| Robert Rucho | |
| Office: | Member of the North Carolina Senate |
| Term Start: | June 9, 2008 |
| Term End: | January 1, 2017 |
| Preceded: | Robert Pittenger |
| Succeeded: | Dan Bishop |
| Constituency: | 39th district |
| Term Start1: | January 1, 1997 |
| Term End1: | January 1, 2005 |
| Preceded1: | Jerry Blackmon |
| Succeeded1: | Robert Pittenger |
| Constituency1: | 35th district (1997–2003) 39th district (2003–2005) |
| Party: | Republican |
| Birth Name: | Robert Anthony Rucho |
| Birth Date: | 8 December 1948 |
| Birth Place: | Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Alma Mater: | Northeastern University University of North Carolina at Charlotte |
| Residence: | Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Occupation: | Dentist |
Robert Anthony Rucho (born December 8, 1948), a dentist from Matthews, North Carolina, is a former Republican member of the North Carolina General Assembly representing the state's thirty-ninth Senate district, including parts of Mecklenburg County.[1]
Rucho served as co-chairman of the Senate Finance Committee until his abrupt resignation in June 2013 in a dispute with Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger over tax reform policy.[2] Berger never accepted the resignation and the next month, Rucho resumed his chairmanship.[3]
Rucho gained much criticism, including from within his own party, after he tweeted "Justice Robert's pen & Obamacare has done more damage to the USA then [sic] the swords of the Nazis, Soviets & terrorists combined" on December 15, 2013.[4] [5]
Rucho notably was named as the defendant in the 2019 Supreme Court case Rucho v. Common Cause, which involved redistricting and partisan gerrymandering. Though Rucho had already departed the state legislature by the time the case made its way up to the Supreme Court, he had previously been the chair of the committee in the state senate responsible for redrawing North Carolina's congressional districts, which drew a map heavily favoring Republicans under his leadership.
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