John Joseph Cavanaugh III (born August 1, 1945) is an American politician and lawyer from

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. First elected to the

Nebraska Legislature The Nebraska Legislature (also called the Unicameral) is the legislative branch, legislature of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln, Nebraska, Lincoln. With 49 members, known as "senators ...

from 1977 until 1981, he served in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from Nebraska’s 2nd congressional district. Since the death of

Brad Ashford John Bradley Ashford (November 10, 1949 – April 19, 2022) was an American politician who served in the Nebraska Legislature and the United States House of Representatives from Nebraska's 2nd congressional district from 2015 to 2017. He is the m ...

in 2022, Cavanaugh is the only living

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

in the state to have been elected to the House of Representatives.

Early life and education

Born in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, he graduated from

Creighton Preparatory School Creighton Preparatory School (simply referred to as Creighton Prep or Prep) is a private, Jesuit high school for boys in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. It was established in 1878 under the name Creighton College and is located in the Archdio ...

in 1963, from Regis College in

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, in 1967 and from Creighton University School of Law in 1972. From 1968 to 1970, Cavanaugh served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. He was admitted to the bar in 1972 and set up practice in Omaha.

Career

In 1972, he was elected to the

from the ninth district. He served until his 1976 election to the

, where he represented

Nebraska's 2nd congressional district Nebraska's 2nd congressional district is a List of United States congressional districts, congressional district in the U.S. state of Nebraska that encompasses the core of the Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area. It includes all of Douglas ...

in the Ninety-fifth United States Congress. He was reelected to the Ninety-sixth United States Congress in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

. In total, Cavanaugh served in Congress from January 3, 1977, to January 3, 1981. He chose not to seek reelection in 1980 and instead returned to practising law in Omaha. He was succeeded by Republican

Hal Daub Harold John Daub Jr. (born April 23, 1941) is an American lawyer and politician from Nebraska who served four terms in the United States House of Representatives and as the 48th Mayor of Omaha, Nebraska. In 2012, Daub was elected to the Board of R ...

, whom he had defeated in 1978. Cavanaugh was a delegate for Nebraska to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

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 ...

, and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

. Cavanaugh is a member of the ReFormers Caucus of

Issue One Issue One is an American nonprofit organization that seeks to reduce the role of money in politics. It aims to increase public awareness of what it views as problems within the present campaign finance system, and to reduce the influence of money ...

Personal life

Cavanaugh is Catholic and has eight children, including John Jr. and Machaela, who are both members of the

. In June 2025, John Jr. announced a campaign for his father's old congressional seat in the 2026 election, currently held by Republican

Don Bacon Donald John Bacon (born August 16, 1963) is an American politician and retired military officer who has served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Nebraska's Nebraska's 2nd congressional district, 2nd congress ...

References

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John J. Cavanaugh, III - Martindale-Hubbell Law Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cavanaugh, John Joseph III 1945 births Living people Nebraska lawyers Democratic Party Nebraska state senators Politicians from Omaha, Nebraska Creighton University School of Law alumni Regis University alumni United States Army soldiers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Nebraska 20th-century members of the Nebraska Legislature 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives