Chris John

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Christopher John
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana's 7th district
In office 1997–2005
Preceded by	Jimmy Hayes
Succeeded by	Charles Boustany
Born	January 5, 1960 (1960-01-05) (age 48) Crowley, Louisiana
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Payton Smith
Religion	Roman Catholic

Christopher Charles "Chris" John (born January 5, 1960), American politician, was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from 1997 to 2005, representing the Seventh District of Louisiana (the southwestern or "Cajun" part of the state).

[edit] Early life

John was born in Crowley, Louisiana, the seat of Acadia Parish (county), one of six children. He is of Lebanese, French, and German extraction. John was educated at Notre Dame Catholic High School and Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. He was a house page while his father, John N. John, Jr., was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives. He later was elected to and served on the Crowley City Council in the early 1980s.

John is of the Roman Catholic faith.

[edit] State politics

Chris John first became a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives before he entered the U.S. House. In what was considered a major upset at the time, John defeated the incumbent, the former director of the Louisiana State Police, Donald Thibodeaux, in October of 1987, by 54-46 percent.

Thibodeaux had won a full term in 1983 after winning a special election the year before to fill the unexpired term of Chris' father, who died in an automobile accident.

Chris John served in the state house until 1995, when he finished third with 15% of the statewide vote in the race for lieutenant governor behind the eventual winner (and, who, eight years later, in 2003, became Louisiana's first distaff chief executive) Kathleen Babineaux Blanco.

[edit] Terms in Congress: Representative, and run for Senate

In 1996, John was elected to Congress. He defeated fellow Democrat Hunter Lundy in a runoff — officially the general election in Louisiana. Lundy had won the runoff berth by only twelve votes over the Republican candidate, David Thibodaux, a member of the Lafayette Parish School Board. Lundy's wife was later elected Sheriff of Calcasieu Parish. Congressman Jimmy Hayes, a former conservative Democrat who had changed parties after being courted by the Republican leadership, chose to run for the United States Senate in 1996 and finished third behind eventual winner Mary Landrieu. This created the "open seat" opportunity for John to run for the congressional seat.

In 2004, John surrendered his "safe" House seat to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by popular Democrat John Breaux, who endorsed him.

Despite the endorsement of Breaux, the most prolific vote-getter in the history of Louisiana, Chris John was defeated by Republican David Vitter of the New Orleans suburbs in the primary, Vitter garnering 51 percent of the vote, compared to only 29 percent for John. The remainder of the ballots was split between State Treasurer John N. Kennedy and then-state senator Arthur Morrell, both Democrats. Additionally, John's seat in the House fell into Republican hands, as Charles Boustany, Jr. won the 7th district with 55% of the vote against Democrat Willie Landry Mount.^[1]

[edit] Post-political career

John has worked as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C since his defeat, making his home near Lafayette in The Settlement, Louisiana, while commuting to Washington. He is married to Payton Smith of Leesville, whose father John Smith was a member of the Louisiana legislature when Chris John met his future wife. They are the parents of twin boys, both named after their father.

Although Chris John has been mentioned as a possible candidate for various elective offices in the future (including Governor and Congress), those closest to him say he will never run for elective office again, preferring instead the much higher salary and much less demanding lifestyle of working as a lobbyist.^{[citation needed]}

In August of 2007, John made public his acceptance of the top lobbying job with The Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, allowing him to move permanently back to Louisiana (Morning Advocate).

John enjoys golf, hunting and fishing, recreational gambling, and sporting events of all kinds.

[edit] Electoral history

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Entry in the Congressional Biographical Dictionary
• Fundraising details for Senate race