| John Bennett Johnston, Jr. | |
|---|---|
| United States Senator from Louisiana |
|
| In office November 14, 1972 – January 3, 1997 |
|
| Preceded by | Elaine S. Edwards |
| Succeeded by | Mary Landrieu |
| Louisiana State Senator from Caddo Parish | |
| In office 1968–1972 |
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| Louisiana State Representative from Caddo Parish | |
| In office 1964–1968 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | June 10, 1932 Shreveport, Louisiana |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Gunn Johnston |
| Children | J. Bennett Johnston, III N. Hunter Johnston |
| Alma mater | United States Military Academy |
| Occupation | attorney, lobbyist |
| Religion | Baptist |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Unit | Judge Advocate General's Corps |
John Bennett Johnston, Jr., known as J. Bennett Johnston is an American lobbyist who was a Democratic Party politician and United States Senator from Louisiana from 1972-97.
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Johnston was born to John Bennett Johnston, Sr.,(1894–1977)[1][2] and Wilma Lyon Johnston (1904–1996)[3] in Shreveport,[4] went to Southfield School[5] and graduated from C.E. Byrd High School.[6] He attended the United States Military Academy and Washington and Lee University.[7] He graduated from Louisiana State University Law School in 1956 and was admitted to the bar that same year.[7] He served in the United States Army, Judge Advocate General Corps in Germany from 1956 to 1959.[7]
In 1963, Johnston was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives, along with two Republicans, Morley A. Hudson and Taylor W. O'Hearn, and two other Democrats from Caddo Parish, Algie D. Brown and Frank Fulco.[8][9] Hudson and O'Hearn were the first Republicans to serve in the legislature since Reconstruction.
Johnston was elected at-large to the Louisiana State Senate in 1968, along with fellow Democrats Jackson B. Davis and Joe LeSage.[10] One of the candidates that he defeated was the Republican Thomas Eaton Stagg, Jr., later a U.S. district court judge in Shreveport. Johnston ran for Governor of Louisiana in 1971 and lost narrowly to Edwin Washington Edwards in the Democratic runoff election.[11]
Johnston challenged Allen J. Ellender for Democratic renomination to the U.S. Senate in 1972.[12] Ellender died during the campaign,[12] and Johnston, with powerful name identification stemming from his gubernatorial bid only months earlier, won the primary easily. Of all of the primary ballots, Johnston got 623,076 votes (79.4 percent), Frank T. Allen got 88,198 votes (11.2 percent) and the deceased Ellender got 73,088 votes (9.3 percent).[13] Johnston then defeated Republican Ben C. Toledano, a New Orleans attorney, and former Governor John McKeithen of Columbia, a fellow Democrat running as an independent in the general election. Johnston received 598,987 votes (55.2 percent) to McKeithen's 250,161 (23.1 percent), and Toledano's 206,846 (19.1 percent). Another 28,910 voters (2.6 percent) chose the American Independent Party candidate, Hall M. Lyons,[14] then of Lafayette, son of Louisiana Republican pioneer Charlton Lyons. (The position was filled from July to November 1972 by Governor Edwards' first wife, Elaine Schwartzenburg Edwards [15] who served as an interim senator.)
In office, Senator Johnston cultivated good relationships with the Louisiana media, realizing that their portrayal of him would impact his electoral future. The state's newspaper gave Johnston wide coverage. The Alexandria Daily Town Talk's managing editor, Adras LaBorde, gave wide coverage to both Johnston and colleague Russell B. Long.
