John Hardy Isakson (December 28, 1944 – December 19, 2021) was an American businessman and politician who served as a
United States senator
The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress.
Party affiliation
Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...
from
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
from 2005 until his resignation in 2019 following health concerns. A member of the
Republican Party, he previously served in the
Georgia legislature and 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 ...
.
Born in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, Georgia, Isakson served in the
Georgia Air National Guard (1966–1972) and graduated from the
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...
. He opened a real estate branch for Northside Realty and later served 22 years as the company's president. After a failed bid for the
Georgia House of Representatives in 1974, he was elected in 1976. He served seven terms, including four as minority leader. Isakson was the Republican candidate for
governor of Georgia
The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's Georgia National Guard, National Guard, when not in federal service, and Georgia State Defense Force, State Defense Fo ...
in
1990, but lost. Two years later, he was elected to the
Georgia Senate and served one term. He unsuccessfully ran in the Republican primary in the
1996 U.S. Senate election.
After
6th District Congressman and
Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich
Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1 ...
resigned, Isakson ran in the
February 1999 special election to succeed him, winning by a 40-point margin. He ran for the U.S. Senate in
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 ...
after
Democratic incumbent
Zell Miller opted not to run for re-election. With the backing of much of Georgia's Republican establishment, he won both the primary and general elections by wide margins. He became the senior senator from Georgia when
Saxby Chambliss
Clarence Saxby Chambliss (; born November 10, 1943) is an American lawyer and retired politician who was a United States Senate, United States Senator from Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia from 2003 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party (Unite ...
retired in 2015. On December 31, 2019, midway through his third Senate term, Isakson resigned from the Senate due to health concerns and was succeeded by fellow Republican
Kelly Loeffler who was appointed by
Brian Kemp
Brian Porter Kemp (born November 2, 1963) is an American politician serving as the 83rd governor of Georgia since 2019. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Kemp served as the state's 27th Georgia Secretary of Sta ...
, the Republican Governor of Georgia, to fill the vacant seat. He died two years later on December 19, 2021.
Early life, education, and real estate career
Isakson was born on December 28, 1944, in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, Georgia, the son of Julia (''née'' Baker) and Edwin Andrew Isakson, a
Greyhound bus driver,
who later established an Atlanta real estate firm. His paternal grandparents were of
Swedish descent, and his paternal grandfather was born in
Östersund
Östersund (; ) is an Urban areas in Sweden, urban area (Stad (Sweden), city) in Jämtland in northern Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Östersund is located at the shores of Sweden's fifth-larg ...
. His mother was of mostly
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
ancestry, and her family has been in the American South since the colonial era.
Isakson served in the
Georgia Air National Guard from 1966 to 1972, leaving service as a staff sergeant.
Isakson enrolled at the
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...
, where he became a member of the
Sigma Alpha Epsilon social fraternity.
Shortly after graduating from UGA, he opened the first
Cobb County office of Northside Realty, a prominent Atlanta-area real estate firm that his father, Ed, helped to establish. Isakson became company president in 1979, a post he held for 22 years, during which Northside became the biggest independent real estate company in the Southeast and one of the largest in the United States.
Early political career (1974–1998)
Georgia House of Representatives
In 1974, Isakson first ran for the
Georgia House of Representatives in an eastern Cobb County district and lost. He ran again in 1976 and won. He served seven terms in the House. He won re-election unopposed in 1984 and 1988. In his last four terms (1983–1990), he was the Republican
Minority leader. In 1988 and 1996, he was co-chair for U.S. Senator
Bob Dole
Robert Joseph Dole (July 22, 1923 – December 5, 2021) was an American politician and attorney who represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was the Party leaders of the United States Senate, Republican Leader of th ...
's presidential primary campaigns.
1990 gubernatorial election
Isakson was the Republican candidate for
Governor of Georgia
The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's Georgia National Guard, National Guard, when not in federal service, and Georgia State Defense Force, State Defense Fo ...
in 1990. He won the Republican primary with 74% of the vote in a four candidate field. In the general election, he was defeated by
Democratic Lieutenant Governor
A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
Zell Miller 53%–45%. His campaign was managed by Jay Morgan while Miller's campaign was managed by
James Carville. Miller ran on a pledge to start a
state lottery and use the revenue for
public schools. Isakson proposed a
ballot referendum on the lottery.
