|
Joseph Richard Skeen (June 30, 1927 - December 7, 2003) was a politician from the state of New Mexico who served in the United States House of Representatives for 11 terms.
Skeen was born in Roswell, New Mexico and he graduated from Texas A&M University. He was elected to the New Mexico state senate as a Republican in 1960. He ran for lieutenant governor in 1970, losing narrowly. Skeen lost two close races for governor in 1974 and 1978.
Democratic Congressman Harold Runnels died in 1980 and Governor Bruce King's nephew was selected to replace him. Skeen entered the race as a write-in candidate, defeating King and Runnels' widow (who was also running a write-in campaign). Skeen was only the third person in U.S. history to be elected to Congress as a write-in candidate. As a Congressman, Skeen had a largely conservative voting record but also brought numerous projects to his district. In contrast to most Congressmen, Skeen faced several competitive races for reelection. He announced in 1997 that he had Parkinson's disease. Skeen announced his retirement from Congress in 2002 and left at the end of his 11th term in 2003, dying later that year.
|