In 1978, Johnston defeated then Democrat, later Republican, State Representative Louis Woody Jenkins of Baton Rouge in the jungle primary, 498,773 (59.4 percent) to 340,896 (40.6 percent).[16]
In 1984, Johnston faced minor opposition from Robert Max Ross (1933–2009), a small businessman from Mangham in Richland Parish in northeast Louisiana.[17] Several other minor candidates also filed against Johnston in the jungle primary but none made a showing. Some Republicans had encouraged former Governor David C. Treen run. He filed, then withdrew in the wake of his loss the previous year for governor. Ross therefore ran as the best-known of the Republican candidates against Johnston. The tally was 838,181 votes (85.7 percent) for Johnston, 86,546 votes (8.9 percent) for Ross, and others took 52,745 votes (5.4 percent).[18]
Johnston's closest re-election race was in 1990 against former Ku Klux Klansman and Republican candidate David Duke, who was not endorsed by his party's leadership. In fact, the stakes were so high that Louisiana State Senator Ben Bagert dropped out of the primary race, because he didn't want Johnston and Duke in a runoff. Eight Republican Senators endored Johnston over Duke.[19]
The eight Senators that endorsed Johnston were Ted Stevens from Alaska, David Durenberger from Minnesota, Rudy Boschwitz, also from Minnesota, John Danforth from Missouri, William Cohen from Maine, Warren Rudman from New Hampshire, Nancy Landon Kassebaum from Kansas, and Frank Murkowski, also from Alaska.[20][21]
The HUD Secretary at the time, Jack Kemp, also endorsed Johnston as well.[22]
Johnston defeated Duke in the jungle primary, with 752,902 votes (53.9 percent), to 607,391 votes (43.5 percent), with others taking 35,820 votes (2.5 percent).[23] Johnston retired after his fourth term ended in 1997; he was succeeded by fellow Democrat Mary Landrieu, daughter of the Carter HUD Secretary and former New Orleans Mayor Moon Landrieu.
A conservative within the Democratic caucus, Johnston broke with his party on some important issues. He voted to authorize use of military force in Iraq in 1991.[24] and also in favor of the narrow confirmation of Clarence Thomas as Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.[25] However, in 1987, he had voted against President Reagan's choice of former Judge Robert Bork to be on the high court.[26]
Johnston was one of the few Senate Democrats to vote against the Budget Act of 1993, which was strongly supported by President Bill Clinton and many prominent members of the Democratic Party. Johnston was a firm advocate of the Flag Desecration Amendment[27] while opposing abortion and most gun control measures. However, Johnston repeatedly voted against the Balanced Budget Amendment and giving the President the line-item veto, both of which were measures strongly favored by fiscal conservatives in both parties. On foreign policy issues, he frequently voted with more liberal Democrats, like terminating restrictions on travel to Cuba, and support for the U.N. and foreign aid measures.
Johnston was the only member of either house of Congress to vote against a 1995 resolution to allow Taiwan's president Lee Teng-hui to visit the United States.[28]
In 1988, Johnston sought the position of majority leader but lost to George J. Mitchell of Maine.[29] From 1972 to 1987, Johnston's Louisiana colleague was Russell Long. The two agreed on many issues and formed a close working relationship to deliver federal spending to Louisiana. On Long's death, Johnston delivered a moving eulogy at the funeral. Johnston continued the same kind of partnership with Long's successor, former Senator John B. Breaux, who served from 1987 to 2005.
Since leaving the Senate, Johnston has been a Washington-based lobbyist. He formed Johnston & Associates LLC following retirement.[30][31] In 2008, Steptoe & Johnson, a major international law firm, formed a "strategic alliance" with Johnston. In addition, Steptoe added three members from Johnston & Associates to their firm.[32]
In 1997, he was elected to Chevron's Board of Directors.[33] He is no longer on the board, however.[34]
In 2010, Johnston received the National Parks Conservation Association Centennial Leadership Award.[35] In addition, Johnston and former Senator Howard Baker co-chaired the National Parks Second Century Commission.[36]
Currently, Johnston is one of the advisory directors at Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold[37] and Angeleno Group, an energy-based investment group.[38][39]
His son-in-law, former Democratic Representative Timothy J. Roemer of Indiana,[40] was a member of the 9/11 Commission.[41]
In 1997, Johnston was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield.[42] He is a member of the Baptist Church; his wife, the former Mary Gunn,[43] is Roman Catholic.[44][45][46] Their children are Bennett, Hunter, Mary, and Sally, and ten grandchildren.[31][47]
The video conferencing room at Southern University at Shreveport is named in Johnston's honor; it is located inside Stone Hall, named for the late civil rights activist and former president of the Southern University System, Jesse N. Stone of Shreveport.[48]
| United States Senate | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Elaine S. Edwards |
United States Senator (Class 2) from Louisiana 1972 – 1997 Served alongside: Russell B. Long, John Breaux |
Succeeded by Mary Landrieu |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by James A. McClure |
Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee 1987 – 1995 |
Succeeded by Frank Murkowski |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Office created |
Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee 1975 – 1976 |
Succeeded by Wendell H. Ford |
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