Woody Jenkins
Encyclopedia
Louis Elwood "Woody" Jenkins (born January 3, 1947) is a newspaper
editor
in Baton Rouge
, Louisiana
, who served as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
from 1972–2000 and waged three unsuccessful races for the United States Senate
.
, where he served as student body president and was valedictorian
. While in high school, Jenkins worked as a radio newsman at WLCS and in college as an announcer at WAFB-TV, the CBS
affiliate in Baton Rouge. While at the Louisiana State University
School of Journalism, he became the conservative columnist for the LSU student newspaper, The Daily Reveille
.
At age nineteen, while still in journalism school, Jenkins and his future wife, the former Diane Aker
, started a community weekly newspaper, the North Baton Rouge Journal, which was honored by the Louisiana Press Association for editorial writing. Jenkins received a B. A. degree in journalism from LSU in 1969 and a Juris Doctor degree from the LSU Law School, where was a member of the Law Review, in 1972.
Jenkins owned an advertising agency from 1972 to 1981 when he became Executive Director of the Council for National Policy. From 1985 to 2005, he was President and General Manager of WBTR-TV in Baton Rouge. Since 2005, he has served as editor of the Central City News, a community weekly newspaper. At WBTR-TV, he produced a daily television news program from 1991 to 2005, Baton Rouge Today, which won 1st place as the Best Community News Program in the U.S. from the Community Broadcasters Association. The Central City News has won more than 20 national and state awards from the National Newspaper Association and the Louisiana Press Association, including General Excellence, Best Feature Writing, Best Columnist, and Best Local News Coverage. Jenkins was inducted into the LSU Journalism School Hall of Fame.
Morley A. Hudson
and Taylor W. O'Hearn
, who were the first Republicans elected to the state legislature since Reconstruction. However, in 1971, he switched to the Democratic Party
to run for a Baton Rouge-area seat in the state House. Even though Louisiana was becoming increasingly friendly to Republicans nationally, Democrats still fully dominated at the state level. At the time of Jenkins' election to the state House, 104 of 105 members of the chamber and 38 of 39 members of the state Senate, elected in 1968, were Democrats. Jenkins faced five older opponents in his first race but walked door to door and was elected with 67 percent in the Democratic primary. He was unopposed in the general election. (Louisiana's nonpartisan blanket primary was not enacted until 1975.) He was sworn in at the age of twenty-four, just a few days before he graduated from law school.
During 28 years in the Louisiana House of Representatives (1972 to 2000), Jenkins authored more than 300 major bills that became law, including the Free Enterprise Education Act, which requires all high school students in Louisiana to complete a one-semester course on the free enterprise system; the Private Education Deregulation Act, which deregulated private and Christian schools and legalized home schooling in Louisiana; the Teacher Proficiency Act, which requires all new public school teachers in Louisiana to pass the National Teachers Exam; the TOPS scholarship program, under which more than 100,000 Louisiana students have been granted full college scholarships; the Concealed Carry Act; the Shoot the Burglar Act, and many others.
While in the legislature, Jenkins organized and served as Chairman of the Conservative Caucus in the state house, which began with four members in 1972. By 1980, a caucus member, John Hainkel
of New Orleans
, was elected Speaker
. Jenkins served as chairman of the House Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations.
Jenkins was elected as a delegate to Louisiana's state constitutional convention, which met from late 1972 to early 1974. His colleagues included fellow Representative R. Harmon Drew, Sr.
, future Governor Buddy Roemer
and later Secretary of State and Insurance Commissioner James H. "Jim" Brown. He served on the convention's Committee on Bill of Rights and Elections, and he authored much of the new constitution's Declaration of Rights. The proposed constitution was approved by the delegates and ratified by the voters in a state wide election held in April 1974. The document, formally adopted in 1975, is still in effect. See Jenkins, Declaration of Rights, Loyola Law Review, Spring 1975.
