Johnson, Kennedy win runoffs, elected to U.S. Congress

SHREVEPORT -- It was a clean sweep for the Republicans in Louisiana’s runoff elections last Saturday as John N. Kennedy was elected to the United States Senate and Mike Johnson was elected as La.’s U.S. Representative for the 4th Congressional District.
In the runoff Johnson - a Shreveport native - faced off against Marshall Jones (D) with the hopes of being chosen to fill the congressional seat that John Fleming (R) gave up to run for David Vitter’s (R) senate seat.
Johnson finished the race with a total of 65 percent of the votes (87,369 votes), while Jones earned 35 pct. (46,578 votes) - making Johnson’s margin of victory for an open seat in this area the largest in the last five decades. In Evangeline Parish, Johnson took 74 pct. of the votes, while Jones received 26 pct.
Following the election, Johnson addressed a room filled with the current La. Representative’s family, friends and supporters. He took this time to share where he learned to serve and how he planned on serving the people of La.’s 4th Congressional District.
Johnson, whose father passed away two days before the election, said, “I am going to serve with the same service and commitment that my father served with. He was a firefighter that almost gave his life in the line of duty, and so he taught me, by his own example, what public service really means.”
The newly elected U.S. Congressman then continued, “We have spent this campaign traveling the 15 parishes that make up the 4th Congressional District. It is a lot of area with a lot of great people. There are some big cultural distinctions between the north and south parts of the district.
“You go from Benton to Ville Platte and you see a lot of differences in culture. The cultural differences are very distinct but the values of the people are exactly the same. Wherever you go in the district, just like across the state and even across the country right now, people are concerned about the same things.
“They are concerned about the future of our children and grandchildren. They are concerned that the American dream has been pulled further from their grasp. They are concerned about jobs and the economy, and about having a secure border. We have been given an opportunity to work on those things, and we are going to do it and serve you the best we can.”
In the U.S. Senate race Kennedy was up against Shreveport native Foster Campbell (D).
Kennedy and Campbell were looking to take the place of David Vitter - Louisiana’s current U.S. Senator - who decided not to seek re-election.
In the runoff election on December 10, 2016, Kennedy, who is the current Louisiana State Treasurer, received 61 pct. of the votes (536,189 votes), while Campbell received 39 pct. (347,802 votes).
When it comes to how the voters voted in Evangeline Parish, the results look similar to the statewide results. In the parish, Kennedy received 70 pct. of the votes, while Campbell finished with 30 pct.
Both Johnson and Kennedy will assume their new roles in January of 2017.