Johnny Isakson

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Johnny Isakson
Official portrait, 2014
United States Senator
from Georgia
In office
January 3, 2005 – December 31, 2019
Preceded byZell Miller
Succeeded byKelly Loeffler
Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee
In office
January 3, 2015 – December 19, 2019
Preceded byBernie Sanders
Succeeded byJerry Moran
Chair of the Senate Ethics Committee
In office
January 3, 2015 – December 19, 2019
Preceded byBarbara Boxer
Succeeded byJames Lankford
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Georgia's 6th district
In office
February 23, 1999 – January 3, 2005
Preceded byNewt Gingrich
Succeeded byTom Price
Member of the Georgia State Senate
from the 21st district
In office
January 11, 1993 – January 6, 1997
Preceded byWilliam F. English[1]
Succeeded byRobert Lamutt[2]
Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives
In office
January 10, 1983 – January 11, 1991
Preceded byHerbert Jones Jr.
Succeeded byPaul Heard
Member of the
Georgia House of Representatives
from Cobb County
In office
January 10, 1977 – January 11, 1991
Preceded byCharles W. Edwards
Succeeded byLynda Coker
Constituency20-Post 1 (1977–1983)
21-Post 2 (1983–1991)
Personal details
Born
John Hardy Isakson

(1944-12-28)December 28, 1944
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
DiedDecember 19, 2021(2021-12-19) (aged 76)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Dianne Davison
​
(m. 1968)​
Children3
EducationUniversity of Georgia (BBA)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Air Force
Years of service1966–1972
RankStaff Sergeant
UnitGeorgia Air National Guard
Johnny Isakson's voice
Isakson gives farewell remarks for retiring Senator Thad Cochran
Recorded March 22, 2018

John Hardy Isakson (December 28, 1944 – December 19, 2021) was an American businessman and politician who served as a United States senator from Georgia from 2005 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the Georgia legislature and the United States House of Representatives.

Born in

Georgia Senate and served one term. He unsuccessfully ran in the Republican primary in the 1996 U.S. Senate election
.

After

February 1999 special election to succeed him, winning by a 40-point margin. He ran for the U.S. Senate in 2004 after Democratic incumbent Zell Miller opted not to run for re-election. With the backing of much of Georgia's Republican establishment, he won both the primary and general elections by wide margins. He became the senior senator from Georgia when Saxby Chambliss retired in 2015. On December 31, 2019, midway through his third Senate term, Isakson resigned from the Senate due to health concerns and was succeeded by fellow Republican Kelly Loeffler who was appointed by Brian Kemp
, the Republican Governor of Georgia, to fill the vacant seat. He died two years later on December 19, 2021.

Early life, education, and real estate career

Isakson was born on December 28, 1944, in

British ancestry, and her family has been in the American South since the colonial era.[5][6]

Isakson served in the

better source needed
]

Early political career (1974–1998)

Isakson as a state representative in 1977

Georgia House of Representatives

In 1974, Isakson first ran for the Georgia House of Representatives in an eastern Cobb County district and lost. He ran again in 1976 and won. He served seven terms in the House. He won re-election unopposed in 1984[11] and 1988.[12] In his last four terms (1983–1990), he was the Republican Minority leader. In 1988 and 1996, he was co-chair for U.S. Senator Bob Dole's presidential primary campaigns.[13]

1990 gubernatorial election

Isakson greeting President Ronald Reagan in 1986
Main article: 1990 Georgia gubernatorial election

Isakson was the Republican candidate for

ballot referendum on the lottery.[16]

Georgia Senate

Isakson with President George H. W. Bush in 1990

In 1992, Isakson was elected to the

Georgia Senate.[17]

1996 U.S. Senate election

See also: 1996 United States Senate election in Georgia

In

runoff election. Millner defeated Isakson in the runoff 53%–47%.[20] Millner lost the general election to Democrat Max Cleland.[21]

In December 1996, Isakson was appointed head of the State Board of Education by Gov. Zell Miller.[22]

U.S. House of Representatives (1999–2005)

Elections

1999

In November 1998,

special election in February. He won the election with 65% of the vote, forty points ahead of the second-place finisher Christina Fawcett Jeffrey.[23]

2000

Isakson won re-election to his first full term with 74.75% of the vote.[24]

2002

Isakson won re-election to his second full term with 79.87% of the vote.[25]

President George W. Bush and Senator Isakson aboard Air Force One in 2005.

