State Treasurer
What position did John Kennedy (Louisiana politician) take in Nov 2010?
John Kennedy ( Louisiana politician ) 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 Democrat turned Republican , he served as the Louisiana State Treasurer from 2000 to 2017 . Born in Centreville , Mississippi , Kennedy graduated from Vanderbilt University and the University of Virginia School of Law before attending Magdalen College at the University of Oxford . He was a member of Governor Buddy Roemers staff before running as the Democratic nominee for state attorney general in the 1991 election . In 1999 , he was elected Louisiana 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 once again ran for Senate . He finished in first place 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 eight Republican senators to object to the certification of the 2020 presidential election . Early life and education . Kennedy was born in Centreville , Mississippi , and raised in Zachary , Louisiana . After graduating from Zachary High School as co-valedictorian in 1969 , he entered Vanderbilt University , where his interdepartmental major was in political science , philosophy and economics . He graduated magna cum laude . At Vanderbilt , Kennedy was elected president of his senior class and named to Phi Beta Kappa . He received a Juris Doctor in 1977 from the University of Virginia School of Law in Charlottesville , Virginia , where he was an executive editor of the Virginia Law Review and elected to the Order of the Coif . In 1979 , he earned a Bachelor of Civil Law degree with first class honours from Oxford University ( Magdalen College ) in England , where he studied under Sir Rupert Cross and John H.C . Morris . Early career . Kennedy has written and published the following books and articles : Louisiana State Constitutional Law ( LSU Publications Institute , Jan . 1 , 2012 ) , The Dimension of Time in the Louisiana Products Liability Act ( 42 Louisiana Bar Journal , Jan . 1 , 1994 ) , The Role of the Consumer Expectation Test Under Louisianas Products Liability Doctrine ( 69 Tulane Law Review 117 , Jan . 1 , 1994 ) , A Primer on the Louisiana Products Liability Act ( 49 Louisiana Law Review 565 , Jan . 1 , 1989 ) , Assumption of the Risk , Comparative Fault and Strict Liability After Rozell ( 47 Louisiana Law Review 791 , Jan . 1 , 1987 ) and The Federal Power Commission , Job Bias , and NAACP v . FPC ( 10 Akron Law Review 556 , Jan . 1 , 1977 ) . Kennedy was a partner in the New Orleans law firm Chaffe McCall . He also served as an adjunct professor at Louisiana State Universitys Paul M . Hebert Law Center in Baton Rouge from 2002 to 2016 . Political career . In 1988 , Kennedy became special counsel to Governor Buddy Roemer . In 1991 , he was appointed as cabinet secretary and served in that post until 1992 . In 1991 , he was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for state attorney general to succeed the retiring William J . Guste . Following his first stint in state government , Kennedy returned to private law practice until 1996 . That year , he was appointed Secretary of the state Department of Revenue in the cabinet of Governor Mike Foster . Treasurer of Louisiana . Kennedy left the Foster administration when he was elected Louisiana State Treasurer in 1999 , having unseated incumbent Democrat Ken Duncan , 621,796 votes ( 55.6% ) to 497,319 ( 44.4% ) . Kennedy was reelected treasurer without opposition in 2003 , 2007 and 2011 . In 2015 , he defeated his sole challenger with 80% of the vote . In the 2004 election , Kennedy endorsed Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry over George W . Bush . After being courted by the Republican Party for months , Kennedy announced in a letter to his constituents that he was leaving the Democratic Party and joining the Republicans , effective August 27 , 2007 . In his letter , he announced that he would run again for state treasurer . During his third term as state treasurer , Kennedy devised a 24-point plan by which the state could save money . Governor Bobby Jindal said Kennedy could streamline his own department . Many of Kennedys ideas were derived from the Louisiana Commission for Streamlining Government , on which he served in his official capacity as state treasurer . U.S . Senate . Elections . In 2004 , Kennedy campaigned for the U.S . Senate seat held by John Breaux , who was retiring . He ran as a Democrat in the states jungle primary , losing to Republican David Vitter and Democrat Chris John . Vitter won the runoff election . Kennedy ran for the Senate again in 2008 , this time as a Republican . He was defeated , 52.1% to 45.7% , by incumbent Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu ; the same year , Republican presidential nominee John McCain defeated Barack Obama in Louisiana , but Obama was elected . On January 26 , 2016 , Kennedy announced that he would run for Senate a third time . In seeking to succeed the retiring Vitter , he faced more than 20 opponents . Vitter announced his retirement from the Senate in 2015 after losing a bid for governor to John Bel Edwards . Kennedys senatorial campaign was endorsed by the U.S . Chamber of Commerce , the National Federation of Independent Business , the National Rifle Association , the National Right to Life Committee , the American Conservative Union , Vice President-elect Mike Pence and President-elect Donald Trump . Kennedy , who had supported Vitter for governor the previous year , won the jungle primary and faced Democrat Foster Campbell in a December 10 runoff election . President-elect Donald Trump—who had received Kennedys support in the 2016 presidential election—campaigned for Kennedy the day before the runoff . Kennedy defeated Campbell , 536,204 votes ( 61% ) to 347,813 ( 39% ) . He lost the largest populated parishes of Orleans and East Baton Rouge , in which he had been reared , but was a runaway winner in Campbells home parish of Bossier . Tenure . Kennedy was sworn in as Louisianas junior U.S . Senator on January 3 , 2017 . In June 2017 , Kennedy grilled Education Secretary Betsy DeVos in a hearing before the Appropriations subcommittee on Labor , Health and Human Service , Education and Related Agencies . In the exchange , he contrasted the lack of school choice available for younger pupils in many rural areas of the country to the widespread