The following candidates have won congressional primaries this year in districts where their party is largely in control. These party nominees almost certainly will win election in November and become House Members in the 116^th Congress, which will convene in January 2019. Additional names will be added to the list following primaries in other states, which will extend until September. These bios are an initial version of the profiles that will appear in the 2020 Almanac of American Politics, which will be published by Columbia Books.

Colorado-2: Joe Neguse won the June 26 Democratic primary with 66 percent of the vote for the Boulder and Fort Collins-area seat of Rep. Jared Polis, who is the Democratic nominee for governor. Neguse is the son of refugees from the African nation of Eritrea, and would be the first African-American from Colorado to serve in Congress. He defeated Mark Williams, a former Air Force pilot who later became a tech-industry executive.

Neguse took liberal views on issues such as single-payer health care and environmental protections. An outspoken critic of President Donald Trump and his immigration policies, Neguse cited his parents’ experiences in seeking asylum in the United States from their war-torn nation. He had a huge fundraising advantage over Williams and was supported in the congressional primary by many Democratic leaders, including former Vice President Joseph Biden and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, and by the liberal-advocacy group Democracy for America. Williams embraced “citizen” campaigns and criticized Neguse’s experience from “the world of old politics.”*

Mississippi-3: Michael Guest won 65 percent of the vote in the June 26 Republican run-off for the Jackson-area and south-central Mississippi seat. He will replace Republican Rep. Gregg Harper, the House Administration Committee chairman, who is retiring. Although he was forced to a second run of voting, Guest had a relatively easy ride, with a two-to-one lead over businessman Whit Hughes in the first round of voting. Guest, a veteran local official, was widely supported by Mississippi’s Republican establishment, including Gov. Phil Bryant.

During the campaign, he voiced support for President Donald Trump and said that his top priority was improved border enforcement, including the construction of a wall to reduce illegal immigration and drugs. “Guest and Hughes did little to differentiate from each other on policy issues during the campaign,” Mississippi Today reported. As a prominent official in the urban core of the district, Guest was better-known than Hughes, whose private-sector work has been in economic development.*

New York-14: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was the unexpected winner with 57 percent of the vote in the June 26 primary for the district, which includes many Hispanic neighborhoods in Bronx and Queens. She defeated 10-term Rep. Joe Crowley, who chairs the Queens Democratic Party and has chaired the House Democratic Caucus; he had become a potential successor to the party’s top leaders in the House. Ocasio-Cortez identified herself as more closely connected to the local communities and ran an active social-media campaign.

Crowley, who out-spent his opponent by more than 10-to-1, made limited campaign appearances and was surprised by the outcome of the contest. Crowley, who faced his first primary since 2004, was the first House Democrat from New York to lose a primary since 1992. He agreed to support Ocasio-Cortez in the November election and offered praise, with an election-night rendition of Bruce Springsteeen’s “Born to Run.” In her low-profile campaign, she was backed by progressive groups advocating change in Congress. Following her victory, Ocasio-Cortez offered support to other Democratic candidates who are advocates of change.*

New York-25: Joe Morelle won the Democratic primary on June 26 for the Rochester-area seat of 16-term Rep. Louise Slaughter, who died in March. Morelle got 45 percent of the vote against three opponents, who split support from progressive groups. As a 28-year veteran of the state Assembly, where he has served as Majority Leader since 2013, Morelle’s lengthy political experience is unusual among next January’s likely Democratic newcomers to Congress.

