Jim Saxton

Hugh James "Jim" Saxton (born January 22, 1943) is an American Republican Party politician. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1984 to 2009.

Life

Born in Nicholson, Pennsylvania, he attended East Stroudsburg State College (now East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania) and Temple University. He then pursued a career as an elementary public school teacher and small business owner. Saxton served in the New Jersey General Assembly (the lower chamber of the New Jersey Legislature) from 1976 to 1981 and in the New Jersey Senate from 1982 to 1984.

In 1984, 13th District Congressman Edwin B. Forsythe died with nine months left in his seventh full term. Saxton was elected as his successor. He ran in two elections which took place on the same day—a special election for the balance of Forsythe's term, and a regular election for a full two-year term. This gave him greater seniority than other freshmen congressmen elected in 1984. He was reelected 11 times without serious difficulty, never dropping below 58 percent of the vote. His district was renumbered as the 3rd District after New Jersey lost a seat in the 1990 census.