Early life

Crapo was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho, the son of Melba (née Olsen) and George Lavelle Crapo. He is distantly related to Henry Howland Crapo, who served as Governor of Michigan from 1865 to 1869, and William Crapo Durant, Henry's grandson, who founded General Motors. He graduated from Idaho Falls High School in 1969, then earned a B.A. in political science from Brigham Young University in 1973 and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1977.

Early political career

He served for one year as clerk to Judge James M. Carter at the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and then returned to Idaho to become a lawyer. While practicing law in Idaho Falls in the 1980s, he was active in the Republican Party's campaigns for seats in the state legislature. His brother Terry Crapo served in Idaho House of Representatives, four years as majority leader and was seen as a rising star in Idaho politics.

Terry Crapo's death from leukemia in 1982 prompted Crapo to run for an open seat in the Idaho Senate. He was elected to the state senate in 1984 where he served until 1992. In 1988, Senate President pro tempore Jim Risch unexpectedly lost reelection to the Idaho Senate and he was elected by his colleagues to that position. He served as senate president pro tempore from 1988 to 1992. On January 27, 1989 he served as acting governor of Idaho for 12 hours. Governor Cecil D. Andrus was out of the state testifying before Congress and then-Lieutenant Governor Butch Otter was out of the state on business for his employer Simplot. Laws of succession dictate that the president pro tempore is next in line. Andrus, a Democrat, left Crapo a note saying "Don't do anything I wouldn't do.... P.S. The chair is comfortable, isn't it?"

Crapo was elected to Congress in 1992, representing Idaho's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. He was elected to the House for three terms from 1993 until 1999 until his election to the U.S. Senate in 1998.

U.S. Senate

Elections

Crapo was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1998, gaining the seat of Republican Dirk Kempthorne, who stepped down to run successfully for governor. In his Senate bid, as in his House campaigns, his campaign signs had a macron placed over the "a" in his name (Crāpo) to indicate at the correct pronunciation ("Cray-poe").

He was re-elected in 2004 with 99% of the vote, with the other 1% going to write-in candidates. He was the only Senate candidate in 2004 to run unopposed on the ballot.

In November 2010, he was re-elected to a third term with 71% of the vote, defeating Democratic Party challenger P. Tom Sullivan and Constitution Party candidate Randy Bergquist.

Tenure

In the 111th Congress, Crapo served on the following Senate Committees: Banking, Housing and Urban Development; Budget; Environment and Public Works; Indian Affairs; and Finance. He co-chairs the Senate Nuclear Caucus, the Canada-U.S. Interparliamentary Group (IPG); the COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) Caucus, which he also founded; and the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus.

Crapo became the state's senior senator when the 111th United States Congress convened on January 3, 2009, succeeding Larry Craig, who decided not to seek re-election. At the convening of the 112th United States Congress he is now ranked 39th in seniority in the Senate.

He opposed President Barack Obama's health reform legislation; he voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in December 2009, and he voted against the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.

In April 2013, he was one of forty-six senators to vote against the passing of a bill which would have expanded background checks for all gun buyers. He voted with 40 Republicans and 5 Democrats to stop the passage of the bill. NY Times predicted a 0% chance of Crapo voting for the bill.

The New York Times noted that Crapo became "something of a hero among advocates of bipartisanship" for his involvement in the "Gang of Six".

His view on Senatorial responsibilities for Supreme Court nominees has evolved. Regarding President George Bush's nomination of Samuel Alito, in 2006, Crapo said "All of the President's nominees deserve up-and-down votes and not efforts to obstruct judicial nominees for political purposes," Crapo said. "Judges are not politicians, and hopefully, Judge Alito's nomination will put an end to the politics which have crept into the nomination process." In 2016, he said of President Barack Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland to replace Antonin Scalia, “The Constitution gives the President the right to make nominations to the Supreme Court, with the advice and consent of the Senate. As part of its role in this process, the Senate may, at its discretion, withhold consent. The next Supreme Court justice will make decisions that affect every American and shape our nation’s legal landscape for decades. Therefore, the current Supreme Court vacancy should be filled by an individual nominated by the next President of the United States.” An explanation as to why it was important to provide nominees an "up-and-down" vote in 2006, and why it is important to avoid such a vote in 2016, has as yet not been explained, but is awaited.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development
  • Subcommittee on Financial Institutions
  • Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance and Investment (Chair)
• Committee on the Budget
• Committee on Environment and Public Works
  • Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health
  • Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife (Ranking Member)
• Committee on Finance
  • Subcommittee on Health Care
  • Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure
  • Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness (Ranking Member)
• Committee on Indian Affairs

Caucus memberships

• International Conservation Caucus
• Senate Diabetes Caucus
• Senate Nuclear Cleanup Caucus (co-chair)
• Senate Renewables and Energy Efficiency Caucus (co-chair)
• Sportsmen's Caucus (co-chair)
• Western Water Caucus
• Zero Capital Gains Tax Caucus

