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Jim Evans
Jim Evans
Born	James Evans; 12 July 1948 (age 76); Springfield, Missouri, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Businessman, teacher
Years active	1970–present
Political party	Republican (2018-present); Democratic (before 2018)
Spouse	Teresa Posey
Website	Campaign website

Jim Evans (born July 12, 1948) is a candidate for the United States House of Representatives' 7th Congressional district in Missouri, having run in 2012 and again in 2014, as the Democratic nominee in both elections. He also challenged incumbent Representative Billy Long in the Republican Party primary in 2018.^[1]^[2]^[3] Evans is a retired American businessman, teacher, and U.S. Army veteran.

Biography

Evans was born in Republic, Missouri July 12, 1948, and later graduated from Republic High School in 1966. From 1970 to 1971, Evans served in the United States Army at Fort Sill, Oklahoma during the Vietnam War as a Pershing missile crewman.^[1] After leaving the Army, he went on to earn a bachelor's degree in education and a master's degree in mathematics from Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State University).^[4] Evans married Teresa D. Posey on January 10, 1972.

In addition to teaching junior high and high school math and computer science at Logan-Rogersville and Springfield public schools, Evans raised beef cattle for ten years and owned a real estate investment and property management business.^[4]

Electoral campaign history

2012 election

In the 2012 Missouri 7th district election, Evans, having run unopposed in the Democratic primary, lost the general election against Republican incumbent Billy Long, receiving 30.9% of votes.^[5] Despite the loss, Evans received 98,498 votes—more votes in the general election than any Democratic candidate for the 7th district U.S. House seat since 1992 and the third highest number of votes cast for a 7th district Democratic candidate for Congress in history.^[6]

2014 election

On March 20, 2014, Evans officially filed for candidacy in the Missouri 7th district congressional race.^[1]^[2] He narrowly defeated millennial candidate Genevieve Williams by a margin of 53.8% to 46.2% in the Democratic primary race on August 5.^[7] Williams subsequently endorsed Evans' candidacy, writing "I am repeating here what I have told Jim many times, he has my full support and I will do everything in my power to help him defeat Billy Long."^[8] Evans faced Republican incumbent Billy Long in the November 4th general election and lost by a margin of 63% to 29%, with the remaining 8% of votes going to Libertarian candidate Kevin Craig.

2018 election

Evans announced his candidacy on August 3, 2017.^[3] He will be challenging Benjamin Holcomb, Lance Norris, and incumbent Representative Billy Long in the Republican primary on August 7.

Political positions

Evans, an independent-minded candidate, described himself as an "Eisenhower Democrat" when announcing his candidacy for the 2014 congressional race, further stating:

I am not a conventional candidate. I'm a progressive conservative who believes we must build the future by honoring and learning from our past. I'm an old-school Republican with an Eisenhower-era ideology. I grew up during the postwar period of shared prosperity and public purpose. I believe America can benefit again from a renewal of the successful economic policies of the past."^[1]

Environmental activism

An advocate of minimizing human impact on the environment, Evans favors decreasing reliance on coal and petroleum as energy sources in favor of alternative means.^[4]

In 1976, he and his wife built their own energy efficient home outside of Republic, Missouri, complete with 160 square feet of solar thermal collectors on its roof which transfer heat to a 500-gallon tank for water heating. They later fitted the residence with an array of photovoltaic solar panels in 2010, which produce 128% of the home's energy needs.^[9]

Electoral history

United States House of Representatives elections, 2012 Missouri 7th^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Billy Long (incumbent)	203,565	63.87	+0.48
	Democratic	Jim Evans	98,498	30.90	+0.52
	Libertarian	Kevin Craig	16,668	5.23	−1.00
	Write-in	Kenneth Joe Brown	9	0.00
Total votes			318,740	100.0
Majority
Turnout			318,740	51.27	+15.49
	Republican hold		Swing

Missouri's 7th district Democratic primary, August 5, 2014^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Evans	8,671	53.76
	Democratic	Genevieve Williams	7,457	46.24
Total votes			16,128	100.00

United States House of Representatives elections, 2014 Missouri 7th^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Billy Long (incumbent)	104,054	63.46	−0.41
	Democratic	Jim Evans	47,282	28.84	−2.06
	Libertarian	Kevin Craig	12,584	7.68	+2.45
	Write-Ins		37	0.02
Total votes			163,957	100
Majority
Turnout			163,957	26.37	−24.91
	Republican hold		Swing

Missouri's 7th district Republican primary, August 7, 2018^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Billy Long	68,438	65.10
	Republican	Jim Evans	18,383	17.49
	Republican	Lance Norris	10,884	10.35
	Republican	Darrell Moore	7,416	7.06
Total votes			105,121	100.00