John Breaux
|
|
John_Breaux.jpg
John Berlinger Breaux (born March 1, 1944) was a United States Senator from Louisiana from 1987 until 2005. He was considered one of the more conservative senators from the Democratic Party.
Born in Crowley, Louisiana, he graduated from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1964 and from Louisiana State University Law School in Baton Rouge in 1967.
Breaux was elected as a Democrat to the Ninety-second Congress in a special election on September 30, 1972, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Edwin Edwards. At the age of 28, he was then the youngest member of the United States House of Representatives. Breaux was re-elected to the seven succeeding Congresses and served until January 3, 1987. He was not a candidate for re-election to the House of Representatives in 1986 but was elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate in 1986 and was re-elected in 1992 and again in 1998. He was seen as a key centrist in the partisanly divided Senate and frequently was sought out by Republican leaders to corral a few Democratic votes when they needed them; conversely he also served often as the Democrat emissary in attempts to gather a few moderate Republicans to win votes on their proposals. He announced that he would not run for re-election in 2004. While many Democrats looked for a moderate to support in the 2008 Presidential race, Breaux is considered an unlikely candidate. He never mounted a serious exploration of the possibility in previous years. He was succeeded in the Senate by Republican David Vitter. Though considered a popular politician in Louisiana, he was unable to secure a victory for Democrat Chris John, whom he endorsed.
In February 2005, Breaux took a position as Distinguished Professor in the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University. [1] (http://appl003.lsu.edu/unv002.nsf/9faf000d8eb58d4986256abe00720a51/fe4e9eace4374ca286256fac0070f759?OpenDocument)
External links
- John Breaux profile, NNDB (http://www.nndb.com/people/193/000032097/)
| Preceded by: Russell B. Long | U.S. Senator (Class 3) from Louisiana 1987–2005 | Succeeded by: David Vitter |