Tenure

During his tenure in the House of Representatives, Isakson served on the

U.S. House Education Committee.[27] In October 2002, Isakson voted in favor of the authorization of force against the country of Iraq.[28]

U.S. Senate (2005–2019)

Isakson with Neil Gorsuch in 2017
Isakson with Brett Kavanaugh in 2018

Elections

2004

See also: 2004 United States Senate election in Georgia

In early 2003, conservative Democratic U.S. Senator Zell Miller—who had been appointed to fill out the term of the late Republican Senator Paul Coverdell and elected to the post in his own right in 2000—declared his intention not to run for a full term in the Senate in 2004. Isakson immediately entered the race. He faced 8th District U.S. Congressman Mac Collins and businessman Herman Cain in the primary.[29]

It was initially thought Isakson would face a difficult primary since many socially conservative Republicans still felt chagrin at Isakson's declared support for abortion rights in 1990. However, he won the Republican primary with 53%, with Cain a distant second and Collins third, averting the need for a runoff. In the general election, he easily defeated the Democratic candidate, 4th District Congresswoman Denise Majette, by 18 points. Isakson's election marked the first time in Georgia's history that both of the state's U.S. Senate seats had been held by Republicans, as Saxby Chambliss had won the other seat by defeating Nunn's successor, Max Cleland, two years earlier.[30][circular reference]

2010

See also: 2010 United States Senate election in Georgia

In 2010, Isakson was unopposed in the primary. He won re-election with 58.3% of the vote in 2010, defeating State Commissioner of Labor Mike Thurmond.[31]

2016

See also: 2016 United States Senate election in Georgia

Isakson was re-elected to a third term in 2016 with 54.8% of the vote.[32]

Tenure and legislation

As a senator, Isakson sponsored or co-sponsored 130 bills, just 8 of which became law.[33]

In 2010, Isakson apologized for referring to voters as "the unwashed" in off-hand comments, saying he "didn't mean anything derogatory by it."[34]

Isakson resigned from the Senate for health reasons on December 31, 2019.[35] He is the longest serving Republican senator in the history of Georgia.[36]

Committee assignments

Political positions

When compared to his Republican peers in the Senate, Isakson was close to center of his party; he was neither significantly more conservative nor liberal than his peers.[42]

Abortion

During his campaign for

Obama administration rule that had made it unlawful for states to bar abortion providers from receiving Title X funding. The Senate vote on the bill was 50–50, and Vice President Mike Pence cast a tie-breaking vote that allowed the bill to pass.[44]

Agriculture

In July 2019, Isakson was one of eight senators to introduce the Agricultural Trucking Relief Act, a bill that would alter the definition of an agricultural commodity to include both horticultural and aquacultural products and promote a larger consistency in regulation through both federal and state agencies as part of an attempt to ease regulatory burdens on trucking and the agri-community.[45]

Gun laws

In 2017, Isakson said that while he did support concealed carry nationwide, he did not support campus carry and stated that it is "not the appropriate thing to do."[46]

In February 2018, in response to the

Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, Isakson said, "We have to do everything we can within our powers to make sure it never happens again."[47]

Healthcare

Isakson voted against the

better source needed
]

Immigration

In 2019, Isakson voted to support President Donald Trump's national emergency declaration regarding border security.[49]

Personal life

Isakson and his wife, Dianne, were married in 1968, and had three children.

watercolor artist,[51] and served as honorary co-chair for Marietta's Theatre in the Square playhouse in 2007.[52]