When Republicans failed to run candidates for the United States Senate in 1978 against Democratic Senator J. Bennett Johnston, Jr., and again in 1980 against established Senator Russell B. Long
, Jenkins ran as a Democrat. In 1978, Jenkins won twenty-eight parishes, but Johnston won by 58-42 percent. In the 1980 race, Jenkins criticized Long's support of the Panama Canal
Treaty. He said Long was "the most powerful man in the Senate, but he isn't using that power for us." Again, Jenkins lost, 59-41 percent. In both races, he was outspent by large margins, 5 to 1 in the Johnston race and 10 to 1 in the Long race. In the second of those campaigns, Republican Senator Bob Dole
of Kansas
made a campaign commercial for his friend Russell Long.
Jenkins made an effort to promote the influence of conservative Democrats. In 1972, he endorsed maverick Los Angeles
mayor Sam Yorty for the party's presidential nomination. In 1976, he was elected as Louisiana's member of the Democratic National Platform Committee where he offered numerous conservative proposals during the committee's meetings in Washington. He was the only member of the Platform Committee to vote against the final version of the platform. In early 1980, Jenkins was elected Democratic National Committeeman from Louisiana over the opposition of then outgoing Governor Edwin Edwards
, but Jenkins resigned that position in October 1980 to campaign for Ronald Reagan
for president, while Edwards stood with President Jimmy Carter
.
In 1989, Jenkins joined a coalition of mostly supporters of Edwin Edwards to defeat a tax reform referendum designed by the Buddy Roemer
administration to reduce sales tax
es and state income tax
es while raising property tax
es. The successful opponents to the reform measure also included newly-elected State Representative David Duke
, former and later Speaker John Alario
, and Victor Bussie
, long-term president of the Louisiana AFL-CIO
.
In 1994, after twenty-two years as a Democrat, Jenkins held a news conference with Senator Phil Gramm
of Texas
, a Democrat-turned-Republican, to announce his decision to change his party affiliation to Republican. Jenkins said that he felt conservatives no longer had any hope of influencing the direction of the Democratic Party.
, former Democratic state Treasurer Mary Landrieu
of New Orleans, Congressman Jimmy Hayes
(a recent convert to the GOP), former Ku Klux Klan
sman David Duke
, and two wealthy businessmen, state Representative Chuck McMains
of Baton Rouge and William "Bill" Linder of New Orleans, the brother of Republican Congressman John Linder
from Georgia
.
Republicans decided to rally around Jenkins. Congressman Bob Livingston
of New Orleans led the effort. Support also came from Edward J. Steimel, former executive director of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry
. Jenkins ran first in the primary with 27 percent of the vote. Jenkins and Landrieu then competed in the November general election. Former President George H. W. Bush
came to campaign on Jenkins' behalf, along with Senators John McCain
of Arizona
, Orrin G. Hatch of Utah
, Majority Leader Trent Lott
, of Mississippi
, and Connie Mack III
, of Florida
. Governor Foster and former Governors David C. Treen
, Buddy Roemer
, and the Democrat Jimmie Davis
all endorsed Jenkins.
On Election Day
, TV network exit polls showed Jenkins leading 51-49 percent. Jenkins' lead held up throughout the evening, but a late surge of votes from heavily Democratic New Orleans, as well as Bill Clinton
's strong performance in the state, put Landrieu ahead by 5,788 votes out of 1.7 million cast.
It was the closest U.S. Senate race in the presidential election year of 1996, and one of the closest in Louisiana history. Jenkins carried thirty-eight parishes and exclusive of Orleans parish, he secured 53 percent of the vote. New Orleans gave Landrieu a 100,000 vote margin. The final returns showed Landrieu with 852,945 votes and Jenkins with 847,157 votes.
Jenkins led Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole by more than 134,000 votes state wide. Jenkins' vote total, as of 2004, was the third highest by Republican running in a state wide race ever, topped only by former Governor Foster and current U.S. Senator David Vitter
.
After losing this election, Jenkins contested the results. He claimed that at least 7,454 "phantom votes" were cast in 4,000 precincts in the state in 1996. The so-called phantom votes were alleged to have occurred when more votes were cast on the voting machines than voters who signed up to vote in that precinct on election day. Jenkins also claimed that more than 30,000 signatures of voters on election day did not match their signatures on voter registration cards. Claims were also made that individuals were hauled multiple times to various precinct
s in New Orleans to cast votes without being required to sign the register. The Jenkins forces alleged that buses drove through the inner city and offered payments to anyone who would vote. Moreover, they claimed that further investigations proved that about 1,300 votes were cast by voters whose registered addresses were abandoned public housing
units.
