Brian Douglas Kerns (born May 22, 1957) is an American journalist and politician. He served as a Republican Representative from

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

's 7th congressional district from January 3, 2001 to January 3, 2003. Kerns was born in

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in Vigo County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 58,389 and Terre Haute metropolitan area, its metropolitan area had a populati ...

. He has both a B.A. and an M.P.A. from

Indiana State University Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified ...

. He is the son-in-law of Representative John T. Myers. He is married and has five children. Prior to serving in Congress, Kerns was an administrator at St. Joseph's College, and a television journalist. Kerns also was an aide to Representative Edward A. Pease and served as his chief of staff.

Congressional career

Attorney General John Ashcroft meets with Congressman Brian Kerns

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, when Pease retired, Kerns won a 12-way Republican primary. Kerns went on to win the general election with close to 65% of the vote. During his term in Congress, Kerns took up many social issues including gun rights and working to ban human cloning. He is also responsible for bringing closure to the Lafayette Railroad Relocation Project. Kerns served on the

International Relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

and Transportation and Infrastructure committees. During his time in congress, Kerns never missed a single vote. After the 2000 United States Census, Kerns' district, which stretched from Terre Haute to

West Lafayette, Indiana West Lafayette ( ) is a city in Wabash and Tippecanoe Townships, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, approximately northwest of the state capital of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette is directly across the Wabash ...

, was eliminated. Most of Kerns' old territory was placed in the newly created . That district had previously been the 5th, represented by fellow Republican

Steve Buyer Stephen Earle Buyer ( ; born November 26, 1958) is an American former politician who served as the U.S. representative for , and previously the , from 1993 until 2011. In Congress, Buyer served as one of the House managers (prosecutors) in the ...

. However, Kerns' home in Terre Haute was placed in the

Evansville Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 census, it is Indiana's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the most populous city in S ...

-based 8th district of another Republican,

John Hostettler John Nathan Hostettler (born July 19, 1961) is an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives for 12 years, representing as a Republican Party (United States), Republican. He lost his reelection bid for a sevent ...

. Rather than challenge Hostettler for the Republican nomination in the 8th, Kerns moved to

Hendricks County Hendricks County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 174,788. The county seat is the town of Danville. Hendricks County is the third most populous county in the Indianapolis- Carme ...

to face Buyer, and lost.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kerns, Brian 1957 births Living people Indiana State University alumni Politicians from Terre Haute, Indiana Journalists from Indiana American male journalists Saint Joseph's College (Indiana) Political chiefs of staff United States congressional aides Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives