Kevin McCarthy (California politician)

Kevin Owen McCarthy is an American politician from Bakersfield, California. He serves in the United States House of Representatives for Californias 23rd district, and as the House Majority Leader. A Republican, he was formerly chairman of the California Young Republicans and the Young Republican National Federation. McCarthy worked as district director for U.S. Representative Bill Thomas, and in 2000 was elected as a trustee to the Kern Community College District. He then served in the California State Assembly from 2002 to 2006, the last two years as minority leader. When Thomas retired from the House of Representatives in 2006, McCarthy ran to succeed him and won the election. The 23rd district, numbered as the 22nd District from 2007 to 2013, is based in Bakersfield and includes large sections of Kern and Tulare counties as well as part of the Quartz Hill neighborhood in northwest Los Angeles County.

McCarthy was born in Bakersfield, California, the son of Roberta , a homemaker, and Owen McCarthy, an assistant city fire chief. McCarthy is a fourthgeneration resident of Kern County. He is the first Republican in his immediate family, as his parents were members of the Democratic Party. At the age of 19, he opened his first business, a delicatessen, after winning five thousand dollars with a lottery ticket. He subsequently sold the deli to attend California State University, Bakersfield, where he obtained a B.S. in marketing in 1989 and an M.B.A. in 1994.

Source: Wikipedia