Ellmers, Renee, 1964-

<p>A registered nurse who won a seat in Congress in 2010 on the promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Renee Ellmers was part of a large freshman class that catapulted the Republican Party into the House majority. In her three terms, Ellmers worked to overturn regulations on community doctors and regional insurers from her seat as chair of the Healthcare and Technology Subcommittee of the Small Business Committee. She became an ally of Republican leadership and took risks supporting legislation that her most conservative constituents often opposed. “I’m an effective member of Congress that uses common sense and cares about my constituents,” she said late in her House career. “It’s not an issue of conservatism to me. I use my conservatism as a tool for good policy to fix problems in Washington.”</p>

<p>Renee Ellmers was born Renee Jacisin on February 9, 1964, in the town of Ironwood, Michigan, to Leroy Francis and Caroline Pauline Jacisin. When her father took a job in the auto industry, the family moved from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to suburban Detroit. She graduated from Madison High School, just a short drive from downtown. After high school, Ellmers was hired as a medical assistant, and she used her wages to pay tuition at nearby Oakland University. She graduated with a BS in nursing in 1990. She, her husband, Brent Ellmers—a surgeon she met while working at Beaumont Hospital in Detroit—and their son, Ben, moved to North Carolina in 1998 following a visit to see relatives near Raleigh.</p>

<p>After opening and operating a medical practice with her husband in Dunn, North Carolina, Ellmers became involved with her town: first with the local chamber of commerce where she helped direct its community development agenda and then with the Dunn planning board where she served from 2006 to 2011, including a stint as chairwoman from 2008 to 2009.</p>

<p>Renee Jacisin Ellmers (born February 9, 1964) is an American politician who was the U.S. Representative for North Carolina's 2nd congressional district from 2011 to 2017. She is a member of the Republican Party. Ellmers defeated seven-term Democratic incumbent Bob Etheridge in 2010 by 1,489 votes, confirmed after a recount. In the 2016 Republican primary, Ellmers was defeated by fellow Congressman George Holding.</p>

<p>Ellmers was born Renee Jacisin in Ironwood, Michigan, the daughter of Caroline Pauline (née Marshalek) and LeRoy Francis Jacisin. Her father was of Czech and French-Canadian descent and her mother was of Croatian and Polish ancestry. She moved to Madison Heights as a child, when her father got a job in the automobile industry. She graduated from Madison High School. Ellmers paid her way through Oakland University by working various jobs, training as a medical assistant. In 1990, she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Ellmers worked as a nurse in Beaumont Hospital's surgical intensive care unit. In North Carolina, she was clinical director of the Trinity Wound Care Center in Dunn.</p>

<p>Ellmers became involved in politics after the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which she opposed. She became involved in local Republican politics and joined Americans for Prosperity, a free-market political advocacy group. She sought the Republican Party nomination for Congress in North Carolina's 2nd congressional district, which was then held by seven-term incumbent Bob Etheridge. She faced car dealer Todd Gailas and retired businessman Frank Deatrich in the May 4, 2010 Republican primary. She raised and spent more money than her opponents. She won the Republican primary with 55% of the vote, winning every county in the district except Franklin.</p>