brands of mayonnaise available on the grocery store shelf : Now I can go down to my overpriced Capitol Hill grocery this afternoon and choose among about six different types of mayonnaise . How come I cant do that for my kid ? Kennedy asked . The remark attracted national attention . DeVos replied that the Trump administration budget proposal would give parents and students more power and opportunity so that American education could again become the envy of the world . Kennedy has attracted comment for his manner in the Senate . A January 2018 Huffington Post article reported : Since being elected to the Senate a year ago , Kennedy .. . has made a name for himself on Capitol Hill with his wit , humor and penchant for folksy expressions―a notable feat in a place where jargon and arcane procedure tend to reign supreme . In the months leading up to the 2019 election , Kennedy was mentioned as a prospective candidate for governor in the nonpartisan blanket primary against Democratic incumbent John Bel Edwards . But on December 3 , 2018 , he announced that he would not run for governor , saying he preferred to remain in the Senate . 2020 presidential election . After Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election and Trump refused to concede , Kennedy announced that he would , along with 11 other Republican senators , object to certain states electoral votes in the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count on January 6 , unless there was an audit of the vote , citing unproven election fraud claims . He was participating in the certification when Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol . He described the attack as despicable and shameful and called for the rioters to go to jail and pay for the destruction they caused . When the Capitol was secure and Congress returned to complete the certification , Kennedy objected to the certification of Arizona’s electoral votes . As a result of his vote , Big Easy Magazine called for Kennedy to be expelled from Congress . Committee assignments - Committee on Appropriations - Subcommittee on Agriculture , Rural Development , Food and Drug Administration , and Related Agencies - Subcommittee on Commerce , Justice , Science , and Related Agencies - Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development - Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government - Committee on Banking , Housing , and Urban Affairs - Subcommittee on Economic Policy - Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection - Subcommittee on Housing , Transportation , and Community Development - Committee on the Budget - Committee on the Judiciary - Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration - Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism - Subcommittee on Privacy , Technology and the Law - Subcommittee on Intellectual Property - Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Caucuses - Senate Republican Conference Political positions . Kennedy received a lifetime Liberty Score of 65% from Conservative Review . He holds a score of 89% for the 116th Congress and a lifetime score of 78% from Heritage Action for America . The American Conservative Unions Center of Legislative Accountability gives Kennedy a lifetime rating of 83.74 . Animal rights . Kennedy said he would file a bill to prohibit airlines from putting animals in overhead bins after a dog died in an overhead bin while flying United Airlines in March 2018 . He said officials would face significant fines if noncompliant . In March 2018 , Kennedy introduced the Welfare Of Our Furry Friends ( WOOFF ) Act , but the bill died in committee . Abortion . Kennedy is strongly opposed to abortion . Guns . Kennedy has an A rating from the National Rifle Association ( NRA ) , which endorsed him during his 2016 Senate run . Judicial nominees . Kennedy crossed party lines to oppose the appointment of three of Trumps U.S . District Court judicial nominees who Kennedy believed were not qualified : Jeff Mateer , Brett Talley , and Matthew S . Petersen . The White House withdrew all three nominations . On December 13 , 2017 , during Petersens confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee , Kennedy asked Petersen about basic legal procedure , whether he knew what the Daubert standard was , and what a motion in limine was . Petersen struggled to answer . Kennedy also voted against the nomination of Gregory G . Katsas to the D.C . Circuit , but Katsas was confirmed . Criminal justice . Kennedy opposed the First Step Act . The bill passed 87–12 on December 18 , 2018 . Net neutrality . On March 7 , 2018 , Kennedy introduced a bill that would prohibit companies like Comcast and Verizon from blocking or throttling web content . He was one of three Republican senators , with Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski , to vote with the entirety of the Democratic caucus on May 16 , 2018 , to overturn the FCCs repeal of net neutrality . Foreign policy . In April 2018 , Kennedy was one of eight Republican senators to sign a letter to United States Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin and acting Secretary of State John Sullivan expressing deep concern over a report by the United Nations exposing North Korean sanctions evasion involving Russia and China and asserting that the findings demonstrate an elaborate and alarming military-venture between rogue , tyrannical states to avoid United States and international sanctions and inflict terror and death upon thousands of innocent people while calling it imperative that the United States provides a swift and appropriate response to the continued use of chemical weapons used by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his forces , and works to address the shortcomings in sanctions enforcement . In January 2019 , Kennedy was one of 11 Republican senators to vote to advance legislation intended to block Trumps intent to lift sanctions against three Russian companies . National security . On May 28 , 2021 , Kennedy voted against creating an independent commission to investigate the January 6 insurrection . Personal life . Kennedy resides in Madisonville in St . Tammany Parish outside New Orleans with his wife Becky and son Preston . He is a founding member of his local Methodist church in Madisonville . He is not related to the Kennedy family of Massachusetts .