Jenkins took his case to the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate, claiming that Landrieu's 5,788-vote margin was made possible only by fraudulent votes mostly in New Orleans. In a hearing before the Senate Rules Committee
carried live on C-SPAN
, Jenkins charged massive election fraud. He petitioned the Senate to unseat Landrieu and to order a new election—and on an 8-7 party-line vote the committee agreed to set up a probe.
Only a month into the probe, however, Democrats claimed that Thomas "Papa Bear" Miller, a detective hired by Jenkins' campaign to investigate claims of fraud, had coached witnesses to claim they had participated in election fraud. The Jenkins campaign denied the charge and said it was a Democratic attempt to distract attention from the massive vote-buying and election fraud they said occurred in the election. Miller had several felony convictions on his record, including a guilty plea to attempted murder. Miller was killed in a drive by shooting in May 2003. The Democrats walked out of the probe in protest, but the probe continued.
In October 1997, after a ten-month investigation, the committee allowed Landrieu's victory to stand. It concluded that while there were numerous irregularities, it was impossible to determine if they were egregious enough to change the outcome.
In 1999, Jenkins ran for Commissioner of Elections against incumbent Democrat Jerry Fowler
, whom Jenkins had alleged was part of the election fraud in 1996. Jenkins pledged to clean up elections in Louisiana and create a Voter Fraud Unit. In the primary, Jenkins ran first and fellow Republican Suzanne Haik Terrell
finished in second place. Fowler ran third and was eliminated.
In the run-off between Jenkins and Terrell, the first statewide run-off between two Republicans in the history of Louisiana's open elections system, Terrell won handily. She took office and made many changes, including creation of a Voter Fraud Unit, which successfully prosecuted numerous cases of voter fraud.
, Jenkins' 1996 campaign manager. Jenkins endorsed Perkins in the primary. In the runoff between Terrell and Landrieu, Jenkins endorsed Terrell, but Landrieu was elected to her second term.
Jenkins and Dan Richey
, his long-term friend and former legislative colleague, helped to organize David Vitter
's grassroots campaign in 2004, when Vitter became the first Republican elected to the United States Senate from Louisiana since Reconstruction.
In private life, Jenkins has been active in efforts to assist refugee
s and poor people in Latin America
. Jenkins has visited Latin America more than sixty times.
Jenkins served as CEO for WBTR-TV in Baton Rouge from 1987 to 2004. He was named to the LSU School of Journalism Hall of Fame in 1991; "Legislator of the Year" by the National Taxpayers Union, 1977, and Phyllis Schlafly
's Eagle Forum
, 1990; 96 percent rating, Louisiana Association of Business and Industry; recipient, Winston Churchill Award, Council for National Policy, 1990; producer, Baton Rouge Today, named "Outstanding Local News Program in the U.S." by Community Broadcasters Association, 1992; named "Louisiana's Pro-Family, Pro-Life Champion" by Christian Coalition of Louisiana for his service in the legislature; listed in Who's Who in America; B.A., Journalism, Juris Doctor
, LSU.
Jenkins and Daniel Duggan started the Central City News in 2005. In 2006, they started the Zachary Post. In 2007, Duggan's company acquired the South Baton Rouge Journal. Jenkins serves as editor of all three papers. In 2006, Jenkins was honored by the National Newspaper Association with 3rd Place for Best Newspaper Column. In 2010, the Louisiana Press Association awarded the Central City News 1st Place in the state for General Excellence.
, representing Louisiana's 6th congressional district
, announced that he would soon resign from Congress. The political careers of Jenkins and Baker actually began on the same day thirty-four years earlier in 1972, when both were freshman Democratic members of the East Baton Rouge Parish state House delegation. Baker vacted his congressional seat on February 2. As a result, Governor Bobby Jindal
called a special election
to fill the vacancy. The Republican and Democratic primaries, again closed primaries, were held on March 8 in conjunction with the presidential primaries, with the runoff, if needed, set for April 5, and the general election on May 3.
On January 17, 2008, Jenkins announced his candidacy for the GOP
nomination in the special election
. Jenkins received the endorsements of Pat Toomey
's Club for Growth Political Action Committee, and Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family. He also received the endorsement of the East Baton Rouge Parish Republican Party. Jenkins later received the endorsement of the National Rifle Association.
