Johnny Isakson

John Hardy Isakson (born December 28, 1944) is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Georgia from 2005 to 2019 as a member of the Republican Party. He represented Georgia's 6th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2005.

Johnny Isakson
Official portrait, 2014
United States Senator from Georgia
In office January 3, 2005 – December 31, 2019
Preceded by	Zell Miller
Succeeded by	Kelly Loeffler
Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee
In office January 3, 2015 – December 31, 2019
Preceded by	Bernie Sanders
Succeeded by	Jerry Moran
Chair of the Senate Ethics Committee
In office January 3, 2015 – December 19, 2019
Preceded by	Barbara Boxer
Succeeded by	James Lankford
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 6th district
In office February 23, 1999 – January 3, 2005
Preceded by	Newt Gingrich
Succeeded by	Tom Price
Member of the Georgia Senate from the 21st district
In office January 11, 1993 – January 6, 1997
Preceded by	Bill English[1]
Succeeded by	Robert Lamutt[2]
Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives
In office January 10, 1983 – January 11, 1991
Preceded by	Herbert Jones Jr.
Succeeded by	Paul Heard
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives from Cobb County
In office January 10, 1977 – January 11, 1991
Preceded by	C. W. "Chuck" Edwards
Succeeded by	Lynda Coker
Constituency	20-Post 1 (1977–83) 21-Post 2 (1983–91)
Personal details
Born	John Hardy Isakson December 28, 1944 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Dianne Isakson
Children	3
Education	University of Georgia (BBA)
Net worth	$9.7 million (2018)[3]
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Air Force
Years of service	1966–1972
Rank	Staff Sergeant
Unit	Georgia Air National Guard

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Isakson served in the Georgia Air National Guard (1966–1972) and graduated from the University of Georgia. 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 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 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 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 retired in 2015. On December 31, 2019, midway through his third Senate term, Isakson resigned from the Senate due to health concerns.

Early life, education, and real estate career

Isakson was born on December 28, 1944, in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Julia (née Baker) and Edwin Andrew Isakson, a Greyhound bus driver,[4] who later established an Atlanta real estate firm.[5] His paternal grandparents were of Swedish descent, and his paternal grandfather was born in Östersund. His mother is of mostly British ancestry, and her family has been in the American South since the colonial era.[6][7]

Isakson served in the Georgia Air National Guard from 1966 to 1972, leaving service as a staff sergeant.[8] Isakson enrolled at the University of Georgia, where he became a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon social fraternity.[9] 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 America.[10]

Early political career (1974–1998)

Isakson as a State Representative in 1977

Isakson greeting President Ronald Reagan in 1986

Isakson with President George H. W. Bush in 1990

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.[11] and 1988.[12] 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's presidential primary campaigns.[13]

1990 gubernatorial election

Isakson was the Republican candidate for Governor of Georgia in 1990. He won the Republican primary with 74% of the vote in a four candidate field.[14] In the general election, he was defeated by Democratic Lieutenant Governor Zell Miller 53%–45%.[15] 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.[16]

1996 U.S. Senate election

In 1996, 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.[17] 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%).[18] Therefore, per Georgia law, he was forced into a primary runoff election. Millner defeated Isakson in the runoff 53%–47%.[19] Millner lost the general election to Democrat Max Cleland.[20]

In December 1996, Isakson was appointed head of the State Board of Education by Gov. Zell Miller.[21]

U.S. House of Representatives (1999–2005)

Elections

1999

In November 1998, 6th District U.S. Congressman and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich 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, up forty points ahead of the second-place finisher Christina Fawcett Jeffrey.[22]

2000

Isakson won re-election to his first full term with 75% of the vote.[23]

2002

Isakson won re-election to his second full term with 80% of the vote.[24]

President George W. Bush and Senator Isakson aboard Air Force One in 2005.

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.[4] As a Representative, Isakson sponsored 27 bills.[25] He was a member of the U.S. House Education Committee.[26] In October 2002, Isakson voted in favor of the authorization of force against the country of Iraq.[27]

U.S. Senate (2005–2019)

Isakson with Neil Gorsuch in 2017

Isakson with Brett Kavanaugh in 2018

Elections

2004

In early 2003, conservative Democratic U.S. Senator Zell Miller—who had been appointed to fill out the term of the late Republican Senator Paul Coverdell 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.[28]

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 had won the other seat by defeating Nunn's successor, Max Cleland, two years earlier.[29]

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.[30]

2016

Isakson was re-elected to a third term in 2016 with 54.8% of the vote.[31]

Tenure and legislation

As a Senator, Isakson sponsored over 130 bills.[32]

In 2010, Isakson apologized for referring to voters as "the unwashed" in off-hand comments, saying he "didn't mean anything derogatory by it."[33]

Isakson resigned from the Senate for health reasons on December 31, 2019.[34]

Committee assignments prior to retirement

• 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[35]

