general election race was characterized as a tossup, with Ashford being seen as having the edge. On November 8, 2016, he was defeated by Republican challenger, retired brigadier general Don Bacon, 49.0%–47.8%.
Committee assignments
- Committee on Agriculture
- Subcommittee on Nutrition
- Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management
- Committee on Armed Services
- Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
- Subcommittee on Intelligence, Emerging Threats and Capabilities
Tenure
The Lugar Center, a nonprofit organization led by former U.S. senator Richard Lugar, and the McCourt School of Public Policy of Georgetown University, developed a "Bipartisan Index" that assigned scores to almost all members of Congress, using an algorithm based on their sponsorship of bills that drew co-sponsors from the other party, and on their co-sponsorship of bills introduced by members of the other party. In the 2015 session of Congress, scores for members of the House of Representatives ranged from a low of -2.07 to a high of 1.88. Ashford's rating was 0.78, the 34th-highest of the 438 House members who were rated.
Personal life
Ashford is married to Ann Ferlic Ashford. The couple has three children.