Georgia Senate
In 1992, Isakson was elected to the
Georgia Senate.
1996 U.S. Senate election
In
1996
1996 was designated as:
* International Year for the Eradication of Poverty
Events January
* January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
, Isakson ran in the Republican
primary for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Democratic U.S. Senator
Sam Nunn. During his campaign, Isakson expressed his support for abortion rights in a campaign advertisement.
Isakson finished second in the
primary election with 35% of the vote, but the winner
Guy Millner, a millionaire businessman, failed to get a majority of the vote (receiving only 42%). Therefore, per Georgia law, he was forced into a primary
runoff election
The two-round system (TRS or 2RS), sometimes called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a single-winner electoral system which aims to elect a member who has support of the majority of voters. The two-round system involves one ...
. Millner defeated Isakson in the runoff 53%–47%. Millner lost the general election to Democrat
Max Cleland
Joseph Maxwell Cleland (August 24, 1942 – November 9, 2021) was an American politician from Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was a disabled United States Army, U.S. Army vete ...
.
In December 1996, Isakson was appointed head of the State Board of Education by Gov. Zell Miller.
[''Almanac of American Politics'' 2008, p. 463.]
U.S. House of Representatives (1999–2005)
Elections
;1999
In November 1998,
6th District U.S. Congressman and
Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich
Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1 ...
faced a revolt in his caucus after the Republicans lost five seats in the
midterm elections. Amid the turmoil, Gingrich announced on Friday after the Tuesday elections not only that he would not run for a third term as Speaker, but he would also not take his seat for an eleventh term beginning in January 1999. Isakson ran for the seat in a
special election in February. He won the election with 65% of the vote, forty points ahead of the second-place finisher Christina Fawcett Jeffrey.
;2000
Isakson won re-election to his first full term with 74.75% of the vote.
;2002
Isakson won re-election to his second full term with 79.87% of the vote.
Tenure
During his tenure in the House of Representatives, Isakson served on the
Committee on Education and the Workforce, aiding President Bush in passing the
No Child Left Behind Act
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was a 2002 United States Act of Congress promoted by the presidential administration of George W. Bush. It reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and included Title I provisio ...
.
As a Representative, Isakson sponsored 27 bills. He was a member of the
U.S. House Education Committee. In October 2002, Isakson voted in favor of the
authorization of force against the country of Iraq.
U.S. Senate (2005–2019)
Elections
2004
In early 2003,
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
Democratic U.S. Senator
Zell Miller—who had been appointed to fill out the term of the late Republican Senator
Paul Coverdell
Paul Douglas Coverdell (January 20, 1939 – July 18, 2000) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from Georgia from 1993 until his death in 2000. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the director o ...
and elected to the post in his own right in 2000—declared his intention not to run for a full term in the Senate in 2004. Isakson immediately entered the race. He faced
8th District U.S. Congressman
Mac Collins and businessman
Herman Cain in the primary.
It was initially thought Isakson would face a difficult primary since many socially conservative Republicans still felt chagrin at Isakson's declared support for abortion rights in 1990. However, he won the Republican primary with 53%, with Cain a distant second and Collins third, averting the need for a runoff. In the general election, he easily defeated the Democratic candidate,
4th District Congresswoman
Denise Majette, by 18 points. Isakson's election marked the first time in Georgia's history that both of the state's U.S. Senate seats had been held by Republicans, as
Saxby Chambliss
Clarence Saxby Chambliss (; born November 10, 1943) is an American lawyer and retired politician who was a United States Senate, United States Senator from Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia from 2003 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party (Unite ...
had won the other seat by defeating Nunn's successor,
Max Cleland
Joseph Maxwell Cleland (August 24, 1942 – November 9, 2021) was an American politician from Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was a disabled United States Army, U.S. Army vete ...
, two years earlier.
