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Heath Shuler
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's 11th district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 4, 2007
Preceded by	Charles Taylor
Succeeded by	Incumbent
Born	December 31, 1971 (1971-12-31) (age 35) Bryson City, North Carolina
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Nikol Shuler
Religion	Southern Baptist

Joseph Heath Shuler (born December 31, 1971) is an American politician and former professional football player. On November 7, 2006 Shuler was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a Democrat from North Carolina's 11th congressional district (map). The district, based in Asheville, includes most of the Blue Ridge Mountains in western North Carolina.

A former National Football League (NFL) quarterback and real-estate investor, Shuler was born in Bryson City, North Carolina, a small town in the Great Smoky Mountains. Shuler attended the University of Tennessee from 1990 to 1993.

Contents 1 Athletic career 2 Post-athletic career 3 Politics 4 Electoral History 5 References 6 External links

Heath Shuler's athletic career began at Swain County High School. He was a standout quarterback who drew plenty of scout attention. Shuler chose to sign with Tennessee.

At the University of Tennessee, Shuler gained national attention as one of the Southeastern Conference's top quarterbacks. He held nearly all Volunteer passing records at the end of his career, although most of them were later shattered by Peyton Manning. In 1993, he came in second in the vote for the prestigious Heisman Trophy.

Shuler was selected third overall in the 1994 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. He held out of training camp until he received a 7-year, $19.25 million contract. The Redskins had fallen on hard times since winning Super Bowl XXVI, and Shuler was looked on as the quarterback of the future. However, Shuler's poor play contributed to a quarterback controversy with fellow 1994 draft pick Gus Frerotte. Shuler started only 18 games in his first two years with the team and was benched in his third year, as Frerotte went to the pro bowl.

After the 1996 season, Shuler was traded to the New Orleans Saints for a 5th round pick in the 1997 draft and a 3rd round pick in 1998. With less talent on the New Orleans roster, Shuler's statistics remained poor. He suffered a serious foot injury during the 1997 season in New Orleans and went through two surgeries.

After being unable to take the field due to his foot injury in his second season in New Orleans, Shuler signed with the Oakland Raiders, where he reinjured his foot in training camp and retired. As a pro, his career passer rating was a low 54.3 and in 2004 ESPN rated him the 17th biggest 'sports flop' of the past 25 years.^[1]

After retiring from the NFL, Shuler returned to the University of Tennessee and completed his education, graduating with a degree in psychology. He then became a real estate professional in Knoxville, where he had starred in college. His real estate company is one of the largest independent firms in East Tennessee.

In 2003, Shuler moved back to western North Carolina. He now lives in Waynesville, 30 miles southwest of Asheville, with his wife Nikol and two children, Navy and Island.

In July 2005, Shuler announced his intentions to seek the Democratic nomination to run against eight-term incumbent Republican Charles H. Taylor. The district covers most of the Western North Carolina mountains where Shuler grew up.

On May 2, 2006, Shuler won the Democratic primary with nearly 75 percent of the vote. In the campaign, Shuler repeatedly attacked Taylor for putting the interests of the Bush administration above those of the 11th, and pledged to be an "independent voice" for Western North Carolina. Shuler is a somewhat conservative Democrat, so Taylor's attempts to brand him as a liberal and an extra vote for Nancy Pelosi didn't work, as they had against Taylor's past challengers. In the November election, Shuler won with 54 percent of the vote to Taylor's 46 percent.

In interviews, Shuler has stated he is a Democrat because of the influence of his grandmother, who taught him that the Democratic Party had always fought for the poor and disenfranchised. However, he supported candidates from both parties in Tennessee, and Republican strategists had even tried to recruit him to run as a Republican on several occasions.

Shuler is fairly conservative on social issues. He opposes abortion rights and gun control, and has vowed to fight for balanced budgets as part of the "Blue Dog Coalition," a group of moderate and conservative Democrats. He also takes a hard line on illegal immigration. However, on economic and environmental matters, Shuler tends to vote more with his party.^[2] During the campaign, Shuler bought advertising time on several Christian radio stations, which is unusual for Democratic candidates.