In its endorsement of Morelle, the Rochester City Newspaper cited “his long experience in local and state politics and his political connections and influence,” which would make him “an effective member of Congress.” With the support of the Monroe County Democratic Committee in the abbreviated campaign following Slaughter’s death, he was criticized by his opponents as a political insider. “We need different experiences,” Rachel Barnhart, a citizen activist who had been a local television reporter, said during a candidate debate. She finished second in the primary, with 20 percent of the vote. During the campaign, Morelle backed Medicare for All legislation, which has been supported by liberal groups.*

South Carolina-4: William Timmons won the Republican run-off on June 26 with 54 percent of the vote in the Upstate district that covers the Greenville-Spartanburg area. He will replace retiring Rep. Trey Gowdy, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Former State Sen. Lee Bright led the initial contest two weeks earlier with 25 percent in the 13-candidate field to 19 percent for Timmons. But Timmons prevailed in the final showdown between competing wings of the GOP, in which he and his allies attacked Bright as out of the political mainstream.

Timmons, 34, graduated from George Washington University and got his Master’s and law degrees from the University of South Carolina. He worked in the state prosecutor’s office and later created his own small businesses in the Greenville area. He was elected to the state senate in 2016. In the congressional primary, Timmons was endorsed by Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida; Bright had the support of Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.*

*These profiles were prepared with the assistance of biographical and campaign information from Ballotpedia, the Encyclopedia of American Politics.

The following candidates from New Jersey, North Dakota, South Dakota, Virginia and New Mexico have won congressional primaries this year in districts where their party is largely in control. These party nominees almost certainly will win election in November and become House Members in the 116^th Congress, which will convene in January 2019. Additional names will be added to the list following primaries in other states, which will extend until September. These bios are an initial version of the profiles that will appear in the 2020 Almanac of American Politics, which will be published by Columbia Books.

New Jersey-2

Jeff Van Drew won the Democratic nomination on June 5 with 55 percent of the vote against three more liberal candidates who split the remaining vote. A veteran state senator, he is the strong favorite to replace Republican Rep. Frank LoBiondo, who is retiring after 12 terms in the district that extends from the Philadelphia suburbs to Atlantic City. Despite his conservative views on issues such as gay rights and gun control, Van Drew was endorsed by local and national party leaders as the most likely Democrat to flip control of the seat.

In the primary, liberal interest groups and his opponents criticized his relatively moderate viewpoints and bipartisan approach. “We’re just too divided,” Van Drew told voters. He benefited from superior fundraising and the backing of Democratic leaders across the district who described him as “the strongest candidate.” He has voiced conventional Democratic views on most economic issues.*

New Mexico-1

Debra Haaland won the June 5 Democratic primary with 41 percent of the vote in the Albuquerque-based seat of Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who is the Democratic nominee for governor in November. Damon Martinez, a former congressional aide and the local U.S. Attorney for two years during the Obama Administration, was runner-up with 26 percent in the six-candidate contest. Haaland, a tribal activist, would be the first Native American woman elected to Congress.

During her campaign, Haaland ran on a liberal agenda and was endorsed by labor unions and women’s groups. She has been an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, especially on immigration issues; she cited her own family’s unhappy experience with government-forced family separation programs. “Congress has never heard a voice like mine,” she told The Albuquerque Journal, citing her experience as a single mother who struggled through poverty to get her education. Haaland said that her top priorities included expansion of renewable energy and opposition to oil-company drilling on tribal lands, especially in her home state.*

North Dakota-1

Kelly Armstrong won the Republican primary for North Dakota’s at-large District. He got 56 percent of the vote against three other candidates and is well-positioned to replace Rep. Kevin Cramer, who is the Republican nominee to oppose Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp in November. Armstrong, a state senator and former chairman of the North Dakota Republican Party, has been a close ally of the state’s governor, Doug Burgum.

Cramer’s decision in February to seek the Senate seat left a relatively brief campaign for the House primary. Armstrong took a major step when he was endorsed by state Republicans at their convention on April 7. State Sen. Tom Campbell was the distant runner-up at the convention and in the primary, though he suspended his campaign following the convention. Armstrong has criticized President Donald Trump’s moves toward a trade war with China, and said that it would harm North Dakota’s soybean exports. Otherwise, he has largely supported Trump’s policies to reduce taxes and regulations. *

South Dakota-1

Dusty Johnson comfortably won the June 5 Republican primary for South Dakota’s at-large House seat, with 47 percent of the vote. Secretary of State Shantel Krebs finished second with 29 percent. Johnson’s campaign took a relatively pragmatic approach, in which he emphasized his own experience as a veteran public official—both in elected and appointed office. Compared to most other Republican congressional candidates this year, in his home state and elsewhere, Johnson has kept some distance from President Donald Trump, especially his rhetoric.

