Clinton LeSueur
| Clinton Bernard LeSueur | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1969 Holly Springs, Marshall County, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Residence | Greenville, Washington County, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Alma mater |
Rust College American University |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Political party |
Democrat-turned-Republican (2001) Mississippi's 2nd congressional district nominee in 2002 and 2004 |
| Religion | Pentecostal |
Clinton Bernard LeSueur (born 1969) is an American politician and journalist from the state of Mississippi.
Personal life
LeSueur was born and reared in Holly Springs, a suburb of Memphis. His father was a Church of God in Christ minister. The tenth of fifteen children, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in print journalism from historically black Rust College, a liberal arts institution in Holly Springs. He then received a Master's degree in political science from American University in Washington, D.C.
He worked as a news reporter for the Afro-American Newspaper, one of the oldest black-owned newspapers in United States. He left there to work as a news assistant at USA Today, where he received the "Voice of Courage" award for writing about health issues. Later, he became lead reporter for TV Technology Magazine, where he covered the Federal Communication Commission and the Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Committee on Capitol Hill.
He became the legislative writer for Washington, D.C., City Council member Adrian M. Fenty.
His volunteer service includes serving for five years in the "I Have A Dream" Foundation, a nationwide network of projects dedicated to keeping at-risk children in school, completing a one-year program as an AmeriCorps volunteer, and mentoring students in local urban schools.
LeSueur currently resides in Greenville.
Political career
LeSeur grew up as a Democrat. However, he switched to Republican affiliation in 2001, having become disenchanted with the party's stances on abortion and gay marriage. He struggled with that decision for some time, even to the point of saying, "Lord, I don't want to be a Republican!"[1] In 2002, he ran as the Republican candidate in Mississippi's 2nd congressional district against incumbent Democrat Bennie Thompson and ran on a strongly socially conservative platform. He was defeated, having obtained 42.7 percent of the vote to Thompson's 55.1 percent—a close margin, given the district's heavy Democratic tilt and the fact that LeSueur received little encouragement from the national party.
He challenged Thompson again in 2004. This time, he attracted more attention from the national party, and spoke at the 2004 Republican National Convention. He lost again, receiving 40.6 percent of the vote. To date, he is the only Republican to have made a credible bid against Thompson.
On July 1, 2005, LeSueur was appointed director of the Delta Regional Authority (DRA) faith-based initiative.[2]
References
- ↑ Sandler, Lauren (2007). Righteous: Dispatches from the Evangelical Youth Movement. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-311237-6.
- ↑ Rust College alum, Clinton LeSueur, appointed Faith-Based Initiative (FBI) director. The Rustorian, September 4, 2005.