Health and death

In June 2015, Isakson disclosed that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, but added that the diagnosis would not affect his 2016 re-election plans.[53] He continued his campaign and was elected in November 2016 to serve a third six-year term in the Senate. On August 28, 2019, however, Isakson announced that he would resign his Senate seat for health reasons on December 31, 2019.[54]

Isakson died at his home in Atlanta on December 19, 2021, nine days short of his 77th birthday.[55][56]

Electoral history

1990 Georgia gubernatorial election[57]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Zell Miller 766,662 52.89 -17.62
Republican Johnny Isakson 645,625 44.54 +15.05
Libertarian Carole Ann Rand 37,367 2.58 ±0
Majority 121,037 8.35
Turnout 1,449,654
Democratic hold
2000 general election in Georgia's 6th congressional district[58]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican
 		Johnny Isakson (incumbent) 256,595 74.75%
Democratic
 Brett DeHart 86,666 25.25%
Total votes 343,261 100.00%
Turnout {{{votes}}}
Republican
hold
2002 general election in Georgia's 6th congressional district[59]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican
 		Johnny Isakson (incumbent) 163,209 79.91%
Democratic
 Jeff Weisberger 41,043 20.09%
Total votes 204,252 100.00%
Turnout {{{votes}}}
Republican
hold
2004 U.S. Senate Republican primary election in Georgia[60]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Johnny Isakson 346,765 53.2%
Republican Herman Cain 170,464 26.2%
Republican Mac Collins 134,053 20.6%
2004 U.S. Senate general election in Georgia[61]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Johnny Isakson 1,864,205 57.88% +19.97%
Democratic Denise Majette 1,287,695 39.98% −18.22%
Libertarian Allen Buckley 69,051 2.14% +2.14%
Majority 576,510 17.90%
Turnout 3,220,951
Republican gain from Democratic Swing
2010 U.S. Senate Republican primary election in Georgia[62]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Johnny Isakson (incumbent) 558,298 100.00%
Total votes 558,298 100.00%
2010 U.S. Senate general election in Georgia[63]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Johnny Isakson (incumbent) 1,489,904 58.31% +0.43%
Democratic Michael Thurmond 996,516 39.00% -0.98%
Libertarian Chuck Donovan 68,750 2.69% +0.55%
Independent
 Steve Davis (write-in) 52 0.00% N/A
Independent
 Raymond Beckworth (write-in) 24 0.00% N/A
Independent
 Brian Russell Brown (write-in) 12 0.00% N/A
Majority 493,388 19.31%
Total votes 2,555,258 100.00%
Republican hold
2016 U.S. Senate Republican primary election in Georgia[64]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Johnny Isakson (incumbent) 447,661 77.50%
Republican Derrick Grayson 69,101 11.96%
Republican Mary Kay Bacallao 60,898 10.54%
Total votes 577,660 100.00%
2016 U.S. Senate general election in Georgia[65]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Johnny Isakson (incumbent) 2,135,806 54.80% -3.51%
Democratic Jim Barksdale 1,599,726 41.04% +2.04%
Libertarian Allen Buckley 162,260 4.16% +1.47%
Total votes 3,897,792 100.0% N/A
Republican hold