During his campaign, Johnson voiced concerns about the mounting federal deficit plus the “general dysfunction” in Washington, and supported changes in how Congress handles the budget. He cautioned that Trump’s international trade policies could cause problems for South Dakota’s producers. The Sioux Falls Argus-Leader endorsed him as “a mature and moderate Republican voice,” with “a consistency in his ideals and demeanor.” *

Virginia-6

Ben Cline became the Republican nominee after he won the May 19 convention of 6th District Republicans, which virtually assured him of election in the Shenandoah Valley area of western Virginia. Cline has served eight terms in the state House of Delegates, where he has been a conservative leader. Having served as chief of staff to Rep. Bob Goodlatte, the House Judiciary Committee chairman who is retiring from Congress, Cline is in line to become his successor.

A graduate of Bates College and the University of Richmond Law School, Cline, 46, was an assistant prosecutor in Rockingham County. He worked for Goodlatte for eight years following college. He was first elected in 2002 to the state House, where he has chaired the Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee; his successful legislative initiatives include a limitation on the use of unmanned drone aircraft by state and local law enforcement agencies. He also has been the House chairman of the Conservative Caucus. In addition to practicing law, he has been an advisor on rural services to internet and high-tech companies in his private life.*

*These profiles were prepared with the assistance of biographical and campaign information from the Ballotpedia website.

On Monday, May 7^th, Equifax submitted Equifax’s Statement for the Record Regarding the Extent of the Cybersecurity Incident Announced on September 7^th, 2017 to the Securities and Exchange Commission. They divulged that names, social security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and some drivers license numbers, were all publicly exposed impacting almost 150 million people during their consumer data breach last year. This enormous attack is not the first, nor the biggest data theft we’ve seen in the 21^st century, and unfortunately, it will not be the last. Companies such as Yahoo, eBay, and Target have all been victims of cybersecurity attacks within the last 5 years. Leaving many of us to wonder, if billion-dollar organizations who can pay for the best security in the world, are not safe, who is?

Two types of cybersecurity attacks being seen at the corporate level are phishing and ransomware. Phishing is the practice of trying to obtain personal information using false or deceptive emails and websites. Ransomware is a type of malicious software that, upon gaining access and taking over your computer, threatens you, usually by denying access to your own data. The attacker will then demand a ransom from the victim to restore access once payment is received.

Knowbe4, a security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, sponsored an Osterman Research White Paper in September of 2016, titled, Best Practices for Dealing with Phishing and Ransomware. Within this paper, findings show that not only are phishing and ransomware getting worse but “for many organizations, key security solutions are either not improving over time or their performance is actually deteriorating.”

In a research study done by ASAE in partnership with SCIPP, titled Association Data Breach Preparedness, they set out “to explore how associations are preparing for cyber attacks, and to describe the processes and actions that can help them improve their defenses.” In their conclusions, they found that CEO’s and CIO’s consider an attack virtually inevitable. Their studies also found “that many associations do not have sufficient security in place, and may not have a plan to effectively manage a future breach.” Many association leaders claimed they found the process of improving security “daunting, preventing them from actively taking these steps.”

In Knowbe4’s white paper they assure that “There are a variety of best practices that organizations should follow in order to minimize their potential for becoming victims of phishing and ransomware.” And many of them are simple, easily obtainable, and something that every association can implement.

