Russell Mark Fulcher (born March 9, 1962) is an American businessman and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Idaho's 1st congressional district since 2019. Previously, he served in the Idaho Senate from 2005 to 2014. A member of the Republican Party, Fulcher previously sought the party's nomination in the 2014 Idaho gubernatorial election, unsuccessfully challenging incumbent Butch Otter in the primary.
Fulcher was first elected to Congress in 2018. A conservative, Fulcher is a member of the Freedom Caucus.
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Early life and education
A fourth-generation Idahoan, Fulcher was born in Boise, Idaho, but grew up on a dairy farm in Meridian, Idaho. He received both a bachelor's and master's degree in business administration from Boise State University in 1984 and 1988, respectively. He also completed a course on electronic engineering through Micron Technology.
Career
While a member of the Idaho legislature, Fulcher worked as a broker in the commercial real estate business. Before that, he was involved in Idaho's technology industry. Fulcher spent much of that time working in international business development with Micron Technology.
Idaho Senate
In 2005, Governor Dirk Kempthorne appointed Fulcher to the Idaho State Senate, representing the 21st legislative district, which encompasses large parts of Boise, Meridian and Kuna, to replace Jack Noble, who resigned after a conflict of interest. Fulcher was first elected in 2006 and served through 2012.
Fulcher represented District 22 in the Idaho Senate from 2012 to 2014. He served as Majority Caucus Leader from 2008 to 2012 and from 2013 to 2014.
Fulcher served on the following committees:
Senate Education Committee (Member)
Senate State Affairs Committee (Vice-chairman)
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
On June 15, 2017, Fulcher announced that he would seek the Republican nomination for Idaho's 1st congressional district in the 2018 election.
He was endorsed by the incumbent representative, Raúl Labrador, and Texas Senator Ted Cruz.
Fulcher won the Idaho Republican Party primary with 43.1% of the vote, defeating David H. Leroy, Luke Malek, Christy Perry, Michael Snyder, Alex Gallegos, and Nick Henderson. Fulcher won 18 of 19 counties in Idaho's 1st congressional district. He was one of two candidates to win his home county.
He won the general election in November with 62.7% of the vote, defeating Cristina McNeil (Democrat), W. Scott Howard (Libertarian), and Marvin "Pro-Life" Richardson (Constitution).
Fulcher was reelected on November 3, 2020, with 67.8% of the vote, defeating Rudy Soto (Democrat) and Joe Evans (Libertarian).
Tenure
In December 2020, Fulcher was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden defeated incumbent Donald Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.
On December 1, 2023, Fulcher voted against the expulsion of Representative George Santos.
Committee assignments
For the 118th Congress:
Committee on Energy and Commerce
Subcommittee on Communications and Technology
Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Minerals
Subcommittee on Innovation, Data, and Commerce
Committee on Natural Resources
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
Subcommittee on Federal Lands
Caucus memberships
Freedom Caucus
Republican Study Committee
Congressional Western Caucus
Political positions
Israel
Fulcher voted to provide Israel with support following 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.
Big Tech
In 2022, Fulcher was one of 39 Republicans to vote for the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022, an antitrust package that would crack down on corporations for anti-competitive behavior.
Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023
Fulcher was among the 71 Republicans who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.
No Tax on Overtime
Fulcher was the first to lead the effort to eliminate the federal income tax on overtime pay in the 118th Congress.
Other political campaigns
2014 gubernatorial race
On November 23, 2013, Fulcher announced his intention to run against incumbent governor Butch Otter in the 2014 Idaho gubernatorial election. He was endorsed by Congressman Raúl Labrador.
Fulcher lost to Otter in the May 2014 Republican primary, earning 43.6% of the vote.
2016 presidential election
Fulcher was a Ted Cruz delegate at the 2016 Republican National Convention. He supported Donald Trump in the general election.
2018 gubernatorial race
Fulcher announced on August 24, 2016, that he was running for governor.
On June 15, 2017, he announced that he was dropping out of the 2018 Idaho gubernatorial election and would instead run for Idaho's 1st congressional district in the 2018 cycle.
Personal life
Fulcher was married to Kara Fulcher from 1987 to 2018. They have three adult children.
Fulcher is an Evangelical.