Environmental record

Crapo introduced S. 700, legislation to update and improve conservation incentives for landowners to protect endangered and threatened species through tax benefits. The legislation is supported by a broad array of prominent environmental advocacy organizations and outdoor recreationists. This bipartisan, widely-supported legislation has twice been approved by the Senate Finance Committee. Two environmental initiatives Crapo has sponsored or promoted continue that collaborative approach. He sponsored a local working group partnership in Owyhee County, Idaho, to protect and preserve sensitive ecological and riverine areas in the county while ensuring the cooperation of landowners and grazers in the area. The Owyhee Initiative working group brings together local tribal members, ranchers, recreators, land managers, environmentalists, and county leaders and the process has been endorsed by editorials in local papers, including the Boise-based Idaho Statesman newspaper. Another collaboration promoted by Crapo is the Elk Cooperative, a loose working group of tribal members, wildlife officials, and recreators to identify plans that preserve stable populations of elk in northern Idaho.

Project SEARCH (Special Environmental Assistance for the Regulation of Communities and Habitat) has been approved in several Congresses, most recently authorized in the 2002 Farm Bill. It provides grants to small communities, to assist rural communities throughout the country with planning and engineering grants for environmental infrastructure projects necessary to meet the requirements of water and wastewater regulations.

Crapo partnered with the Environmental Protection Agency to provide funding and technical assistance to the Coeur d'Alene Basin Planning Commission, a partnership of state, local, community, and federal officials charged with implementing restoration of formerly-contaminated Superfund areas in the Silver Valley of North Idaho. In 2006, Crapo was given the lowest possible score (0%) by the League of Conservation Voters for his voting record in the Senate. This followed his score of 5% in 2005 to bring his lifetime score down to 4%. The LCV uses selected set of votes to determine the scoring for its yearly rating. Reasons for the low score include his votes for offshore drilling, for arctic refuge drilling, against funding to help "low-income families insulate and weatherize their homes", against funding for the environment and natural resources, against independent review of Army Corps of Engineers projects, and for having the Army Corps of Engineers review themselves.

Gun control

On April 17, 2013, Crapo voted against the bipartisan Toomey-Manchin Gun Control Amendment, which would expand federal background checks to include gun shows and online sales, while exempting private sales between individuals. Despite receiving majority support, the amendment failed to garner the 60 votes necessary to overcome a filibuster.

Personal life

Crapo married Susan Diane Hasleton in June 1974 and the couple has five children. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Crapo was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1999 and underwent a radical prostatectomy in January 2000. While he had a full recovery and was declared cancer-free at that time, prostate cancer recurred in 2005, and he underwent a series of radiation treatments. His experience led him to become active in advocating for early detection tests for cancer and other treatable diseases. Following his experience with prostate cancer, Crapo has pushed to create a federal Office of Men's Health.

Though he had previously told the Associated Press that he abstains from alcohol, Crapo was arrested in 2012 for DUI at around 12:45 am EST on December 23 in Alexandria, Virginia. He ran a red light, failed field sobriety tests, and registered a blood alcohol content of 0.11 percent. He was transported to the Alexandria jail and released on an unsecured $1,000 bond about four hours later. Crapo pleaded guilty to a drunk driving charge on January 4, fined $250, and received a one-year suspension of his driver's license. Crapo was criticized by Boise's Idaho Statesman for putting his life and the life of others in danger. After his arrest for DUI, Pocatello's Idaho State Journal noted, " reputation as a faithful Mormon conservative has been blown to smithereens.” Hours after his arrest on December 23, Crapo issued a public apology for his behavior.

Crapo is an Eagle Scout, awarded in 1966, and was awarded the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award (DESA) in 2000.

Electoral history

See also: United States Senate election in Idaho, 2010

Idaho's 2nd congressional district: Results 1992-1996

Year		Democratic	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct
1992		J. D. Williams	81,450	35%		Mike Crapo	139,783	61%		Steven L. Kauer	Independent	4,917	2%		David W. Mansfield	Independent	3,807	2%
1994		Penny Fletcher	47,936	25%		Mike Crapo	143,593	75%
1996		John D. Seidl	67,625	29%		Mike Crapo	157,646	69%		John Butler	Natural Law	3,977	2%

Senate elections in Idaho (Class III): Results 1998-2010

Year		Democratic	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct
1998		Bill Mauk	107,375	28%		Mike Crapo	262,966	70%		George J. Mansfeld	Natural Law	7,833	2%
2004		(no candidate)				Mike Crapo	499,796	99%		Scott F. McClure	Write-in	4,136	1%
2010		Tom Sullivan	112,057	25%		Mike Crapo	319,953	71%		Randy Bergquist	Constitution	17,429	4%

[ Source: Wikipedia ]