5 Vacancies on Next Year’s 50 Richest List
There are at least five lawmakers topping Roll Call’s 50 Richest Members of Congress list for the final time. They are the wealthiest retirees who also happen to be on our Casualty List .
Of course, any number of lawmakers on the 50 Richest list facing tough re-election campaigns might not make it back for the 114th Congress.
This year’s top 50 had a minimum net worth of $7.47 million, and it’s unclear whether any of the congressional hopefuls on the ballot this fall have enough wealth to make it on the list.
For now, here are the five spots definitely opening up once the new Congress is sworn in.
The three Republicans and two Democrats are listed in the order they appear on the 50 Richest list.
4. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va. Rockefeller is the wealthiest retiring member, with a minimum net worth of more than $108 million.
Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia is vying for Rockefeller’s seat and she is the favorite in the race, which is rated Leans Republican by the Rothenberg Political Report/Roll Call. But she won’t be taking Rockefeller’s spot on the 50 Richest list. Although Capito and her husband have a large number of investments, her minimum net worth is roughly $448,000, according to the full Roll Call tally that will be published later this year.
13. Rep. Gary G. Miller, R-Calif. Miller has a minimum net worth of nearly $33 million, thanks to his lucrative real estate investments.
Miller’s seat is viewed as one of the best pick-up opportunities for Democrats this cycle, since redistricting made his turf even more Democratic. Redlands Mayor Pete Aguilar is expected to win in November in this Leans Democratic district .
According to a financial disclosure report filed by all federal candidates, Aguilar’s minimum net worth is $110,000, a fraction of the wealth necessary to crack the 50 Richest list.
25. Rep. Tom Petri, R-Wis. Petri is also retiring this year, vacating the 50 Richest spot he earned with a minimum net worth of more than $15 million. Petri is currently under an Ethics Committee investigation for his investments in Oshkosh Corp. He called for the investigation himself .
Petri’s seat likely will remain in Republican hands, though that Republican would not make the 50 Richest list. State Sen. Glenn Grothman is considered the favorite in a solidly Republican district and his candidate disclosure form indicates he has a minimum net worth of more than $662,000.
33. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa Harkin has a minimum net worth of nearly $12 million. Most of his assets are attributed to his wife, Ruth.
The race to replace Harkin is rated a Tossup by the Rothenberg Political Report/Roll Call, so either Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley or state Sen. Joni Ernst could be arriving in the Senate in January.
Neither of the candidates would land on 50 Richest. According to Roll Call’s to-be-released tally, Braley, a former attorney, currently ranks among the “poorer” half of the members of Congress. He has a minimum net worth of roughly $191,000. Ernst would rank slightly lower than Braley, with a minimum net worth of at least $176,000, according to her candidate disclosure report.
40. Rep. John Campbell, R-Calif. Campbell, who announced in June 2013 he is retiring , has a minimum net worth of $10 million.
A fellow Republican, state Sen. Mimi Walters, will likely fill Campbell’s seat because the district is rated as a Safe Republican contest . Walters is also not likely to make the list, as her minimum net worth is $416,000.
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