The Hill’s 2012 New Members Guide

Rep.-elect Denny Heck (D-Wash.-10)

DATE OF BIRTH: July 29, 1952

BIRTHPLACE: Vancouver, Wash.

RESIDENCE: Olympia, Wash.

OCCUPATION: Small-business owner

EDUCATION: B.A., Evergreen State College

PREVIOUS OFFICE HELD: Chief of staff to Washington Gov. Booth Gardner, 1989-1993; state representative, 1977-1985

FAMILY: Wife, Paula; two children

Denny Heck was elected to Congress after narrowly losing in 2010 to Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.).

This time, Heck greatly outspent his Republican challenger, Dick Muri, in the newly drawn Democratic-leaning district.

Heck said the election was about jobs and that he believed the government needed to do more to stimulate the economy. He touted his record as a small-business owner, saying that experience provided him with a unique perspective as a job creator.

Heck co-founded TVW, a local television channel similar to C-SPAN, to provide Washington state citizens greater accessibility to their state government. In the state legislature, he focused on education issues.