John Kennedy (Louisiana politician)

John Kennedy
Official portrait, 2017
United States Senator
from Louisiana
Assumed office
January 3, 2017
Serving with Bill Cassidy
Preceded byDavid Vitter
Treasurer of Louisiana
In office
January 10, 2000 – January 3, 2017
GovernorMike Foster
Kathleen Blanco
Bobby Jindal
John Bel Edwards
Preceded byKen Duncan
Succeeded byJohn Schroder
Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Revenue
In office
January 8, 1996 – April 30, 1999
GovernorMike Foster
Succeeded byBrett Crawford
Personal details
Born
John Neely Kennedy

(1951-11-21) November 21, 1951 (age 72)
Centreville, Mississippi, U.S.
Political partyRepublican (since 2007)
Other political
affiliations
Democratic (before 2007)
Spouse
Rebecca Stulb
(m. 1990)
Children1
EducationVanderbilt University (BA)
University of Virginia (JD)
Magdalen College, Oxford (BCL)
WebsiteSenate website

John Neely Kennedy (born November 21, 1951) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Louisiana since 2017. A Republican, he served as the Louisiana State Treasurer from 2000 to 2017, as Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Revenue from 1996 to 1999,[1] and as special counsel and then cabinet member to Governor Buddy Roemer from 1988 to 1992.[1]

Born in Centreville, Mississippi, Kennedy graduated from Vanderbilt University and the University of Virginia School of Law before attending Oxford University. In 1988, Governor Buddy Roemer selected Kennedy to serve as special legal counsel and later appointed him Secretary of the Cabinet.[2] He left Roemer's staff in 1991 to unsuccessfully run for state attorney general as a Democrat. In 1999, he was elected state treasurer; he was reelected to that position in 2003, 2007, 2011, and 2015. Kennedy was an unsuccessful candidate for U.S. Senate in 2004 and 2008. In 2007, he switched parties and became a Republican.

In 2016, when U.S. Senator David Vitter opted not to seek reelection, Kennedy ran for Senate again. He finished first in the November nonpartisan blanket primary and defeated Democrat Foster Campbell 61%–39% in the December runoff. He was sworn in on January 3, 2017. Kennedy was one of six Republican senators to object to the certification of Arizona's electors in the 2020 presidential election. In 2022, Kennedy was reelected to the U.S. Senate,[3] defeating 12 opponents with 62% of the vote in the first round.[4] Kennedy won every parish except Orleans Parish in his 2022 reelection.[5]

  1. ^ a b Bridges, Tyler. "John Kennedy says he is seriously considering race for governor, releases poll". NOLA.com. Archived from the original on August 10, 2023. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  2. ^ Deslatte, Melinda. "Louisiana governor's race surprise: Sen. Kennedy won't run". Houma Today. Archived from the original on August 10, 2023. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  3. ^ "Sen. John Kennedy launches 2022 re-election bid: 'I will not let you down. I'd rather drink weed killer.'". foxnews.com. June 2021. Archived from the original on August 21, 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
  4. ^ "Louisiana Secretary of State Official Results Tues Nov 8 2022". Louisiana Secretary of State. November 9, 2022. Archived from the original on May 18, 2019. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  5. ^ "John Kennedy (R) won the race for Louisiana Senate". Politico. Retrieved August 25, 2023.

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