See also

References

  1. ^ "Our Campaigns – GA State Senate 21 Race – Nov 03, 1992". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  2. ^ "Our Campaigns – GA State Senate 21 Race – Nov 08, 1994". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  3. ^ a b "GEORGIA Johnny Isakson (R)". The Washington Post. November 4, 2004. Retrieved August 29, 2010.
  4. ^ "Atlanta roots lie under real estate's family tree". Atlanta Business Chronicle. May 10, 2010.
  5. ^ "Floor Statement on Immigration Reform Remarks as Delivered on the Senate Floor". Johnny Isakson. April 13, 2005. Retrieved February 20, 2007.
  6. ^ "Johnny Isakson ancestry". Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
  7. ^ "Veterans in the US Senate 109th Congress" (PDF). Navy League. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 28, 2007. Retrieved December 9, 2006.
  8. ^ "Greeks in the 113th Congress". North-American Interfraternity Conference. Archived from the original on March 27, 2014. Retrieved September 2, 2013.
  9. ^ "Three-term Senator to retire". The Record Online. Retrieved December 20, 2021. Sigma Alpha Epsilon has a rich history of Brothers who have served the United States in an elected office, but few as many times as Johnny Isakson (Georgia '66). He holds the distinction of being the only person elected to represent the state of Georgia in the state House (1977-1990, seven terms), state Senate (1993-1997, two terms), U.S. House (1999-2005, two terms) and U.S. Senate (2005-present, three terms).
  10. ^ "Johnny Isakson Senate". Johnny Isakson Biography. Archived from the original on September 9, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
  11. ^ "Our Campaigns – GA State House 021 Race – Nov 06, 1984". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  12. ^ "Our Campaigns – GA State House 021 Post 2 Race – Nov 08, 1988". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  13. ^ "Johnny Isakson will seek Senate seat". bizjournals.com. American City Business Journals. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  14. ^ "Our Campaigns – GA Governor – R Primary Race – Jul 17, 1990". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  15. ^ "Our Campaigns – GA Governor Race – Nov 06, 1990". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  16. ^ Parker, Laura (October 12, 1990). "Lotto Fever in Georgia Governor's Race". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  17. ^ McKee, Don (August 31, 2016). "DON McKEE: Sen. Johnny Isakson: Tireless warrior for veterans, citizens". mdjonline.com. Marietta Daily Journal. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  18. ^ a b Sack, Kevin (June 16, 1996). "Georgian Makes a Bold Stand on Abortion". The New York Times.
  19. ^ "Our Campaigns – GA US Senate – R Primary Race – Jul 09, 1996". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  20. ^ "Our Campaigns – GA US Senate – R Runoff Race – Aug 06, 1996". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  21. ^ "Ga.: Democrats Win Key Senate Battle In Peach State". cnn.com. Cable News Network (CNN). Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  22. ^ Almanac of American Politics 2008, p. 463.
  23. ^ "Official Results of the February 23, 1999 Special Election". Georgia Secretary of State. March 16, 1999. Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  24. ^ "Our Campaigns – GA District 6 Race – Nov 07, 2000". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  25. ^ "Our Campaigns – GA District 6 Race – Nov 05, 2002". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  26. ^ "Representative Isakson's Legislation". Library of Congress. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  27. ^ "Column: In their own words: Isakson's impact on education". Augustachronicle.com. The Augusta Chronicle. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  28. ^ "FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 455" (H J RES 114 YEA-AND-NAY). U.S. House. October 10, 2002.
  29. ^ Pettys, Dick. "Isakson Wins GOP Primary For Georgia's Senate Seat". washingtonpost.com. WP Company, LLC. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  30. ^ "List of United States senators from Georgia". Wikipedia.org. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  31. ^ "Georgia – Election Results 2010". The New York Times. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  32. ^ "Georgia U.S. Senate Results: Johnny Isakson Wins". The New York Times. August 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  33. ^ "Senator Isakson's Legislation". Library of Congress. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  34. ^ "Isakson apologizes for calling voters 'unwashed'". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. June 17, 2010. Archived from the original on June 21, 2010. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
