Tom Graves

John Thomas Graves Jr. (born February 3, 1970) is an American businessman and politician who served as the U.S. representative for GA's 14th congressional district from 2013 to 2020.

Tom Graves was born in St. Petersburg, Florida on February 3, 1970.

He graduated from Cass High School in Cartersville, Georgia, where he played linebacker and offensive guard on the school football team.

Graves earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Georgia.

After college, he bought a landscaping company before working in real estate investment.

Graves lives in Ranger, Georgia, southeast of Dalton.

Tom E. Shanahan retired as Representative to Georgia's 10th District in 2002, and Graves won as his successor with 60 percent of the vote.

Before his election to Congress, Graves served as a Republican member of the Georgia House of Representatives from 2003 to 2010.

Graves later ran, unopposed, to serve as House Representative to Georgia's 12th district in 2004.

He was re-elected, after two races in which he ran against primary challenger Bill Pickett in 2006 and unopposed in 2008.

Graves served on the Transportation, Ways and Means committee and on the Health and Human services committee during his tenure in the Georgia House of Representatives.

He also served as Vice Chairman on the Motor Vehicles committee.

In 2007, Graves and former Georgia Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers took out a loan from Bartow County Bank to purchase and renovate a motel in Calhoun.

As a member of the Georgia House, Graves supported legislation to provide tax cuts and tax credits, including introducing the Jobs, Opportunity and Business Success (JOBS) Act of 2009.

Graves was named Legislator of the Year in 2009 by the American Legislative Exchange Council.

Later that year, he was awarded the Guardian of Small Business award by the National Federation of Independent Business.

Graves previously served one term as the U.S. representative for GA's 9th congressional district from 2010 to 2013, following his victory in a special election held to fill the seat left vacant by the resignation of Nathan Deal.

In May 2010, Graves won a special election to replace incumbent Representative Nathan Deal, who resigned to focus on his ultimately successful campaign for Governor.

On June 8, 2010, Graves won the run-off for the special election against former state Senator Lee Hawkins.

Graves then faced Hawkins two more times, in another primary election and run off before winning the November 2, 2010 general election unopposed.

In 2011, it was reported that Bartow County Bank had sued Rogers and Graves for defaulting on their $2.2 million bank loan.

They countersued the bank in response.

In August 2011, both parties dismissed their claims before going to hearing, settling the dispute out of court, and no details of the settlement were disclosed.

Graves received criticism in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on the grounds that the outcome of this business venture appeared to some individuals to undermine his stated commitment to fiscal responsibility.

Upon his election, Graves joined the House Republican Whip team, which he later left in 2011.

Graves is anti-abortion and voted in 2011 to limit funding to Planned Parenthood.

Graves' home in Ranger, along with most of the northwestern portion of the old 9th, was drawn into the newly created 14th district during the 2012 census.

He opted to run for reelection in the newly created district.

The 14th was no less Republican than the 9th, and Graves won the November 6, 2012 election against Democratic challenger Daniel "Danny" Grant with 73 percent of the vote.

Graves received 74 percent of the vote in the Republican primary against activist Kenneth Herron.

He faced no general election opposition.

Graves received 76 percent of the vote in the Republican primary against perennial candidate Allan Levene and activist Mickey Tuck.

He faced no general election opposition.

In January 2013, Graves rejoined the Whip team, and was a member as of 2020.

Graves endorsed Senator Marco Rubio in the 2016 Republican Presidential Primary.

In the same statement, Graves snubbed then-candidate Donald J. Trump: "I have trouble seeing how he lines up with the great tradition of Lincoln and Reagan, and I'm concerned that many of his statements run afoul of the Constitution, my values and my beliefs."

Graves easily won re-election over his Democratic opponent Steven Lamar Foster, who had been arrested on DUI charges and said he "hated this county" during his arrest.

In December 2019, Graves announced that he would not run for re-election in 2020.

Graves chose not to run for re-election in 2020, and resigned from the House of Representatives on October 4, 2020.

He resigned from his seat early, on October 4, 2020.