John Jarman

John Henry Jarman II
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 5th district
In office January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1977
Preceded by	A.S. Mike Monroney
Succeeded by	Mickey Edwards
Member of the Oklahoma Senate
In office 1949-1950
Member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives
In office 1947-1948
Personal details
Born	July 17, 1915 Sallisaw, Oklahoma
Died	January 15, 1982 (aged 66) Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Political party	Democratic (until 1975) Republican (1975–1982)
Spouse	Ruth Virginia Bewley
Children	John Henry (Jay) Jarman III Susan Jarman Steve Jarman
Alma mater	Yale University Harvard Law School
Military service
Allegiance	United States of America
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1942-1945
Unit	Security Intelligence Corps
Battles/wars	World War II

John Jarman (July 17, 1915 – January 15, 1982) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Oklahoma for 26 years from 1951 to 1977.

Early life and career

Jarman was born in Sallisaw, Oklahoma and graduated from Yale University in 1937 and from Harvard Law School in 1941. Jarman was admitted to the bar in 1941 and began his law practice in Oklahoma City. Jarman enlisted in the United States Army in January, 1942 (about a month after the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor). He served in the Security Intelligence Corps during World War II and was eventually discharged from military service in December, 1945. He was married to Ruth Virginia Bewley and had three children, John Henry Jarman III, Susan Jarman and Steve Jarman.

Jarman was later elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives and then later to the Oklahoma State Senate; Jarman was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1950 as a Democrat.

Jarman did not sign the 1956 Southern Manifesto, and voted in favor of the Civil Rights Act of 1960, the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, but not the Civil Rights Acts of 1957, 1964, and 1968.

Jarman switches parties

Jarman was reelected 11 times without serious difficulty, even as the Oklahoma City area trended increasingly Republican at the local level. Although the district had only supported a Democrat for president only once since Harry Truman, most local offices were still held by Democrats. By the 1970s, however, Republicans began making gains at the local level. As proof of this, in 1974, Jarman was nearly defeated by Republican newcomer Mickey Edwards in a year when Republicans were severely punished for the Watergate scandal.

On January 24, 1975, Jarman switched parties and became a Republican in protest of the removals of F. Edward Hébert, Wright Patman and William R. Poage from their committee chairmanships. Jarman claimed that the Democratic Party Caucus had changed over the years and that certain elements of the Caucus "force their liberal views on this Congress and on this country by nullifying the seniority system and punishing those who do not adhere to the liberal party line as laid down by the caucus."

He did not run for reelection in 1976. Mickey Edwards won the seat, and the district remained in Republican hands until Kendra Horn unseated Steve Russell in the 2018 midterm elections approximately 42 years later.

Retirement and death

Jarman declined to seek re-election to the House in 1976. After leaving Congress, he decided to resume his practice of law in Oklahoma City, where he remained until his death there on January 15, 1982. Jarman was laid to rest at Rose Hill Burial Park. Jarman spent much of his later life in Mexico and with his children and their families in Hawaii, Pennsylvania and Colorado. He loved animals - especially small dogs, horseback riding, the rough wilderness of Wyoming, Oklahoma and Colorado.

See also

• List of American politicians who switched parties in office
• Politics of Oklahoma
• Oklahoma Congressional Districts
• Party switching in the United States
• List of United States Representatives who switched parties

External links

• United States Congress. "John Jarman (id: J000057)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• John Jarman at Find a Grave