In the primary, he faced Baker's congressional aide, Paul Sawyer; Laurinda L. Calongne, president of Robert Rose Consulting; and Michael Cloonan, a veteran of the United States Navy
from East Feliciana Parish.
Jenkins led in public opinion polls prior to the primary, but fell eighty-four votes short of an outright majority to win the GOP nomination. Calongne, with 7,584 ballots (25 percent), finished second and forced Jenkins, with 14,849 votes (just under 50 percent), into a runoff. Sawyer trailed with 6,924 (23 percent). Cloonan held the critical balance of 425 votes (1 percent).
In the April 5 Republican runoff against Calongne, Jenkins won handily, taking 15,179 (62 percent) of the vote to Calongne's 9,327 (38 percent) votes. He faced Democratic State Representative Don Cazayoux
of New Roads
in the special election. Jenkins was immediately endorsed by Governor Jindal.
In Congress, Senator David Vitter and the three Republicans in Louisiana's House delegation--Jim McCrery
, Rodney Alexander
, and Charles Boustany
endorsed Jenkins. Jenkins was also supported by House Minority Leader John Boehner
, Minority Whip Roy Blunt
, and Assistant Whip Eric Cantor
. On April 25, former U.S. Senator John Breaux
, now a resident of Maryland
, endorsed Cazayoux on grounds that the self-styled "John Breaux Democrat" could work across party lines. In 1996, Breaux had also opposed Jenkins in the race against Mary Landrieu.
Despite support from the state Republican establishment, some Republicans were cool toward Jenkins. Some considered him a second-tier candidate despite his long tenure in the state legislature, his near-victory in the Senate race a decade earlier, and support among social conservatives in the Louisiana GOP. The National Republican Congressional Committee
, the campaign arm of House Republicans, reportedly tied his financial aid to meeting certain financial benchmarks, an unusual obstacle considering that the GOP had held this seat since 1975. Additionally, Jenkins faced potential problems from a past indirect connection to David Duke
. Before the 1996 Senate general election, Jenkins' campaign retained a firm to do automated phone calls to voters. The firm had previously done work for Duke. He was fined $3,000 by the Federal Election Commission
because the purchase was paid for by his ad agency instead of directly by the campaign. Later Jenkins learned that Duke received a commission from the firm he had hired, but said he had no knowledge that Duke would profit from the transaction. However, his signed agreement with the FEC admitted that he knew Duke had used the same firm.
Cazayoux won the special election on May 3, 2008, with 49,702 votes (49.2 percent) to Jenkins' 46,741 votes (46.3 percent). An independent Republican candidate and two minor candidates held the remaining 4.5 percent of the vote. Jenkins ran best in the City of Central, where he received 77 percent of the votes cast, and Livingston Parish, a heavily Republican suburban parish near Baton Rouge, where he received 72 percent. However, Cazayoux won by almost 5,000 votes in Jenkins' own East Baton Rouge Parish.
Jenkins was expected to seek a rematch against Cazayoux in the election for the full term in Congress in the fall of 2008 but announced instead that he would support Republican state Senator Bill Cassidy
.
On Sunday, May 18, 2008, Jenkins was elected as Louisiana's representative on the Platform Committee at the Republican National Convention.
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
in Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, who served as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
from 1972–2000 and waged three unsuccessful races for the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
.
Early years, education, and professional
Jenkins was born in Baton Rouge, and attended Istrouma High SchoolIstrouma High School
Istrouma High School is a public school located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It was founded in 1917, and is located in East Baton Rouge Parish. Its name is a local Indian word meaning "red stick". Red stick is also the English language translation of the French words baton rouge...
, where he served as student body president and was valedictorian
Valedictorian
Valedictorian is an academic title conferred upon the student who delivers the closing or farewell statement at a graduation ceremony. Usually, the valedictorian is the highest ranked student among those graduating from an educational institution...
. While in high school, Jenkins worked as a radio newsman at WLCS and in college as an announcer at WAFB-TV, the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
affiliate in Baton Rouge. While at the Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
School of Journalism, he became the conservative columnist for the LSU student newspaper, The Daily Reveille
The Daily Reveille
The Daily Reveille is the student newspaper for Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and has kept student informed for more than a century. It prints Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the summer semester...