In 2007, Shuler introduced proposed legislation co-sponsored with Congressman Walter Jones of North Carolina to require airlines to have sections of the aircraft where large movie screens would not be visible. This was to avoid the situation where children could watch films potentially objectionable by their parents.^[3] No mention was made regarding airlines who use a safety video for In-flight safety demonstration.

Reportedly owing to his success in real estate, Shuler was named chairman of the House Small Business Subcommittee on Rural and Urban Entrepreneurship.^[4] He is also a deputy majority whip.

• 2006 Race for U.S. House of Representatives — North Carolina 11th District
  • Heath Shuler (D), 54%
  • Charles H. Taylor (R) (inc.), 46%

• U.S. Congressman Heath Shuler, U.S. House site

• Heath Shuler's biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Heath Shuler's voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Heath Shuler's campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Heath Shuler's campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Heath Shuler's biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Heath Shuler's issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• SourceWatch Congresspedia — Heath Shuler profile
• Heath Shuler for Congress, Campaign site
• North Carolina Democratic Party on Heath Shuler
• Career stats for Shuler
• Shuler's NFL.com page
• Heath Shuler's Blog.

Preceded by Andy Kelly	Tennessee Volunteers Starting Quarterbacks 1992–1993	Succeeded by Jerry Colquitt
Preceded by Mark Rypien (Cary Conklin, Rich Gannon)	Washington Redskins Starting Quarterbacks 1994	Succeeded by Gus Frerotte
Preceded by Charles H. Taylor	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's 11th congressional district 2007-01-03 – present	Incumbent

North Carolina's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators	Elizabeth Dole (R), Richard Burr (R)
Representative(s)	G. K. Butterfield (D), Bob Etheridge (D), Walter B. Jones (R), David Price (D), Virginia Foxx (R), Howard Coble (R), Mike McIntyre (D), Robin Hayes (R), Sue Myrick (R), Patrick McHenry (R), Heath Shuler (D), Mel Watt (D), Brad Miller (D)
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v • d • e Washington Redskins Quarterbacks

D. Archer • A. Arenz • T. Banks • S. Baugh • G. Beban • C. Bramlet • M. Brunell • R. Bukich • G. Cafego • J. Campbell • T. Collins • C. Conklin • E. Day • A. Dorow • F. Filchock • T. Flick • G. Frerotte • J. Friesz • R. Gannon • J. George • J. German • H. Gilmer • K. Graham • T. Green • R. Guglielmi • G. Hall • G. Hamdan • J. Hart • T. Hasselbeck • B. Holly • J. Hostetler • S. Humphries • T. Husak • G. Izo • J. Jacobs • B. Johnson • R. Johnson • S. Jurgensen • B. Kilmer • M. Kruczek • B. Laufenberg • E. LeBaron • S. Matthews • K. McQuilken • T. Mont • F. Mortensen • J. Ninowski • J. Palmer • R. Peete • P. Ramsey • M. Reynolds • T. Robinson • S. Rosenfels • E. Rubbert • J. Rutledge • F. Ryan • M. Rypien • E. Salem • J. Scarbath • J. Schroeder • N. Sebek • D. Shiner • H. Shuler • R. Smith • N. Snead • J. Theismann • H. Theofiledes • L. Weldon • D. Williams • D. Wuerffel • F. Wyant • J. Youel • R. Zimmerman

v • d • e Boston/Washington Redskins first-round draft picks

R. Smith • Baugh • Farkas • Hale • Boell • Evashevski • Sanders • Jenkins • Micka • Hardy • Rossi • Gilmer • Tew • Goode • G. Thomas • Heath • Isbell • Scarbath • Meilinger • Guglielmi • Vereb • Bosseler • Allard • Lucas • Snead • Rutgens • E. Davis • Richter • C. Taylor • Gogolak • R. McDonald • J. Smith • Monk • May • D. Green • B. Wilson • D. Howard • T. Carter • Shuler • Westbrook • A. Johnson • Lang • Bailey • Arrington • Samuels • Gardner • Ramsey • S. Taylor • C. Rogers • Campbell • Landry