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Steve Symms
Steve Symms.jpg
United States Senator
from Idaho
In office
January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1993
Preceded by Frank Church
Succeeded by Dirk Kempthorne
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Idaho's 1st district
In office
January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1981
Preceded by Jim McClure
Succeeded by Larry Craig
Personal details
Born
Steven Douglas Symms

(1938-04-23) April 23, 1938 (age 85)
Nampa, Idaho, U.S.
Political party Republican
Spouses
Frances Stockdale
(m. 1959; div. 1990)
Loretta E. Mathes Fuller
(m. 1992)
Children 4
Residences Caldwell, Idaho, U.S.
Education University of Idaho (BA)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service  United States Marine Corps
Years of service 1960–1963
Rank US-O2 insignia.svg First Lieutenant

Steven Douglas Symms (born April 23, 1938) is an American politician and lobbyist who served as a four-term congressman (1973–1981) and two-term U.S. Senator (1981–1993), representing Idaho. He is a partner at Parry, Romani, DeConcini & Symms, a lobbying firm in Washington, D.C.

Early life and education

Symms attended public schools in Canyon County and graduated from Caldwell High School in 1956. He studied horticulture at the University of Idaho in Moscow, where he was a reserve center on the football team and was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity. He graduated in 1960 with a B.S. in agriculture, then served in the United States Marine Corps for three years, after which he worked as a private pilot and apple farmer. From 1969 to 1972, he was co-editor of the college newspaper, The Idaho Compass.

Career

Congress

In 1972, Symms ran for Congress, highlighting his career as an apple farmer by using the slogan "Take a bite out of big government!" He was elected to the open seat in the United States House of Representatives at age 34 and was re-elected three times. He ran for the United States Senate in 1980. Aided by national funding, he unseated four-term incumbent Democrat Frank Church, winning by less than one percent. Symms was re-elected in 1986, defeating Democratic Governor John V. Evans in another hard-fought and close election.

Symms was one of several Republican senators who, in 1981, called into the White House to express discontent over the nomination of Sandra Day O'Connor to the Supreme Court; the opposition hinged over the issue of O'Connor's presumed unwillingness to overturn Roe v. Wade.

During the 1988 U.S. presidential election, Symms claimed in a radio interview that a photograph existed from the 1960s showing Kitty Dukakis, the wife of Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, burning an American flag to protest the Vietnam War. Kitty Dukakis angrily denied the accusation as "totally false and beneath contempt," and Symms later admitted that he could not substantiate it. Nevertheless, the claim became national news, as media outlets began searching for the photograph Symms said he had "heard" about. The flag-burning story was one of several false rumors about Dukakis that circulated during the 1988 campaign. "Mr. Symms's comment was the third time in a few days that prominent Republicans have publicly aired allegations that the Democrats have swiftly rebutted," The New York Times reported.

Symms was also one of the six senators who voted against the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990.

Symms chose not to seek a third term in 1992 and was succeeded by the Republican mayor of Boise, Dirk Kempthorne, a future two-term Idaho governor and United States Secretary of the Interior.

Later career

After leaving the U.S. Senate in 1993, Symms founded Symms, Lehn Associates, Inc., a consulting firm. In January 1999, he partnered with John Haddow and formed Symms & Haddow Associates, a lobbying firm. In January 2001, the firm joined forces with Romano Romani and former Senator Dennis DeConcini of Parry, Romani & DeConcini to form Parry, Romani, DeConcini & Symms.

Personal life

Prior to his senior year at the University of Idaho, Symms married Frances E. "Fran" Stockdale of Helena, Montana, in August 1959. They had four children, a son and three daughters. Following his re-election in 1986, the couple separated, and their divorce was finalized in 1990. Symms married Loretta Mathes Fuller in 1992, a former aide and later the Deputy Sergeant of Arms of the U.S. Senate.

Symms is a cousin of former Oregon congressman Denny Smith.

Elections

U.S. House elections (Idaho's 1st district): Results 1972–1978
Year Democrat Votes Pct Republican Votes Pct
1972 Ed Williams 68,106 44% Steve Symms 85,270 56%
1974 J. Ray Cox 54,001 42% Steve Symms (inc.) 75,404 58%
1976 Ken Pursley 79,662 45% Steve Symms (inc.) 95,833 55%
1978 Roy Truby 57,972 40% Steve Symms (inc.) 86,680 60%
U.S. Senate elections in Idaho (Class III): Results 1980–1986
Year Democrat Votes Pct Republican Votes Pct 3rd Party Party Votes Pct
1980 Frank Church (inc.) 214,439 49% Steve Symms 218,701 50% Larry Fullmer Libertarian 6,507 1%
1986 John V. Evans 185,066 48% Steve Symms (inc.) 196,958 52%
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