• Office Sought: Senator, Louisiana
• Birth Date: Nov. 21, 1951
• Residence: Madisonville, LA
• Occupation: Louisiana state treasurer and adjunct professor at LSU Law School
• Spouse: Becky
• Religion: Methodist

Education

• Vanderbilt
• University of Virginia Law
• Oxford University, B.C.L. degree

Offices and positions held

• Louisiana Secretary of the Department of Revenue
• Special Counsel to Governor Charles Roemer
• Secretary of Governor Roemer’s Cabinet

John Kennedy was born on November 21, 1951 in Centreville, Miss., near McComb. He soon moved to Zachary, La. He attended Vanderbilt University, earning degrees in philosophy, political science and economics. He earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1977, and an advanced law degree (B.C.L.) from the University of Oxford in 1979. Hhe was a partner in the law firm of Chafee, McCall, Phillips, Toler, and Sarpy before working in the Louisiana state government.

His life in public service began in 1988 as a special counsel to Gov. Charles Roemer. He then became Roemer's cabinet secretary, serving until 1992. Two years later, he was appointed cabinet secretary and served in that post until 1992. In 1991, he ran unsuccessfully for state attorney general. In 1996, he was appointed Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Revenue. He then was elected treasurer in 1999. He was reelected to the position in 2003. In 2004, he ran unsuccessfully as a Democratic candidate for the United States Senate, losing to current Sen. David Vitter. He is now running as a Republican for the other Louisiana Senate seat.