Shipbuilding champion Gene Taylor loses re-election bid

U.S. shipbuilders are losing a staunch Congressional ally. After 11 terms in the House, Rep. Gene Taylor has lost his bid to be re-elected to the Mississippi District 4 seat.

Republican Steven Palazzo defeated Taylor, a conservative Democrat, by 52 percent to 47 percent in unofficial results Tuesday night, the Sun Herald reported this morning.

Taylor lost his seat as part of a national trend that saw Democrats lose control of the House. His eleven terms brought with a seniority that placed him well to defend shipbuilding interests as Chairman of the key Seapower and Expeditionary Forces Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee. He is also Co-Chairman of the Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus.