Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence House Select Committee on the Events Surrounding the 2012 Terrorist Attack in Benghazi Republican Study Committee Tea Party Caucus Controversy On September 4, 2008, Westmoreland described Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and his wife Michelle as "uppity", a pejorative historically used to describe African-Americans who have made economic, social, or political progress. Westmoreland said to reporters, "Just from what little I've seen of her and Mr. Obama, Senator Obama, they're a member of an elitist-class individual that thinks that they're uppity." When asked to confirm his use of the word, Westmoreland answered, "Uppity, yeah." The ensuing media attention compelled Westmoreland to issue the following statement: "I've never heard that term used in a racially derogatory sense. It is important to note that the dictionary definition of 'uppity' is 'affecting an air of inflated self-esteem—snobbish.' That's what we meant by uppity when we used it in the mill village where I grew up." During the national debate in 2015 over the future of the Confederate flag some Republicans proposed a moderate amendment to allow Confederate symbols at national cemeteries. Representative Lynn Westmoreland distinguished between racism and a memorial, When Westmoreland was asked if he understood Representative John Lewis' perspective, he responded, "I guess the question is, 'Does he understand where I'm coming from?'" Political campaigns Westmoreland won a plurality of votes in the Republican primary election in 2004, but faced fellow Republican Dylan Glenn in a runoff. Westmoreland received 55.5% of the vote in the runoff. The district was so heavily Republican that Westmoreland's primary victory was tantamount to election in November. He routed his Democratic opponent, businesswoman Silvia Delamar, with almost 76% of the vote. The district was renumbered as the 3rd in 2006 and made even more Republican than its predecessor. Westmoreland was reelected five more times from this district with no substantive opposition. Later career Westmoreland is an appointed member of the Office of Congressional Ethics, a nonpartisan, independent committee charged with overseeing outside ethics complaints against members of Congress. Personal life He resides in Grantville, Georgia, with his wife, Joan; they have three children and nine grandchildren. His daughter, Marcy Sakrison, ran unsuccessfully in the 2019 special election for a seat the Georgia House of Representatives. References External links |- |- |- |- |- 1950 births 21st-century American politicians Living people Republican Party members of the Georgia