Chris John (politician)

Christopher Charles John (born January 5, 1960) is an American politician and lobbyist who from 1997 to 2005 served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives for Louisiana's 7th congressional district.

Chris John
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana's 7th district
In office January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2005
Preceded by	Jimmy Hayes
Succeeded by	Charles Boustany
Member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from the 42nd district
In office 1988–1996
Preceded by	Donald Thibodeaux
Succeeded by	Gil Pinac
Personal details
Born	Christopher Charles John (1960-01-05) January 5, 1960 (age 65) Crowley, Louisiana, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Payton Smith
Relatives	John Smith (father-in-law)
Education	Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge (BA)

Early life

Chris John was born in Crowley in Acadia Parish, one of six children, and reared as a Roman Catholic. He is of Lebanese, French, and German extraction. He attended Notre Dame Catholic High School in Crowley and Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.

Early political activity

He was a page while his father, John N. John, III, was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives. In the early 1980s, he was elected to the Crowley City Council.

Congress

In 1996, John was elected to Congress. He defeated fellow Democrat Hunter Lundy in a runoff for the 7th district seat and was subsequently re-elected three times. He served from 1997 to 2005.

Senate race

In 2004, John announced he would not run for re-election to his House seat but would instead run for the seat in the U.S. Senate being vacated by popular Democrat and fellow Crowley native John Breaux, who endorsed him.^{[citation needed]}

John, however, was defeated by Republican David Vitter of the New Orleans suburbs in the primary, Vitter garnered 51 percent of the vote, compared to 29 percent for John. The remainder of the ballots was split between then State Treasurer John Neely Kennedy and the African-American then-state senator Arthur Morrell, both Democrats. John's seat in the House fell into Republican hands, as Charles Boustany won the 7th district with 55 percent of the vote against Democrat Willie Landry Mount.^[1] Kennedy later switched parties and succeeded Vitter as senator in 2017.

Post-political career

John is married to Payton Smith of Leesville, whose father, John R. Smith, is a member of the Louisiana State Senate and a former state House member. The Johns have two sons, who are twins.

Lobbying

After his House career ended, John worked for two years as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C. Since August 2007, he has made his home in Lafayette, where he is chief lobbyist for the United States Oil and Gas Association. (Morning Advocate).^{[citation needed]}

Honors

In 2009, John was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield.^[2]

Electoral history

Louisiana's 7th congressional district: Results 1996–2002^[1]

Year		Democrat	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct		Other	Party	Votes	Pct
1996		Christopher John	128,449	53%		(no candidate)				Hunter Lundy	Democratic	113,351	47%
1998		Christopher John	*			(no candidate)
2000		Christopher John	152,796	83%		(no candidate)				Michael P. Harris	Libertarian	30,687	17%
2002		Christopher John	138,659	87%		(no candidate)				Roberto Valletta	Libertarian	21,051	13%

*No vote totals were recorded in 1998. Section 511 of Title 18 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes, as amended, provides that a candidate who is unopposed is declared elected by the people and his/her name shall not appear on the ballot in either the Primary or General Election.

Louisiana Senator (Class III): 2004 results^[1]

Year		Democrats	Votes	Pct		Republicans	Votes	Pct		Other	Votes	Pct
2004		Christopher John	542,150	29%		David Vitter	943,014	51%		Richard M. Fontanesi	15,097	1%
		John Neely Kennedy	275,821	15%						R. A. “Skip” Galan	12,463	1%
		Arthur A. Morrell	47,222	3%
		Sam Houston Melton, Jr.	12,289	1%

See also

• List of Arab and Middle-Eastern Americans in the United States Congress