Joe Skeen

Joseph Richard " Joe" Skeen (* June 30, 1927 in Roswell, New Mexico; † December 7, 2003 ) was an American politician. Between 1980 and 2003 he represented the second electoral district of the state of New Mexico in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Early years

Even in his youth, Joe Skeen moved with his parents to Seattle. There he attended until 1944 O'Dea High School. In the last year of the Second World War he was a soldier in the U.S. Navy. He then continued his education with a degree from Texas A & M University. Later he managed a ranch.

Political career

Joe Skeen was a member of the Republican Party. Between 1962 and 1965 he was chairman of the party in New Mexico from 1960 to 1970 he was a member of the State Senate. In 1964 he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention. In 1970 he ran unsuccessfully for the office of Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico. In the years 1974 and 1978 he was beaten just under in the gubernatorial elections.

After the death of Harold L. Runnels Skeen was elected as his successor in the U.S. House of Representatives. Between 1980 and 2000 he was confirmed in the congressional elections each in his office. In 1997, Skeen announced that he was suffering from Parkinson 's disease. For this reason, he renounced in the elections of 2002 to another candidacy. His tenure in Congress ended on 3 January 2003. His seat fell thereafter to Steve Pearce. Joe Skeen died eleven months after the end of his political activity in his birthplace of Roswell.