Johnny Isakson

Johnny Isakson
United States Senator from Georgia
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2005 Serving with Saxby Chambliss
Preceded by	Zell Miller
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
Personal details
Born	John Hardy Isakson December 28, 1944 (1944-12-28) Atlanta, Georgia
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Dianne Davison
Children	John Isakson Kevin Isakson Julie Isakson
Residence	Marietta, Georgia
Alma mater	University of Georgia (B.B.A.)
Occupation	Real Estate Executive
Website	Senator Johnny Isakson
Military service
Service/branch	Air National Guard
Years of service	1966–1972
Unit	Georgia

John Hardy "Johnny" Isakson (born December 28, 1944) is the junior United States Senator from Georgia and a member of the Republican Party. Previously, he represented Georgia's 6th Congressional district in the House.

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 five terms, including two 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 two terms. He unsuccessfully ran in the Republican primary in the 1996 U.S. Senate elections.

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 November 2004 after conservative 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 large margins. He is serving his second term after re-election to the Senate in 2010.

Early life, education, and real estate career

Isakson was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Julia (née Baker) and Edwin Andrew Isakson, a Greyhound bus driver. His paternal grandparents were of Swedish descent, and his paternal grandfather was born in Östersund. His mother is of mostly British ancestry which has been in the American South since the colonial era. He currently lives in the nearby suburb of Marietta. He served in the Georgia Air National Guard from 1966 to 1972, leaving service as a staff sergeant. Shortly after graduating from the University of Georgia, he opened the first Cobb County office of Northside Realty, a prominent Atlanta-area real estate firm. He became company president in 1979, a post he held for 22 years, during which Northside became the biggest independent real estate company in Georgia.

Early political career (1974-1998)

Georgia House of Representatives

Isakson first entered Republican politics in 1974, losing a race for the Georgia House of Representatives in an eastern Cobb County district. He ran again in 1976 and won. He served seven terms in the House, the last two as Minority leader.

1990 gubernatorial election

He was the Republican candidate for governor of Georgia in 1990, losing to Democratic lieutenant governor Zell Miller.

Georgia Senate

Two years later, he was elected to the Georgia Senate and served two terms.

1996 U.S. Senate election

In 1996, he ran in the Republican primary for the Senate seat being vacated by Sam Nunn. However, when he announced his candidacy, he declared that he was the abortion rights Republican candidate—a calculated risk since most Georgia Republicans are anti-abortion. Isakson finished second in the primary election but the winner Guy Millner did not win a majority of total votes. Therefore, per Georgia law he was forced into a primary runoff election, which he lost to Millner. Miller in turn lost to Democrat Max Cleland.

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

In November 1998, 6th District 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 ruckus, 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 and won, finishing 40 points ahead of the runner-up. He won a full term in 2000 and was reelected in 2002. The 6th is one of the most Republican districts in the South, and Isakson never faced a truly serious or well-financed challenge in either election.

U.S. Senate (2005-Present)

Elections

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 quickly picked up the endorsements of much of the Republican establishment in Georgia, as well as that of President George W. Bush. He also picked up support of social conservatives including the Georgia Christian Coalition, in part due to his rightward turn on social issues since 1990 (see below). Miller also endorsed Isakson and campaigned for him. 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. 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.

In 2010, he was unopposed in the primary. Isakson won re-election with 58% of the vote in 2010, defeating State Commissioner of Labor Mike Thurmond.

Tenure

Since his election to the House, Isakson shifted to the right on social issues. He now identifies as pro-life, anti-gay marriage and pro-gun rights. On the Issues, a nonpartisan Web site that rates candidates, labels Isakson "a libertarian-leaning conservative." When he ran in the 6th District in 1999, Isakson largely ignored the issue of abortion; however, in 2003–2004, in his campaign for the Senate, he took the same position as President Bush, saying we needed to "create a culture of life" in America.

Isakson has been given an "A" rating by the National Rifle Association, the "Hero of the Taxpayer" award by Citizens Against Government Waste, and a "92" rating on a scale of 100 by the Christian Coalition of America (incidentally, the same score Mac Collins received). He also received a "100" rating from the American Conservative Union. National Journal recently rated him the 7th most conservative Senator in the Senate. In the Senate, Isakson is currently working to oppose the Castle-DeGette Stem Cell Bill by offering an alternative that does not allow for the destruction of a human embryo. This alternative legislation recently garnered a veto-proof 70-vote majority.

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

Isakson favors tougher border security to address the immigration issue. He is credited for developing the "Isakson Principle," which denies the legalization of status to any illegal immigrant or the creation of a temporary worker program unless the Secretary of Homeland Security certifies ("triggers") to the president and Congress that measurable border security provisions are in place. However, Isakson was criticized by advocates of immigration reduction for working on the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007, which was criticized by some as an amnesty.

Contrary to his critics' assertions, Isakson played a role only in drafting the border security sections of the bill (the previously mentioned "Isakson Principle") and stated from the beginning that he was withholding his support for the bill until the final product was produced. His vote of "Nay" on the final motion to end debate amounted to a vote to kill the bill. He and Senator Chambliss also called on President Bush to send an emergency supplemental border security spending bill to the Congress.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
  • Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
  • Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet
  • Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance
  • Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard
  • Subcommittee on Science and Space
  • Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
• Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
  • Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety (Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging
• Committee on Foreign Relations
  • Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs
  • Subcommittee on African Affairs (Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs
• Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
• Committee on Veterans' Affairs
• Select Committee on Ethics (Vice Chairman)

Personal life

Isakson and his wife Dianne have three children: John, Kevin, and Julie.

Electoral history

See also: United States Senate election in Georgia, 2010

Georgia's 6th congressional district: Results 1998–2002

Year		Republican	Votes	Pct		Democrat	Votes	Pct
1999 special election		Johnny Isakson*	51,548	65.1%		Other candidates	27,665	34.9%
2000		Johnny Isakson	256,595	75%		Brett DeHart	86,666	25%
2002		Johnny Isakson	163,525	80%		Jeff Weisberger	41,204	20%

* Newt Gingrich resigned his term on January 3, 1999, and Isakson won the special election to succeed him. Candidates from all parties appeared on the same ballot; their party affiliations were not listed.

Georgia Senator (Class III) results: 2004–2010

Year		Democrat	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct
2004		Denise L. Majette	1,287,690	40%		Johnny Isakson	1,864,202	58%		Allen Buckley	Libertarian	69,051	2%	*
2010		Mike Thurmond	996,516	39%		Johnny Isakson	1,489,904	58,3%		Chuck Donovan	Libertarian	68,750	2,7%

*Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 2004, write-ins received 31 votes and Matthew Jamison received 7 votes.

External links

• United States Senator Johnny Isakson official Senate site
• Isakson for Senator official campaign site
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Profile at SourceWatch
• Profile at OurCampaigns.com

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Newt Gingrich	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 6th congressional district February 23, 1999 – January 3, 2005	Succeeded by Tom Price
United States Senate
Preceded by Zell Miller	United States Senator (Class 3) from Georgia January 3, 2005 – present Served alongside: Saxby Chambliss	Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by Guy Davis	Republican Party nominee for Governor of Georgia 1990	Succeeded by Guy Millner
Preceded by Mack Mattingly	Republican Party nominee for United States Senator from Georgia (Class 3) 2004, 2010	Succeeded by Current nominee
United States order of precedence
Preceded by John Thune R-South Dakota	United States Senators by seniority 56th	Succeeded by David Vitter R-Louisiana