First and foremost, associations need to understand the risks they face. “Decision makers must understand that they face threats across all of their communication and collaboration systems.” Being knowledgeable on these issues will assist in leading to cyber-attack prevention and minimizing security risks. They also signify the importance of developing detailed policies when it comes to email, website, social media and other digital tools and keeping all systems up to date. Make sure your organizations have backups on all data. Not only is this good business practice, but it creates a safety net when recovering from a ransomware attack, for a quick bounce back. A large focus for organizations should be user behavior and implementing best practices. This includes enforcing strong passwords, applying robust security awareness training, maintaining anti-malware defenses, and making sure there are policies in place for when sensitive information needs to be transferred or communicated.

Knowbe4’s white paper makes it very clear, “phishing and ransomware are very serious threats that can cause enormous damage to an organization’s finances, data assets, and reputation.” However, associations don’t need to sit back and wait. There are actions that can be taken to reduce the chances of an attack and alleviate the effects of one.

Visit https://info.knowbe4.com/whitepaper-osterman-bp-phishing-16 to download Knowbe4’s white paper in its entirety. You can also visit their resources page at https://www.knowbe4.com/resources for a wide range of free tools, white papers, and more.

The following candidates have won congressional primaries this year in districts where their party is largely in control. These party nominees almost certainly will win election in November and become House Members in the 116^th Congress, which will convene in January 2019. Additional names will be added to the list following primaries in other states, which will extend until September. These bios are an initial version of the profiles that will appear in the 2020 Almanac of American Politics, which will be published by Columbia Books.

Texas-2

Dan Crenshaw, a political newcomer, won the May 22 Republican runoff for the suburban Houston district of retiring Republican Rep. Ted Poe, with an unexpectedly strong 70 percent of the vote. Crenshaw, a retired Navy lieutenant commander who served as a Navy Seal for 10 years, lost his right eye to an explosive blast that nearly killed him while deployed in Afghanistan in 2012; he wears a distinctive eye patch. He defeated Kevin Roberts, a one-term state representative who was endorsed by the Texas Association of Business.

In his campaign, Crenshaw ran as an outsider who emphasized the importance of “service before self.” He appealed to young voters, including the need for long-term steps to preserve Social Security. Crenshaw received a late campaign boost from former Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who criticized a negative campaign mailing from the Roberts camp. Following his victory in the runoff, the Houston Chronicle wrote that Crenshaw “became a potential star on the national stage because of his war-hero story and a charisma that is drawing younger voters.”

Crenshaw, 34, is a native of Houston, where his father worked in the oil business and traveled around the world. He graduated from Tufts University, where he joined the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, and received a Master’s in Public Administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government following his military retirement. In the first round of voting in March, he finished second by a scant 155 votes ahead of Republican donor Kathleen Wall, who spent $6 million of her own funds.*

Texas-5

Lance Gooden won the Republican run-off with 53 percent of the vote on May 22 in the district that covers Mesquite and other suburbs east of Dallas. He started as the underdog to Bunni Pounds, a GOP political consultant who had been the campaign manager for Rep. Jeb Hensarling, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, who is retiring after serving eight terms in this district. With support from the Club for Growth and other national conservative groups, Pounds had the early fundraising lead in the campaign.

Gooden, who was endorsed by many local officials from the rural parts of the district, emphasized his support for “traditional values” of those rural communities. He contrasted the “establishment” support for his opponent from insiders, including Vice President Mike Pence, with “no connection to our district.”

The 35-year-old Gooden got Bachelor’s degrees in government and business administration from the University of Texas, and has worked as an insurance broker and consultant for energy companies. Gooden, who has served three terms in the Texas state House, was endorsed in the runoff by the Dallas News, which cited his “strong legislative experience,” in contrast to the lack of legislative background by the “doctrinaire” Pounds. The editorial cited Gooden’s passage of a bill that stopped municipalities from annexing rural land into their city limits without an election. He has been an ally of Texas Speaker Joe Straus, whose emphasis on coalition-building has led to internal Republican conflicts.*

Texas-6

Ron Wright won the Republican nomination in the May 22 run-off for the Arlington-based district that retiring Rep. Joe Barton has represented for 17 terms. As a long-time top aide to Barton, Wright was his “heir apparent,” though Barton did not endorse in the contest after a nude photo of him appeared on social media and led to his decision not to seek reelection. With only 52 percent of the vote, Wright struggled against Jake Ellzey, a former Navy fighter pilot who became an aide to President George W. Bush and lost a 2014 bid for the Texas House.

