George Rector Nethercutt Jr. (October 7, 1944 – June 14, 2024) was an American lawyer, author, and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he rose to national attention upon his election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994, when he defeated Tom Foley, the speaker of the house, in Washington's 5th congressional district. Nethercutt served five terms and left the House in 2004, when he mounted an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate.
Early life
George Rector Nethercutt Jr. was born in Spokane, Washington, in 1944, the son of Nancy (Sampson) and George Nethercutt, a school board president. A graduate of North Central High School, he earned a B.A. in English from Washington State University in 1967 and a J.D. degree from Gonzaga University in 1971. He worked as a clerk for Alaskan federal Judge Raymond Plummer. Nethercutt then served as staff counsel and later chief of staff to Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) from 1972 to 1977 before returning to private practice in Washington State. He was a chair of the Spokane County Republican Party.
In the 1996 elections, the Democrats mounted a serious bid to regain the seat, but Nethercutt won by an unexpectedly large 12-point margin even as Bill Clinton narrowly carried the district. He was handily reelected in 1998. In 2000, when his self-imposed three-term limit would have kicked in, Nethercutt changed his mind and announced his intention to run again, infuriating term-limits supporters. Nethercutt was nevertheless re-elected without much difficulty in 2000 and 2002.
2004 Senate race
Rather than running for a sixth term in the House of Representatives, Nethercutt decided to run for U.S. Senate in 2004, hoping to unseat the incumbent, Senator Patty Murray. He was encouraged to run for the seat by President George W. Bush. Griles resigned in 2007, after he pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in connection with the Abramoff scandal, the top Bush administration official to do so.
Nethercutt served as Chairman of Nethercutt Consulting LLC, was of counsel for the law firms of Bluewater Strategies and Lee & Hayes, and was a member of several corporate boards. He was the author of the book In Tune with America: Our History in Song. He wrote a monthly column for The Pacific Northwest Inlander newspaper, and recorded radio commentaries for several radio stations.
He was also a board member on the Dutch board of JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation).
Nethercutt founded The George Nethercutt Foundation in Spokane, Washington. The Foundation is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering civic involvement. The foundation accepts applications from college students who aspire to be Nethercutt Fellows. The Nethercutt Fellowship involves, among other things, a trip to Washington, D.C. where fellows have the opportunity to see the inner-workings of the United States government.
Personal life and death
Nethercutt married Mary Beth Socha in 1977, and they had two children.
Electoral history
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em ; font-size:95%"
|+ : Results 1994–2002
!|Year
!
!|Democratic
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
!|Republican
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
!|3rd Party
!|Party
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
|-
|1994
|
| | (incumbent)
| align="right" |106,074
| |49%
|
| |
| align="right" |110,057
| |51%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|1996
|
| |Judy Olson
| align="right" |105,166
| |44%
|
| | (incumbent)
| align="right" |131,618
| |56%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|1998
|
| |Brad Lyons
| align="right" |73,545
| |38%
|
| | (incumbent)
| align="right" |110,040
| |57%
|
| |John Beal
| |American Heritage
| align="right" |9,673
| align="right" |5%
|
|-
|2000
|
| |Tom Keefe
| align="right" |97,703
| |39%
|
| | (incumbent)
| align="right" |144,038
| |57%
|
| |Greg Holmes
| |Libertarian
| align="right" |9,473
| align="right" |4%
|
|-
|2002
|
| |Bart Haggin
| align="right" |65,146
| |32%
|
| | (incumbent)
| align="right" |126,757
| |63%
|
| |Rob Chase
| |Libertarian
| align="right" |10,379
| align="right" |5%
|
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em ; font-size:95%"
|+ Washington Senator (Class III) results: 2004