.
At age nineteen, while still in journalism school, Jenkins and his future wife, the former Diane Aker
Diane A. Jenkins
Diane A. Jenkins is the American cofounder and executive director of Friends of the Americas who received the first annual Ronald Reagan American Ideals Award from President Ronald Reagan in 1985. Jenkins was an assistant attorney general for Louisiana and an assistant district attorney for East...
, started a community weekly newspaper, the North Baton Rouge Journal, which was honored by the Louisiana Press Association for editorial writing. Jenkins received a B. A. degree in journalism from LSU in 1969 and a Juris Doctor degree from the LSU Law School, where was a member of the Law Review, in 1972.
Jenkins owned an advertising agency from 1972 to 1981 when he became Executive Director of the Council for National Policy. From 1985 to 2005, he was President and General Manager of WBTR-TV in Baton Rouge. Since 2005, he has served as editor of the Central City News, a community weekly newspaper. At WBTR-TV, he produced a daily television news program from 1991 to 2005, Baton Rouge Today, which won 1st place as the Best Community News Program in the U.S. from the Community Broadcasters Association. The Central City News has won more than 20 national and state awards from the National Newspaper Association and the Louisiana Press Association, including General Excellence, Best Feature Writing, Best Columnist, and Best Local News Coverage. Jenkins was inducted into the LSU Journalism School Hall of Fame.
Legislative career
Jenkins had been a Young Republican since high school. At seventeen, he had been a page for State RepresentativesLouisiana House of Representatives
The Louisiana House of Representatives is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Louisiana. The House is composed of 105 Representatives, each of whom represents approximately 42,500 people . Members serve four-year terms with a term limit of...
Morley A. Hudson
Morley A. Hudson
Morley Alvin Hudson , was a Shreveport businessman, engineer, civic leader, and a pioneer of the modern Republican Party in Louisiana.Hudson was born in San Antonio, Texas, the son of Oscar Hudson and the former Ruth Morley...
and Taylor W. O'Hearn
Taylor W. O'Hearn
Taylor Walters O'Hearn was a pioneer in the rebirth of the Republican Party in Louisiana during the mid-twentieth century. He and Morley A. Hudson, both of Shreveport in Caddo Parish, were the first two Republicans elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives since Reconstruction. The pair...
, who were the first Republicans elected to the state legislature since Reconstruction. However, in 1971, he switched to the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
to run for a Baton Rouge-area seat in the state House. Even though Louisiana was becoming increasingly friendly to Republicans nationally, Democrats still fully dominated at the state level. At the time of Jenkins' election to the state House, 104 of 105 members of the chamber and 38 of 39 members of the state Senate, elected in 1968, were Democrats. Jenkins faced five older opponents in his first race but walked door to door and was elected with 67 percent in the Democratic primary. He was unopposed in the general election. (Louisiana's nonpartisan blanket primary was not enacted until 1975.) He was sworn in at the age of twenty-four, just a few days before he graduated from law school.
During 28 years in the Louisiana House of Representatives (1972 to 2000), Jenkins authored more than 300 major bills that became law, including the Free Enterprise Education Act, which requires all high school students in Louisiana to complete a one-semester course on the free enterprise system; the Private Education Deregulation Act, which deregulated private and Christian schools and legalized home schooling in Louisiana; the Teacher Proficiency Act, which requires all new public school teachers in Louisiana to pass the National Teachers Exam; the TOPS scholarship program, under which more than 100,000 Louisiana students have been granted full college scholarships; the Concealed Carry Act; the Shoot the Burglar Act, and many others.
While in the legislature, Jenkins organized and served as Chairman of the Conservative Caucus in the state house, which began with four members in 1972. By 1980, a caucus member, John Hainkel
John Hainkel
John Joseph Hainkel, Jr., was a gregarious, ruffled, and raspy-voiced legislator from New Orleans who died in office after thirty-seven years of service...
of New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, was elected Speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
. Jenkins served as chairman of the House Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations.
Jenkins was elected as a delegate to Louisiana's state constitutional convention, which met from late 1972 to early 1974. His colleagues included fellow Representative R. Harmon Drew, Sr.