Wright is a native of Tarrant County and graduated from the University of Texas in Arlington. Following a lengthy career in the private sector, he spent more than a decade as district director and then chief of staff to Barton. As a member of the Arlington City Council, he served as mayor pro tempore. He was appointed as Tarrant County tax assessor-collector and later was elected to two terms in that position.

Wright ran on his conservative credentials, including support from the Club for Growth. Although he did not disavow Barton, he emphasized his own experience in local office and distanced himself from Barton by voicing hardline opposition to rights for illegal immigrants. The district’s population is more than 40 percent African-American and Hispanic. In the March 6 primary, he led Ellzey, 45%-22%. In an editorial, the Dallas News recommended Ellzay and criticized Wright’s plan to join the conservative House Freedom Caucus if he is elected.*

Texas-21

Chip Roy, a veteran congressional aide and political insider who was supported by leading local Republicans plus national conservative groups, took an unexpectedly narrow 53%-47% victory in the May 22 run-off for the district that ranges from the suburbs of Austin to the suburbs of San Antonio. He will succeed retiring Rep. Lamar Smith, who has chaired four House committees during his 32-year House career. Roy defeated Matt McCall, a local businessman who ran a low-profile contest and had taken about one-third of the vote against Smith in the two most recent GOP primaries in the district.

“For years, Roy has operated behind the scenes on behalf of top Texas GOP officeholders,” according to the Austin American-Statesman. “Now he’s trying to make a name for himself as a politician in his own right.” Roy, 45, who has served as a top aide to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and former Gov. Rick Perry among others, got his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Virginia and a law degree from the University of Texas. He served as a federal prosecutor with then-U.S. Attorney John Cornyn, became a senior aide when Cornyn became a Senator and later was a top official for the Texas Attorney General. In the private sector, Roy has been an investment banking analyst and top officer of the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation.

In the GOP campaign, the Texas Tribune reported, McCall criticized Roy “as an outsider in the district who is leaning hard on his political connections to get him across the finish line.” Roy emphasized his experience in fighting for conservative principles.*

Texas-27

Michael Cloud, a local Republican activist who has not previously held public office, won the May 22 runoff with 61 percent of the vote in the district that sprawls from Corpus Christi to Victoria and the outskirts of Austin. The seat was vacated in April by Republican Rep. Blake Farenthold, who was the target of ethics violations by an aide. Cloud will have an opportunity to get an early start in Congress with a special election that has been scheduled for June 30 to fill the remainder of Farenthold’s term; if no candidate receives a majority of that total vote, a runoff likely will be held in September.

Cloud, 42, graduated from Oral Roberts University and owns the Bright Idea Media business. He has been the communications director of the Faith Family Church in Victoria and served seven years as chairman of the Victoria County Republican Party. Cloud ran as an outsider against “career politicians.” He said “Congress is broken” and fails to serve the public’s interests.

He won the May 22 runoff against Bech Bruun, who has held several senior positions in Texas government, including chairman of the Water Development Board. Cloud had trailed Bruun, 36%-34%, the early frontrunner among the six GOP candidates in the March primary. Cloud benefited from the support of the conservative Club for Growth and House Freedom Caucus, plus former Rep. Ron Paul, who served many years in an earlier version of the district; Bruun was endorsed by the Texas Association of Business.*

*These profiles were prepared with the assistance of biographical and campaign information from the Ballotpedia website.