2010
In 2010, Isakson was unopposed in the primary. He won re-election with 58.3% of the vote in 2010, defeating State Commissioner of Labor
Mike Thurmond.
2016
Isakson was re-elected to a third term in 2016 with 54.8% of the vote.
Tenure and legislation
As a senator, Isakson sponsored or co-sponsored 130 bills, just 8 of which became law.
In 2010, Isakson apologized for referring to voters as "the unwashed" in off-hand comments, saying he "didn't mean anything derogatory by it."
Isakson resigned from the Senate for health reasons on December 31, 2019. He is the longest serving Republican senator in the history of Georgia.
Committee assignments
*
Committee on Finance
**
Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs and Global Competitiveness
**
Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions and Family Policy
**
Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight
*
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
**
Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety (Chairman)
*
Committee on Veterans' Affairs (Chairman)
[
* Select Committee on Ethics (Chairman)][
* Committee on Foreign Relations
** Subcommittee on African Affairs
** Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs
]
Political positions
When compared to his Republican peers in the Senate, Isakson was close to center of his party; he was neither significantly more conservative nor liberal than his peers.
Abortion
During his campaign for U.S. senator in 1996, Isakson expressed his support for abortion rights in a campaign advertisement. In 2005, Isakson reportedly identified himself as pro-life with exceptions. In March 2017, Isakson—who was recovering from back surgery—came to the U.S. Capitol in a wheelchair to vote to repeal an Obama administration
Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. Obama, a Democrat from Illinois, took office following his victory over Republican nomine ...
rule that had made it unlawful for states to bar abortion providers from receiving Title X funding. The Senate vote on the bill was 50–50, and Vice President Mike Pence
Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...
cast a tie-breaking vote that allowed the bill to pass.
Agriculture
In July 2019, Isakson was one of eight senators to introduce the Agricultural Trucking Relief Act, a bill that would alter the definition of an agricultural commodity to include both horticultural and aquacultural products and promote a larger consistency in regulation through both federal and state agencies as part of an attempt to ease regulatory burdens on trucking and the agri-community.
Gun laws
In 2017, Isakson said that while he did support concealed carry nationwide, he did not support campus carry and stated that it is "not the appropriate thing to do."
In February 2018, in response to the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting
On February 14, 2018, a mass shooting occurred when 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, part of the Miami metropolitan area, Parkland, Florida, killing 17 people and injuring 18 ot ...
, Isakson said, "We have to do everything we can within our powers to make sure it never happens again."
Healthcare
Isakson voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and voted more than 60 times to repeal it.
Immigration
In 2019, Isakson voted to support President Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
's national emergency declaration regarding border security.
Personal life
Isakson and his wife, Dianne, were married in 1968, and had three children. His wife is a watercolor
Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting metho ...
artist, and served as honorary co-chair for Marietta's Theatre in the Square playhouse in 2007.
Health and death
In June 2015, Isakson disclosed that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...
, but added that the diagnosis would not affect his 2016 re-election plans. He continued his campaign and was elected in November 2016 to serve a third six-year term in the Senate. On August 28, 2019, however, Isakson announced that he would resign his Senate seat for health reasons on December 31, 2019.
Isakson died at his home in Atlanta on December 19, 2021, nine days short of his 77th birthday.
Electoral history
See also
References
External links
Senator Johnny Isakson
official U.S. Senate website
Johnny Isakson for Senate
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Isakson, Johnny
1944 births
2021 deaths
20th-century American businesspeople
American people of British descent
American people of Swedish descent
American businesspeople in real estate
Businesspeople from Atlanta
Candidates in the 1990 United States elections
Candidates in the 1996 United States elections
Deaths from Parkinson's disease in Georgia (U.S. state)
Republican Party Georgia (U.S. state) state senators
Georgia National Guard personnel
Republican Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives
Military personnel from Georgia (U.S. state)
Politicians from Atlanta
Republican Party United States senators from Georgia (U.S. state)
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state)
United States Air Force airmen
University of Georgia alumni
Sigma Alpha Epsilon members
21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives
21st-century United States senators
20th-century members of the Georgia General Assembly