Samuel Lee Jenkins Jr. is an American

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

serving as a Democratic member for the 39th district of the

Louisiana Senate The Louisiana State Senate (; ) is the upper house of Louisiana’s legislature. Senators serve four-year terms and participate in various committees. Composition The Louisiana State Senate has 39 members elected from single-member districts ...

. He previously represented the 2nd district in the

Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (; ) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 representatives, each of whom represents approximately 4 ...

and served as the minority leader of the House from 2020 to 2024.

Early life and education

Jenkins was born as Samuel Lee Jenkins Jr. He attended

Southern University Southern University and A&M College (Southern University, Southern, SUBR or SU) is a Public university, public historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. It i ...

, where he earned a BA and a JD.

Political career

Louisiana House of Representatives

Jenkins was elected to represent the 2nd district of the

in 2016, succeeding Roy A. Burrell. He assumed office on January 11, 2016. During his tenure, he was elected Minority Leader of the House in 2020, a position he held until January 2024.

Louisiana Senate

In November 2023, Jenkins was elected to represent the 39th district in the

, defeating fellow Democratic House representative Cedric Glover in a runoff. He assumed office on January 8, 2024.

Legislative positions

Jenkins opposed

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Jeff Landry Jeffrey Martin Landry ( ; born December 23, 1970) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the 57th governor of Louisiana since 2024. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 45th attorney general of Louisiana from 201 ...

's special session of the

Louisiana Legislature The Louisiana State Legislature (; ) is the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is a bicameral legislature, body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 ...

on crime in the state, advocating instead for preventative measures due to concerns that the session's outcomes might lead to increased incarceration.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Sam Living people Democratic Party Louisiana state senators Democratic Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Louisiana State Legislature Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people)