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United States Senator from Georgia
In office January 3, 2005 – December 31, 2019
Preceded by	Zell Miller
Succeeded by	Kelly Loeffler
Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee
In office January 3, 2015 – December 19, 2019
Preceded by	Bernie Sanders
Succeeded by	Jerry Moran
Chair of the Senate Ethics Committee
In office January 3, 2015 – December 19, 2019
Preceded by	Barbara Boxer
Succeeded by	James Lankford
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
Member of the Georgia State Senate from the 21st district
In office January 11, 1993 – January 6, 1997
Preceded by	Bill English
Succeeded by	Robert Lamutt
Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives
In office January 10, 1983 – January 11, 1991
Preceded by	Herbert Jones Jr.
Succeeded by	Paul Heard
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives from Cobb County
In office January 10, 1977 – January 11, 1991
Preceded by	Chuck Edwards
Succeeded by	Lynda Coker
Constituency	20-Post 1 (1977–1983) 21-Post 2 (1983–1991)

Personal details
Born	John Hardy Isakson (1944-12-28)December 28, 1944 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Died	December 19, 2021(2021-12-19) (aged 76) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Cause of death	Parkinson's disease
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Dianne Davison (m. 1968)
Children	3
Education	University of Georgia (BBA)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Air Force
Years of service	1966–1972
Rank	Staff Sergeant
Unit	Georgia Air National Guard

John Hardy Isakson (born December 28, 1944 – died December 19, 2021) was an American businessman and politician. He was a member of the Republican Party. Isakson served as a U.S. Senator for Georgia from 2005 to 2019. Before that, he represented Georgia's 6th district in the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2005.

Isakson was born in Atlanta, Georgia. He served in the Georgia Air National Guard from 1966 to 1972. He also graduated from the University of Georgia. Later, he opened a real estate office and became president of Northside Realty for 22 years.

He started his political career in the Georgia House of Representatives in 1976. He served seven terms there. He was even the leader for the Republican minority for four of those terms. Isakson also served one term in the Georgia Senate.

In 1999, Isakson won a special election to become a U.S. Representative. He then became a U.S. Senator in 2004. He retired from the Senate in 2019 due to health issues.

Early Life and Career

Johnny Isakson was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 28, 1944. His father, Edwin Andrew Isakson, was a bus driver who later started a real estate business. His family had roots in Sweden and Great Britain.

Isakson joined the Georgia Air National Guard in 1966 and served until 1972. He left as a staff sergeant. After his military service, he went to the University of Georgia. He was part of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

After college, Isakson opened the first office for Northside Realty in Cobb County. His father helped start this company. In 1979, Isakson became the company's president. Under his leadership, Northside Realty grew to be a very large real estate company in the Southeast United States.

Early Political Career (1974–1998)

Isakson as a state representative in 1977

Isakson first tried to get elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1974 but did not win. He ran again in 1976 and was successful. He served seven terms in the House. He was re-elected without opposition in 1984 and 1988.

For four of his terms, from 1983 to 1990, he was the Minority leader for the Republican Party. This meant he was the main leader for his party in the Georgia House.

Run for Governor in 1990

Isakson greeting President Ronald Reagan in 1986

In 1990, Isakson ran to become the Governor of Georgia. He won the Republican primary election with 74% of the votes. However, in the main election, he lost to Zell Miller, who was a Democrat. Miller won by promising to start a state lottery to help fund public schools.

Serving in the Georgia Senate

Isakson with President George H. W. Bush in 1990

In 1992, Isakson was elected to the Georgia Senate. He served one term there.

1996 U.S. Senate Election

In 1996, Isakson ran for a U.S. Senate seat that was becoming open. He finished second in the Republican primary. Because no one got more than half the votes, he had to go into a second round of voting called a runoff election. He lost the runoff to Guy Millner.

After this, in December 1996, Governor Zell Miller appointed Isakson to lead the State Board of Education.

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

Becoming a U.S. Representative

In 1998, the U.S. Congressman for Georgia's 6th district, Newt Gingrich, decided to leave his seat. Isakson ran in a special election in February 1999 to take his place. He won this election by a large margin, getting 65% of the votes.

President George W. Bush and Senator Isakson aboard Air Force One in 2005.

He was re-elected for his first full term in 2000 with nearly 75% of the vote. In 2002, he was re-elected again with almost 80% of the vote.

What He Did in the House

While in the House of Representatives, Isakson was part of the Committee on Education and the Workforce. He helped President George W. Bush with the No Child Left Behind Act, which was a big law about education. Isakson also sponsored 27 bills during his time as a Representative. In 2002, he voted to allow the use of military force against Iraq.

U.S. Senate (2005–2019)

Senate Elections

2004 Election

In 2003, U.S. Senator Zell Miller decided not to run for re-election. Johnny Isakson quickly decided to run for the open Senate seat. He won the Republican primary election with 53% of the votes, avoiding a runoff.

Isakson with Neil Gorsuch in 2017

In the general election, he easily defeated the Democratic candidate, Denise Majette, by 18 points. This election was important because it was the first time in Georgia's history that both of the state's U.S. Senate seats were held by Republicans.

2010 and 2016 Elections

In 2010, Isakson ran for re-election and won with 58.3% of the vote. He was re-elected for a third term in 2016 with 54.8% of the vote.

Isakson with Brett Kavanaugh in 2018

His Work in the Senate

As a U.S. Senator, Isakson sponsored or co-sponsored 130 bills. Eight of these bills became law.

In 2010, he apologized for a comment he made about voters, saying he "didn't mean anything derogatory by it."

Isakson resigned from the Senate on December 31, 2019, because of health problems. He was the longest-serving Republican senator in Georgia's history.

Committees He Served On

Isakson was a member of several important committees in the Senate:

Committee on Finance
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (He was the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety.)
Committee on Veterans' Affairs (He was the Chairman of this committee.)
Select Committee on Ethics (He was also the Chairman of this committee.)
Committee on Foreign Relations

Political Views

Johnny Isakson was seen as a moderate Republican in the Senate. This means his views were not extremely liberal or extremely conservative compared to other Republicans.

Agriculture

In 2019, Isakson helped introduce a bill called the Agricultural Trucking Relief Act. This bill aimed to make it easier for trucks to transport farm products by changing some rules.

Gun Laws

In 2017, Isakson supported the idea of people being able to carry concealed weapons across the country. However, he did not support allowing people to carry guns on college campuses.

Healthcare

Isakson voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which is also known as Obamacare. He voted many times to try and cancel this law.

Immigration

In 2019, Isakson voted to support President Donald Trump's plan to declare a national emergency for border security.

Personal Life and Health

Johnny Isakson married his wife, Dianne, in 1968. They had three children together. Dianne is a watercolor artist.

In June 2015, Isakson shared that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, a condition that affects movement. He said this would not stop him from running for re-election in 2016, and he won. However, on August 28, 2019, he announced he would leave his Senate seat on December 31, 2019, because of his health.

Johnny Isakson passed away at his home in Atlanta on December 19, 2021. He was 76 years old, just nine days before his 77th birthday.