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Chris John (politician)

American politician (born 1960)

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Chris John
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana's 7th district
In office January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2005
Preceded by	Jimmy Hayes
Succeeded by	Charles Boustany
Member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from the 42nd district
In office 1988–1996
Preceded by	Donald Thibodeaux
Succeeded by	Gil Pinac
Personal details
Born	Christopher Charles John (1960-01-05) January 5, 1960 (age 64) Crowley, Louisiana, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Payton Smith
Relatives	John Smith (father-in-law)
Education	Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge (BA)

Christopher Charles John (born January 5, 1960) is an American politician and lobbyist who from 1997 to 2005 served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives for Louisiana's 7th congressional district, since disbanded and merged into the 3rd district.

Early life[edit]

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Chris John was born in CrowleyinAcadia Parish, one of six children, and reared as a Roman Catholic. He is of Lebanese, French, and German extraction. He attended Notre Dame Catholic High School in Crowley and Louisiana State UniversityinBaton Rouge. He was a page while his father, John N. John, III, was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives. In the early 1980s, he was elected to the Crowley City Council.

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

In 1996, John was elected to Congress. He defeated fellow Democrat Hunter Lundy in a runoff for the 7th district seat. In 2004, John surrendered his House seat to run for the seat in the U.S. Senate being vacated by popular Democrat and fellow Crowley native John Breaux, who endorsed him.^{[citation needed]}

John, however, was defeated by Republican David Vitter of the New Orleans suburbs in the primary, Vitter garnered 51 percent of the vote, compared to 29 percent for John. The remainder of the ballots was split between then State Treasurer John Neely Kennedy and the African-American then-state senator Arthur Morrell, both Democrats. John's seat in the House fell into Republican hands, as Charles Boustany won the 7th district with 55 percent of the vote against Democrat Willie Landry Mount.^[1] Kennedy later switched parties and succeeded Vitter as senator in 2017.

Post-political career[edit]

John is married to Payton Smith of Leesville, whose father, John R. Smith, is a member of the Louisiana State Senate and a former state House member. The Johns have two sons, who are twins. After his House career ended, John worked for two years as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C. Since August 2007, he has made his home in Lafayette, where he is chief lobbyist for the United States Oil and Gas Association. (Morning Advocate).^{[citation needed]}

In 2009, John was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of FameinWinnfield.^[2]

Electoral history[edit]

See also[edit]

• List of Arab and Middle-Eastern Americans in the United States Congress

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• AppearancesonC-SPAN

United States

Politics

Christianity