R. Harmon Drew, Sr.
Richard Harmon Drew, Sr. was a fourth generation judge and a former Democratic state representative who was descended from pioneer families of Webster Parish in north Louisiana...
, future Governor Buddy Roemer
Buddy Roemer
Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer III is an American politician who served as the 52nd Governor of Louisiana, from 1988 to 1992. He was elected as a Democrat but switched to the Republican Party on March 11, 1991...
and later Secretary of State and Insurance Commissioner James H. "Jim" Brown. He served on the convention's Committee on Bill of Rights and Elections, and he authored much of the new constitution's Declaration of Rights. The proposed constitution was approved by the delegates and ratified by the voters in a state wide election held in April 1974. The document, formally adopted in 1975, is still in effect. See Jenkins, Declaration of Rights, Loyola Law Review, Spring 1975.
When Republicans failed to run candidates for the United States Senate in 1978 against Democratic Senator J. Bennett Johnston, Jr., and again in 1980 against established Senator Russell B. Long
Russell B. Long
Russell Billiu Long was an American Democratic politician and United States Senator from Louisiana from 1948 until 1987.-Early life:...
, Jenkins ran as a Democrat. In 1978, Jenkins won twenty-eight parishes, but Johnston won by 58-42 percent. In the 1980 race, Jenkins criticized Long's support of the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
Treaty. He said Long was "the most powerful man in the Senate, but he isn't using that power for us." Again, Jenkins lost, 59-41 percent. In both races, he was outspent by large margins, 5 to 1 in the Johnston race and 10 to 1 in the Long race. In the second of those campaigns, Republican Senator Bob Dole
Bob Dole
Robert Joseph "Bob" Dole is an American attorney and politician. Dole represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996, was Gerald Ford's Vice Presidential running mate in the 1976 presidential election, and was Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and in 1995 and 1996...
of Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
made a campaign commercial for his friend Russell Long.
Jenkins made an effort to promote the influence of conservative Democrats. In 1972, he endorsed maverick Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
mayor Sam Yorty for the party's presidential nomination. In 1976, he was elected as Louisiana's member of the Democratic National Platform Committee where he offered numerous conservative proposals during the committee's meetings in Washington. He was the only member of the Platform Committee to vote against the final version of the platform. In early 1980, Jenkins was elected Democratic National Committeeman from Louisiana over the opposition of then outgoing Governor Edwin Edwards
Edwin Edwards
Edwin Washington Edwards served as the Governor of Louisiana for four terms , twice as many terms as any other Louisiana chief executive has served. Edwards was also Louisiana's first Roman Catholic governor in the 20th century...
, but Jenkins resigned that position in October 1980 to campaign for Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
for president, while Edwards stood with President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
.
In 1989, Jenkins joined a coalition of mostly supporters of Edwin Edwards to defeat a tax reform referendum designed by the Buddy Roemer
Buddy Roemer
Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer III is an American politician who served as the 52nd Governor of Louisiana, from 1988 to 1992. He was elected as a Democrat but switched to the Republican Party on March 11, 1991...
administration to reduce sales tax
Sales tax
A sales tax is a tax, usually paid by the consumer at the point of purchase, itemized separately from the base price, for certain goods and services. The tax amount is usually calculated by applying a percentage rate to the taxable price of a sale....
es and state income tax
State income tax
State and local income taxes are imposed in addition to Federal income tax. State income tax is allowed as a deduction in computing Federal income tax, subject to limitations for individuals. Some localities impose an income tax, often based on state income tax calculations. Forty-three states...
es while raising property tax
Property tax
A property tax is an ad valorem levy on the value of property that the owner is required to pay. The tax is levied by the governing authority of the jurisdiction in which the property is located; it may be paid to a national government, a federated state or a municipality...
es. The successful opponents to the reform measure also included newly-elected State Representative David Duke
David Duke
David Ernest Duke is a former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan an American activist and writer, and former Republican Louisiana State Representative. He was also a former candidate in the Republican presidential primaries in 1992, and in the Democratic presidential primaries in...
, former and later Speaker John Alario
John Alario
John A. Alario, Jr. , is an American businessman from Westwego in Jefferson Parish in the New Orleans suburbs, who is the dean of the Louisiana State Legislature, having served consecutively in the law-making body since 1972. He was the District 83 member of the Louisiana House of Representatives...