Political positions

When compared to his Republican peers in the Senate, Isakson was neither more liberal than average nor more conservative than average.[36]

Abortion

During his campaign, Isakson expressed his support for abortion rights in a campaign advertisement.[17] In 2005, Isakson reportedly identified himself as pro-life with exceptions.[37] In March 2017, Isakson—who was recovering from back surgery—came to the Capitol in a wheelchair to vote to repeal an Obama administration 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 cast a tie-breaking vote that allowed the bill to pass.[38]

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.[39]

Gun laws

In 2017, Isakson said that while he does support concealed carry nationwide, he does not support campus carry, stating that it is "not the appropriate thing to do."[40]

In February 2018, in response to the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, Isakson said, "We have to do everything we can within our powers to make sure it never happens again."[41]

Healthcare

Isakson voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and voted more than 60 times to repeal it.[42]

Immigration

In 2019, Isakson voted to support President Donald Trump's national emergency declaration regarding border security.[43]

Personal life

Isakson and his wife, Dianne, have been married since 1968. They have three children and eight grandchildren.[44]

In June 2015, Isakson disclosed that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, but added that the diagnosis would not affect his 2016 re-election plans.[45] On August 28, 2019, Isakson announced that he would resign his Senate seat for health reasons on December 31, 2019.[46]

Electoral history

1990 Georgia gubernatorial election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Zell Miller	766,662	52.89	-17.62
	Republican	Johnny Isakson	645,625	44.54	+15.05
	Libertarian	Carole Ann Rand	37,367	2.58	±0
Majority			121,037	8.35
Turnout			1,449,654
	Democratic hold

2000 general election in Georgia's 6th congressional district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Johnny Isakson (Incumbent)	256,595	74.75%
	Democratic	Brett DeHart	86,666	25.25%
Total votes			343,261	100.00%
Turnout
	Republican hold

[47]

2002 general election in Georgia's 6th congressional district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Johnny Isakson (Incumbent)	163,209	79.91%
	Democratic	Jeff Weisberger	41,043	20.09%
Total votes			204,252	100.00%
Turnout
	Republican hold

2004 U.S. Senate Republican primary election in Georgia[48]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Johnny Isakson	346,765	53.2%
	Republican	Herman Cain	170,464	26.2%
	Republican	Mac Collins	134,053	20.6%

2004 U.S. Senate general election in Georgia[49]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Johnny Isakson	1,864,205	57.88%	+19.97%
	Democratic	Denise Majette	1,287,695	39.98%	−18.22%
	Libertarian	Allen Buckley	69,051	2.14%	+2.14%
Majority			576,510	17.90%
Turnout			3,220,951
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

2010 U.S. Senate Republican primary election in Georgia[50]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Johnny Isakson (Incumbent)	558,298	100.00%
Total votes			558,298	100.00%

2010 U.S. Senate general election in Georgia[51]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Johnny Isakson (Incumbent)	1,489,904	58.31%	+0.43%
	Democratic	Michael Thurmond	996,516	39.00%	-0.98%
	Libertarian	Chuck Donovan	68,750	2.69%	+0.55%
	Independent	Steve Davis (write-in)	52	0.00%	N/A
	Independent	Raymond Beckworth (write-in)	24	0.00%	N/A
	Independent	Brian Russell Brown (write-in)	12	0.00%	N/A
Majority			493,388	19.31%
Total votes			2,555,258	100.00%
	Republican hold

2016 U.S. Senate Republican primary election in Georgia[52]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Johnny Isakson (Incumbent)	447,661	77.50%
	Republican	Derrick Grayson	69,101	11.96%
	Republican	Mary Kay Bacallao	60,898	10.54%
Total votes			577,660	100.00%

2016 U.S. Senate general election in Georgia[53]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Johnny Isakson (incumbent)	2,135,806	54.80%	-3.51%
	Democratic	Jim Barksdale	1,599,726	41.04%	+2.04%
	Libertarian	Allen Buckley	162,260	4.16%	+1.47%
Total votes			'3,897,792'	'100.0%'	N/A
	Republican hold

