Robert Pittenger

Early life, education, and business career

Pittenger was born in Texas and attended the University of Texas. After graduating he worked for Campus Crusade for Christ before moving to Charlotte in 1985 and becoming a real estate investor.

Elections

After redistricting, Pittenger decided to run for the 40th senate district of the North Carolina General Assembly in 2002. He defeated Democratic State Senator Fountain Odom 55%–43%. In 2004 he ran for the 39th senate district and defeated Libertarian nominee Andy Grum 89%–11%. In 2006, he won re-election to a third term unopposed.

Tenure

He represented the state's 39th Senate district, which included portions of southeastern Mecklenburg County. Robert was a lead sponsor of Right To Life legislation and the North Carolina marriage amendment.

In May 2004, he proposed big tax cuts like bringing the state's corporate tax from 6.9% to 4.9% and the income tax rate for the state's top earners from 8.25% to 7.5%. He proposed over $1.5 billion in spending cuts, including the elimination of waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicaid.

In February 2005, he proposed a medical malpractice bill that would cap non-economic damages at $250,000 for physicians, hospitals, and long-term care facilities.

In 2006, Pittenger sent a book called The Skeptical Environmentalist, to his senate colleagues. He has denied global warming.

Committee assignments

2008 Lieutenant gubernatorial bid

Pittenger won the Republican primary on May 6, 2008 to become his party's nominee for Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina with 59% of the vote, defeating three other candidates. On May 27, 2008, he resigned from the Senate to focus on his campaign. He lost the general election to fellow State Senator Walter H. Dalton 51%–46%.

2012 election

After Sue Myrick announced her retirement as the Representative of North Carolina's 9th congressional district in early 2012, Pittenger announced that he would run to replace her. He failed to win the primary outright on May 8, 2012, but ranked first with 32% of the vote in the eleven-candidate field. In the primary run-off election held on July 17, 2012, he defeated former Mecklenburg County Sheriff Jim Pendergraph 53%–47%.

Pittenger won the general election on November 6, defeating Democratic Mecklenburg County Commission Chairwoman Jennifer Roberts 52%–47%. While Pittenger lost the district's share of Mecklenburg County (47%), he ran up huge margins in the Union (63%) and Iredell (64%) portions of the district. Still, it was the closest that a Republican had come to losing this district since 1986. He took office in January 2013.

Tenure

On December 2, 2013, Pittenger introduced the Kilah Davenport Child Protection Act of 2013, which became Pub.L. 113–104. The law broadens the coverage of current laws that address domestic assaults by certain repeat offenders. The law also requires the United States Department of Justice to write a report on child abuse prevention laws in all U.S. states and territories, "with a particular focus on penalties for cases of severe child abuse." Pittenger said that the bill "will strengthen laws and help prevent child abuse," noting that "it is sickening to realize that we need such laws." After the bill's passage, Pittenger called it "a victory on behalf of children," but said that "no happy, bright, little girl should ever become the face of child abuse legislation."

Pittenger supported the American Health Care Act of 2017 (AHCA), which would repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare. On May 2, 2017 Pittenger said should the AHCA become law, allowing states to waive the ACA guarantee that insurers provide coverage regardless of pre-existing conditions, that Americans with pre-existing conditions can move to a state without the waiver.

FBI Criminal Investigation

On August 11, 2015, WSOC confirmed with Pittenger that he was the subject of an FBI criminal investigation, with the Charlotte local office investigating. Nothing specific was stated by the FBI at this time and Pittenger would only elaborate to say the inquiry has to do with his former real estate business, which he was said to have retired prior to taking the oath of office. The investigation was closed, with a finding of insufficient evidence against Congressman Pittenger .

Statement on black protests

On September 22, 2016, in an interview in the wake of protests over the shooting of Keith Lamont Scott, Pittenger said that the violence in Charlotte stems from protesters who “hate white people because white people are successful and they’re not.” The remark drew immediate international condemnation as racist. Fellow North Carolina congressman G. K. Butterfield called the remark "devastatingly ignorant and divisive." Pittenger quickly apologized for the statement.

Committee assignments

Personal life

Pittenger lives in South Charlotte with his wife, Suzanne, and their four children. A former longtime member of Central Church of God, he now attends another large evangelical megachurch in Charlotte known as Forest Hill Church.