52 Facts About Roger Wicker

Roger Frederick Wicker was born on July 5,1951 and is an American attorney and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Mississippi, a seat he has held since 2007.

Roger Wicker was an officer in the United States Air Force from 1976 to 1980 and a member of the United States Air Force Reserves from 1980 to 2003.

In 1987, Roger Wicker was elected to the Mississippi State Senate, representing the 6th district, which included Tupelo.

Roger Wicker was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1994, succeeding longtime Representative Jamie Whitten.

Roger Wicker served in the House from 1995 to 2007, when he was appointed to the Senate by Governor Haley Barbour to fill the seat vacated by Lott.

Roger Wicker subsequently won a special election for the remainder of the term in 2008 and was reelected to a full term in 2012.

Roger Wicker served as chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee from 2015 to 2017 and is a deputy Republican whip.

Roger Wicker was reelected in 2018, defeating Democratic nominee David Baria.

Roger Wicker was born on July 5,1951, in Pontotoc, Mississippi, the son of Wordna Glen and Thomas Frederick Roger Wicker.

Roger Wicker earned a bachelor's degree in journalism and political science and a JD degree from the University of Mississippi, where he was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity and student body president.

Roger Wicker was inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa for his student leadership and academic merit while at the University of Mississippi.

Roger Wicker began his political career in 1980 as House Rules Committee counsel to US Representative Trent Lott.

Roger Wicker was elected to the Mississippi State Senate in 1987, spending $25,000 on the race.

Roger Wicker represented the 6th district, which included Tupelo, from 1988 to 1994.

Roger Wicker amended a 1994 state Medicaid bill to authorize the Mississippi Attorney General to contract private attorneys on contingency.

Roger Wicker ran to succeed him, spending $750,000 on his campaign.

Roger Wicker finished first in a crowded six-way Republican primary with 7,156 votes and proceeded to a runoff with attorney Grant Fox, who received 5,208 votes.

In Congress, Roger Wicker worked on issues related to medical research and on economic development for his home state.

Roger Wicker advocated private-public partnerships to bring investment to rural areas.

Roger Wicker worked for veterans' issues while serving as a member of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee.

In 2007, Roger Wicker was criticized after securing a $6 million earmark for a defense company whose executives had made significant contributions to his campaign.

At a press conference on December 31,2007, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour appointed Roger Wicker to fill the Senate seat Lott vacated on December 18,2007.

Roger Wicker was sworn in by the Senate clerk just before that news conference.

Roger Wicker ran for the remainder of Lott's term in the November 2008 special election against Democrat Ronnie Musgrove, Barbour's predecessor as governor.

Roger Wicker was opposed by Robert Maloney and Tea Party activist E Allen Hathcock in the Republican primary, defeating them by 254,936 votes to 18,857 and 12,106, respectively.

Roger Wicker was one of three politicians targeted during the April 2013 ricin letters bioterrorism attack.

In July 2013, Roger Wicker proposed that the Senate meet to discuss a controversial change to filibuster rules.

Roger Wicker was elected chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the 114th US Congress on November 13,2014.

In September 2020, less than two months before the next presidential election, Roger Wicker supported an immediate Senate vote on Trump's nominee to fill the Supreme Court vacancy caused by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death, saying that Senate Republicans had "promised to confirm well qualified, conservative judges" and that there was a "constitutional duty" to fill vacancies.

Roger Wicker announced before the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count that he would vote to certify the election on January 6,2021.

Roger Wicker was participating in the certification when Trump supporters attacked the US Capitol.

Roger Wicker supported implementing a no-fly zone over Ukraine in 2022, which National Review called "a very bad idea".

Roger Wicker is an ardent Zionist and one of the most pro-Israel US politicians.

Roger Wicker voted for the Israel Anti-Boycott Act, supported the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, and cosponsored the United States-Israel Security Authorization Act of 2018, which allocated military funding for Israel regardless of the Palestinian question.

Roger Wicker opposed opening a US Palestinian consulate in East Jerusalem, which would have answered to the US Department of State.

Roger Wicker was one of 18 Republican senators to vote for the $1.7 trillion omnibus bill that former President Donald Trump heavily criticized.

Roger Wicker previously opposed Mississippi accepting Syrian refugees who fled from war-torn Syria.

Roger Wicker voted each time to increase aid to Ukraine.

Roger Wicker identifies as a fiscal conservative but has consistently voted to increase federal spending for agriculture, infrastructure, and military projects throughout Mississippi.

Since 2015, Roger Wicker has sought to change the Mississippi flag, calling it offensive to many of his "fellow citizens".

Roger Wicker supported nullifying that vote in 2020 and replacing the flag without a new referendum.

In 2015, Roger Wicker was the only US senator to vote against an amendment declaring that climate change is real.

In 2017, Roger Wicker was one of 22 senators to sign a letter to President Trump urging him to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement.

Roger Wicker has said that he will filibuster any bill that he feels "infringes" on the Second Amendment, including weapon bans.

Roger Wicker has received $21,350 in funding from gun lobbyists for his political activities.

In 2009, Roger Wicker introduced a bill allowing Amtrak passengers to check unloaded and locked handguns in their luggage.

One day after the 2015 San Bernardino attack, Roger Wicker voted against a bill, co-sponsored by a Democrat and a Republican, that would make background checks mandatory when a person buys a gun.

On May 28,2021, Roger Wicker voted against creating an independent commission to investigate the January 6 United States Capitol attack.

In 2020, Roger Wicker received a score of 74 from the American Conservative Union.

Roger Wicker has consistently ranked amongst the poorest members of Congress, with a 2018 net worth of -$180,996.

Roger Wicker earns an annual Senate salary of $174,000; it is unclear why he has a negative net worth.

Roger Wicker previously served on the Board of Advisors for the Global Panel Foundation, a nongovernmental organization that works in crisis areas.