Robert Cannon "Robin" Hayes (born August 14, 1945) is a Republican Congressman from North Carolina. He has represented North Carolina's 8th congressional district in the House of Representatives since 1999. The district stretches from Charlotte to Fayetteville. His parents were Robert Griffith Hayes, Jr. (October 21, 1907 - November 12, 1998) and Mariam Winslow Cannon (January 22, 1916 - August 4, 2007), daughter of textile magnate Charles Albert Cannon (November 29, 1892 - April 2, 1971) and his wife Ruth Louise Coltrane (October 15, 1891 - December 22, 1965).

Hayes was born in Concord, North Carolina and still owns a hosiery mill in Mount Pleasant, North Carolina. He is one of the wealthiest members of the congress. He is a graduate of Duke University. He was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1992 and served two terms. Hayes was the Republican nominee for governor in 1996, but was heavily defeated by Democratic incumbent Jim Hunt. Two years later, Hayes was elected to represent North Carolina's Eighth District, succeeding 24-year incumbent Democrat Bill Hefner.

Hayes has been a perennial member on the list of Republican congressmen targeted for defeat by the Democrats. Even though a large chunk of its population is located in the conservative-leaning eastern suburbs of Charlotte, the 8th has long been considered marginally Democratic. After the 2000 Census, the Democratic-controlled North Carolina General Assembly made the 8th considerably more Democratic than before. It shifted the more conservative western portion of Union County to the Charlotte-based 9th District, and in turn added a heavily Democratic tendril in Mecklenburg County to the district. Still, Hayes was reelected convincingly in 2002 and 2004.

In 2006, however, Hayes was nearly defeated by Democrat Larry Kissell, a social studies teacher from Montgomery County. Both men won approximately 50% of the vote, making it one of the closest elections in the country. In the end, Kissell conceded defeat to Hayes after a recount; Hayes officially won the election by 329 votes. Although Hayes only won three of the district's nine counties, a 6,100-vote margin in his native Cabarrus County was enough to keep him in office. Kissell has already announced his intention to challenge Hayes again in 2008.

Committee assignments

• Agriculture Committee
• Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research
• Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry (Ranking Member)
• Subcommittee on Specialty Crops, Rural Development and Foreign Agriculture
• Armed Services Committee
• Readiness Subcommittee
• Terrorism and Unconventional Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee
• Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
• Subcommittee on Aviation
• Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
• Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment
• Assistant Whip
• Founding Co-Chairman of the Special Operations Forces Caucus
• Co-Chairman of the Philanthropy Caucus

CAFTA and Trade Act controversy

Rep. Hayes has drawn heavy criticism for voting in favor of the Central American Free Trade Agreement. Hayes had earlier voiced his strong opposition to the measure, saying he felt it would cause further loss of textile industry jobs in his district. In the weeks before the vote, Hayes stated that he was "flat-out, completely, horizontally opposed to CAFTA," saying that "it's not in the best interests of the core constituency I represent," and that "there is no way I could vote for CAFTA". Hayes first voted "no" but was pressured at the last minute to change his vote by prominent House Republicans. The final tally was 217-215 with Hayes casting the deciding "yes" vote (a tie would have defeated the motion).

Hayes played a similar role in the passage of the Trade Act of 2002, which shifted some trade agreement authority from Congress to the President. Though Hayes had said "We're a definite 'no' until we get some help on textiles," he was lobbied hard by the White House and congressional leadership to vote for the measure. Hayes waited until the last minute before voting "yes," and broke down in tears on the floor of the House. Hayes' behavior on trade votes is an excellent example of catch and release in action.

Iraq comments

In December 2006, Hayes provoked controversy with the following statement: “Stability in Iraq ultimately depends on spreading the message of Jesus Christ, the message of peace on earth, good will towards men. Everything depends on everyone learning about the birth of the Savior.”

NASCAR vaccine scare

In October of 2007, NASCAR fans in Charlotte [were shocked] to find out that House Homeland Security officials were "advised" to take vaccines before attending races in North Carolina. Hayes, "took umbrage" when he heard about it and immediately defended the Lowe's Motor Speedway in his district and NASCAR fans nationwide. The uproar lasted for days and was covered on all major news outlets.

References

External links

• Congressman Robin Hayes official U.S. House site
• Robin Hayes for Congress official campaign site

• Profile at SourceWatch Congresspedia
• Robin Hayes says we will win in Iraq by spreading Christianity BlueNC, December 20, 2006
• A Christian Iraq? The GOP Gets it Wrong Again OpEdNews, December 29, 2006
• Sourcewatch - Robin Hayes