# John B. Breckinridge

John Bayne Breckinridge (November 29, 1913 – July 29, 1979) was an American politician, a Democrat who served as Attorney General of Kentucky twice and also served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky.

## Early life

Breckinridge was born in the District of Columbia on November 29, 1913. His father was Dr. Scott Dudley Breckinridge Sr. and his mother was Gertrude Ashby (née Bayne) Breckinridge. His father was an fencer who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics, and was a gynecologist in Lexington.
The Breckinridge family has been one of Kentucky's most prominent. John B.'s grandfather was Joseph Cabell Breckinridge Sr. and his great-uncle was John C. Breckinridge, who was vice president under James Buchanan, the Southern Democratic nominee for president in 1860 and a major general in the Confederate Army. Among John B.'s uncles were Joseph Cabell Breckinridge Jr., an officer in the United States Navy during the Spanish–American War, and Henry Skillman Breckinridge, who served as the United States Assistant Secretary of War under President Woodrow Wilson. He was the great-great-grandson of John Breckinridge, who had served as the second Attorney General of Kentucky and in the Kentucky House of Representatives and who also served as a member of the United States Senate and as Attorney General of the United States. John B. Breckinridge was also the great-nephew of William Campbell Preston Breckinridge who also represented Kentucky in the United States House of Representatives.
He received his bachelor's and law degrees from the University of Kentucky. He was admitted to the Kentucky Bar in 1940 and practiced law in Lexington, Kentucky. He worked in the Anti-Trust Division of the United States Department of Justice in 1940–1941. He served in the United States Army from April 18, 1941, to October 30, 1946, during World War II, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

## Political career

Breckinridge was twice elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives from the 49th district and served from 1956 through 1959.
Breckinridge was elected Attorney General of Kentucky in 1959 when Bert T. Combs led the Democratic ticket to victory. He served his first term in that office from 1960 through 1963, also serving on the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Law and as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1960. Under state law at that time Breckinridge could not run for a second consecutive term as attorney general. He ran in 1963 for Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky but lost in the Democratic primary to Harry Lee Waterfield. After that defeat Breckinridge returned to his law practice and began planning for a return to public office.
Breckinridge was elected to a second, non-consecutive term as Attorney General of Kentucky in 1967. He was one of three statewide Democratic candidates elected while the Republican ticket, led by Louie B. Nunn, won the governorship. Breckinridge served his second term as Attorney General of Kentucky from 1968 through 1971. He ran for lieutenant governor in 1971 but again lost in the Democratic primary, this time to the Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives Julian Carroll, who was running on an informal slate with former Gov. Bert Combs, who lost to Lt. Gov. Wendell Ford.
In 1972 Breckinridge was elected to an open seat in the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky's Sixth Congressional District (Lexington and the central Bluegrass). He defeated Republican Laban P. Jackson. He was re-elected in 1974 and 1976 but was defeated in the 1978 Democratic primary by state Sen. Tom Easterly of Frankfort, who in turn lost the seat to Republican Larry Hopkins.
After his defeat Breckinridge returned to the practice of law in Lexington, Kentucky, where he died less than a year later on July 29, 1979. His ashes were interred at Lexington Cemetery.

### Legacy

As a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives and the United States House of Representatives, Breckinridge was regarded as an independent moderate.

## Personal life

Breckinridge was married to Helen Congleton, whom he would have two children with, Knight Osheroff and John B. Breckinridge, Jr.

## Electoral history

Kentucky Attorney General Election, 1959 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | John B. Breckinridge | 477,288 | 61.93% |
| | Republican | Samuel S. Cannon | 293,375 | 38.07% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 770,663 | 100.00% |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
Kentucky Lieutenant Gubernatorial Democratic primary results, 1963 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Harry Lee Waterfield | 247,464 | 55.90% |
| | Democratic | John B. Breckinridge | 195,238 | 44.10% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 442,702 | 100.00% |
Kentucky Attorney General Democratic primary results, 1967 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | John B. Breckinridge | 134,280 | 68.16% |
| | Democratic | M. R. "Mike" Mills | 62,709 | 31.84% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 196,989 | 100.00% |
Kentucky Attorney General Election, 1967 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | John B. Breckinridge | 403,204 | 50.79% |
| | Republican | Lester H. Burns, Jr. | 385,325 | 48.53% |
| | Conservative | Clarence L. Bell | 5,347 | 0.68% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 793,876 | 100.00% |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
Kentucky Lieutenant Gubernatorial Democratic primary results, 1971 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Julian M. Carroll | 152,336 | 44.64% |
| | Democratic | John B. Breckinridge | 130,673 | 38.30% |
| | Democratic | Henry Beach | 43,593 | 12.78% |
| | Democratic | James W. Rogers | 14,601 | 4.28% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 341,203 | 100.00% |
Kentucky's 6th congressional district, Democratic primary results, 1972 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | John B. Breckinridge | 18,537 | 57.39% |
| | Democratic | Tom Ward | 10,330 | 31.98% |
| | Democratic | Philip E. (Phil) King | 3,433 | 10.63% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 32,300 | 100.00% |
Kentucky's 6th congressional district general election, 1972 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | John B. Breckinridge | 76,185 | 52.40% |
| | Republican | Laban P. Jackson | 68,012 | 46.77% |
| | People's | Thomas F. Lundeen | 1,215 | 0.83% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 145,412 | 100.00% |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
Kentucky's 6th congressional district, Democratic primary results, 1974 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | John B. Breckinridge (incumbent) | 21,202 | 84.05% |
| | Democratic | Robert K. Landrum | 4,023 | 15.95% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 25,225 | 100.00% |
Kentucky's 6th congressional district general election, 1974 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | John B. Breckinridge (incumbent) | 63,010 | 72.08% |
| | Republican | Thomas F. Rogers III | 21,039 | 24.06% |
| | American | Fred Kerestesy | 3,367 | 3.86% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 87,416 | 100.00% |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
Kentucky's 6th congressional district, Democratic primary results, 1976 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | John B. Breckinridge (incumbent) | 36,887 | 88.18% |
| | Democratic | Victor E. Privette | 4,942 | 11.82% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 41,829 | 100.00% |
Kentucky's 6th congressional district general election, 1976 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | John B. Breckinridge (incumbent) | 90,695 | 93.99% |
| | American | Anthony A. McCord | 5,795 | 6.00% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 3 | 0.00% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 96,493 | 100.00% |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
Kentucky's 6th congressional district, Democratic primary results, 1978 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Tom Easterly | 17,673 | 50.11% |
| | Democratic | John B. Breckinridge (incumbent) | 17,178 | 48.71% |
| | Democratic | Victor E. Privette | 414 | 1.18% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 35,265 | 100.00% |