  35. ^ Rogers, Alex; Bradner, Eric; Mattingly, Phil (August 28, 2019). "Georgia Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson to resign at end of year". CNN. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  36. ^ Wells, Myrydd (December 19, 2021). "Colleagues and friends in Georgia and nationwide remember Senator Johnny Isakson". Atlanta Magazine. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  37. ^ a b "Senate Finance subcommittee assignments set". Tax News Update. Ernst & Young. January 31, 2019. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  38. ^ Remo, Andrew (December 19, 2013). "Senate Hearing Focuses on Retirement Income". National Association of Plan Advisors. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  39. ^ a b c "A smorgasbord of subcommittees". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. February 1, 2015. p. A6. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  40. ^ Malloy, Daniel (April 19, 2012). "Isakson says Kony still a priority". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. A2. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  41. ^ "Subcommittees". senate.gov. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  42. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 17, 2017.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  43. ^ "An Ardent Moderate". January 1, 2005.
  44. ^ Barrett, Ted (March 30, 2017). "Isakson returns to Senate to cast key vote on Planned Parenthood". CNN.
  45. ^ Galford, Chris (July 2, 2019). "Bipartisan Senate effort seeks to ease regulation of agricultural trucking". transportationtodaynews.com.
  46. ^ Harris, Nate (March 15, 2017). "Senator Isakson speaks out against campus carry". The Red and Black. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
  47. ^ Saporta, Maria (February 20, 2018). "Sen. Johnny Isakson: 'Of course' planning to run for re-election in 2022". Business Journal. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  48. ^ "Health Care – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson".
  49. ^ Hallerman, Tamar (March 14, 2019). "Isakson, Perdue vote to uphold Trump's border emergency". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  50. ^ Clanton, Nancy. "5 things to know about Johnny Isakson". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  51. ^ McQueen, Tucker (December 19, 2008). "White House tree features Georgia". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. pp. C1. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  52. ^ Bentley, Rosalind (March 23, 2012). "How Marietta lost its theater". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  53. ^ Sen. Johnny Isakson discloses he has Parkinson’s disease (Washington Post article-June 10, 2015)
  54. ^ "GOP Sen. Johnny Isakson to resign at end of year". August 28, 2019.
  55. ISSN 1539-7459
    . Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  56. ^ McFadden, Robert D. (December 19, 2021). "Johnny Isakson, Longtime Senator From Georgia, Is Dead at 76". The New York Times. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  57. ^ "1990 General Election Results - Governor". sos.ga.gov. Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  58. ^ "Georgia Election Results - Official Results of the November 7, 2000 General Election". sos.ga.gov. Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  59. ^ "Georgia Election Results Official Results of the November 5, 2002 General Election". sos.ga.gov. Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  60. ^ "United States Senator". sos.ga.gov. Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  61. ^ "United States Senator". sos.ga.gov. Georgia Secretary of State. December 21, 2005. Retrieved December 3, 2008.
  62. ^ "7/20/2010 – United States Senator, Isakson". sos.ga.gov. Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  63. ^ "11/2/2010 – United States Senator, Isakson". sos.ga.gov. Georgia Secretary of State.
  64. ^ "Official Results". clarityelections.com. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
  65. ^ "General Election November 8, 2016". clarityelections.com. Retrieved December 19, 2016.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Johnny Isakson.
Georgia House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the Georgia House of Representatives
from the 20th district, Post 1
1977–1983 		Succeeded by
Joe Mack Wilson
Preceded by Member of the Georgia House of Representatives
from the 21st district, Post 2
1983–1991 		Succeeded by
Lynda Coker
Preceded by
Herbert Jones Jr.
 Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives
1983–1991 		Succeeded by
Paul Heard
Georgia State Senate
Preceded by Member of the Georgia State Senate
from the 21st district
1993–1997 		Succeeded by
Robert Lamutt
Party political offices
Preceded by
Governor of Georgia
1990
 Succeeded by
Preceded by
Class 3)
2004, 2010, 2016
 Succeeded by
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from Georgia's 6th congressional district

1999–2005 		Succeeded by
U.S. Senate
Preceded by
U.S. Senator (Class 3) from Georgia
2005–2019
Served alongside: Saxby Chambliss, David Perdue
 Succeeded by
Preceded by Ranking Member of the Senate Ethics Committee
2009–2015 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee
2015–2019 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chair of the Senate Ethics Committee
2015–2019 		Succeeded by
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