References

1. "Our Campaigns – GA State Senate 21 Race – Nov 03, 1992". www.ourcampaigns.com.
2. "Our Campaigns – GA State Senate 21 Race – Nov 08, 1994". www.ourcampaigns.com.
3. "Ranking the Net Worth of the 115th". Retrieved August 5, 2019.
4. "GEORGIA Johnny Isakson (R)". The Washington Post. November 4, 2004. Retrieved August 29, 2010.
5. "Atlanta roots lie under real estate's family tree". Atlanta Business Chronicle. May 10, 2010.
6. "Floor Statement on Immigration Reform Remarks as Delivered on the Senate Floor". Johnny Isakson. April 13, 2005. Retrieved February 20, 2007.
7. "Johnny Isakson ancestry". Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
8. "Veterans in the US Senate 109th Congress" (PDF). Navy League. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 28, 2007. Retrieved December 9, 2006.
9. "Greeks in the 113th Congress". North-American Interfraternity Conference. Archived from the original on March 27, 2014. Retrieved September 2, 2013.
10. "Johnny Isakson Senate". Johnny Isakson Biography. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
11. "Our Campaigns – GA State House 021 Race – Nov 06, 1984". www.ourcampaigns.com.
12. "Our Campaigns – GA State House 021 Post 2 Race – Nov 08, 1988". www.ourcampaigns.com.
13. "Johnny Isakson will seek Senate seat". bizjournals.com. American City Business Journals. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
14. "Our Campaigns – GA Governor – R Primary Race – Jul 17, 1990". www.ourcampaigns.com.
15. "Our Campaigns – GA Governor Race – Nov 06, 1990". www.ourcampaigns.com.
16. McKee, Don. "DON McKEE: Sen. Johnny Isakson: Tireless warrior for veterans, citizens". mdjonline.com. Marietta Daily Journal. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
17. Sack, Kevin (June 16, 1996). "Georgian Makes a Bold Stand on Abortion" – via NYTimes.com.
18. "Our Campaigns – GA US Senate – R Primary Race – Jul 09, 1996". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
19. "Our Campaigns – GA US Senate – R Runoff Race – Aug 06, 1996". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
20. "Ga.: Democrats Win Key Senate Battle In Peach State". cnn.com. Cable News Network (CNN). Retrieved July 22, 2020.
21. Almanac of American Politics 2008, p. 463.
22. "Official Results of the February 23, 1999 Special Election". Georgia Secretary of State. March 16, 1999. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
23. "Our Campaigns – GA District 6 Race – Nov 07, 2000". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
24. "Our Campaigns – GA District 6 Race – Nov 05, 2002". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
25. "Representative Isakson's Legislation". Library of Congress. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
26. "Column: In their own words: Isakson's impact on education". Augustachronicle.com. The Augusta Chronicle. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
27. "FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 455" (H J RES 114 YEA-AND-NAY). U.S. House. October 10, 2002.
28. Pettys, Dick. "Isakson Wins GOP Primary For Georgia's Senate Seat". washingtonpost.com. WP Company, LLC. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
29. "List of United States senators from Georgia". Wikipedia.org. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
30. "Georgia – Election Results 2010". nytimes.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
31. "Georgia U.S. Senate Results: Johnny Isakson Wins". nytimes.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
32. "Senator Isakson's Legislation". Library of Congress. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
33. "Isakson apologizes for calling voters 'unwashed'". Atlanta Journal Constitution. June 17, 2010. Archived from the original on June 21, 2010. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
34. Rogers, Alex; Bradner, Eric; Mattingly, Phil (August 28, 2019). "Georgia Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson to resign at end of year". CNN. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
35. "Subcommittees". senate.gov. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
36. Parlapiano, Haeyoun Park, Alicia; Sanger-katz, Margot (July 13, 2017). "Republicans Made 4 Key Changes to Their Health Care Bill. Here's Who They Were Trying to Win Over". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
37. "An Ardent Moderate". January 1, 2005.
38. Barrett, Ted. "Isakson returns to Senate to cast key vote on Planned Parenthood". CNN.
39. Galford, Chris (July 2, 2019). "Bipartisan Senate effort seeks to ease regulation of agricultural trucking". transportationtodaynews.com.
40. Harris, Nate. "Senator Isakson speaks out against campus carry". The Red and Black. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
41. Saporta, Maria (February 20, 2018). "Sen. Johnny Isakson: 'Of course' planning to run for re-election in 2022". Business Journal. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
42. "Health Care – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson".
43. "Isakson Votes to Uphold Trump's Emergency Declaration – News Releases – – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson". www.isakson.senate.gov. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
44. Clanton, Nancy. "5 things to know about Johnny Isakson". ajc.com. The Atlanta-Journal Constitution. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
45. Sen. Johnny Isakson discloses he has Parkinson’s disease (Washington Post article-June 10, 2015)
46. "GOP Sen. Johnny Isakson to resign at end of year". August 28, 2019.
47. "Georgia Election Results Official Results of the November 5, 2002 General Election". ga.gov. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
48. "United States Senator". Sos.georgia.gov. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
49. "United States Senator". Georgia of Secretary of State. December 21, 2005. Retrieved December 3, 2008.
50. "7/20/2010 – United States Senator, Isakson". Sos.georgia.gov. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
51. "11/2/2010 – United States Senator, Isakson". sos.ga.gov.
52. "Official Results". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
53. "General Election November 8, 2016". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved December 19, 2016.

External links

• Senator Johnny Isakson official U.S. Senate website
• Johnny Isakson for Senate
• Johnny Isakson at Curlie

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Appearances on C-SPAN