, and Victor Bussie
Victor Bussie
Victor V. Bussie was until his retirement in 1997 the 41-year unopposed president of the Louisiana AFL-CIO, having first assumed the mantle of union leadership in 1956. Journalists often described him as the most significant non-elected "official" in his state's politics...
, long-term president of the Louisiana AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
.
In 1994, after twenty-two years as a Democrat, Jenkins held a news conference with Senator Phil Gramm
Phil Gramm
William Philip "Phil" Gramm is an American economist and politician, who has served as a Democratic Congressman , a Republican Congressman and a Republican Senator from Texas...
of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, a Democrat-turned-Republican, to announce his decision to change his party affiliation to Republican. Jenkins said that he felt conservatives no longer had any hope of influencing the direction of the Democratic Party.
U. S. Senate campaign of 1996 and aftermath
In 1996, Jenkins ran for the Senate seat being vacated by the retirement of Bennett Johnston. Although five other Republicans ran against him in the jungle primary, Jenkins was endorsed as the party's "official" candidate at the Republican state convention in January 1996. He also faced four Democrats and five independents. The field included Attorney General Richard IeyoubRichard Ieyoub
Richard Phillip Ieyoub, Sr. , is a Baton Rouge lawyer and a Democratic politician who was the attorney general of Louisiana from 1992 to 2004. Ieyoub was the Calcasieu Parish district attorney in Lake Charles from 1984 to 1992, and is presently with the Baton Rouge firm Couhig Partners...
, former Democratic state Treasurer Mary Landrieu
Mary Landrieu
Mary Loretta Landrieu is the senior United States Senator from the State of Louisiana and a member of the Democratic Party.Born in Arlington, Virginia, Landrieu was raised in New Orleans, Louisiana...
of New Orleans, Congressman Jimmy Hayes
Jimmy Hayes
James Allison "Jimmy" Hayes is a Republican politician from the state of Louisiana.Born in Lafayette, Hayes graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette . He served in the Louisiana Air National Guard from 1968 to 1974...
(a recent convert to the GOP), former Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
sman David Duke
David Duke
David Ernest Duke is a former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan an American activist and writer, and former Republican Louisiana State Representative. He was also a former candidate in the Republican presidential primaries in 1992, and in the Democratic presidential primaries in...
, and two wealthy businessmen, state Representative Chuck McMains
Chuck McMains
Francis Charles "Chuck" McMains, Jr. , is a Baton Rouge attorney and businessman who was a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1992–2001, having represented District 69 . In 1996, McMains made an unsuccessful race for the United States Senate seat being vacated by...
of Baton Rouge and William "Bill" Linder of New Orleans, the brother of Republican Congressman John Linder
John Linder
John Elmer Linder is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1993 until 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party.Linder announced that he would retire from Congress at the end of the 111th Congress....
from Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
.
Republicans decided to rally around Jenkins. Congressman Bob Livingston
Bob Livingston
Robert Linlithgow "Bob" Livingston Jr. is a Washington, D.C.-based lobbyist and a former Republican U.S. Representative from Louisiana...
of New Orleans led the effort. Support also came from Edward J. Steimel, former executive director of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry
Louisiana Association of Business and Industry
The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, known by the acronym LABI, is the largest and most successful business lobbying group in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It was founded in Baton Rouge in 1976, when Louisiana adopted a new right-to-work law during the administration of Democratic...
. Jenkins ran first in the primary with 27 percent of the vote. Jenkins and Landrieu then competed in the November general election. Former President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
came to campaign on Jenkins' behalf, along with Senators John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
of Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, Orrin G. Hatch of Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, Majority Leader Trent Lott
Trent Lott
Chester Trent Lott, Sr. , is a former United States Senator from Mississippi and has served in numerous leadership positions in the House of Representatives and the Senate....
, of Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, and Connie Mack III
Connie Mack III
Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy III , popularly known as Connie Mack, is a former Republican politician. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Florida from 1983 to 1989 and then as a Senator from 1989 to 2001. He served as chairman of the Senate Republican...
, of Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. Governor Foster and former Governors David C. Treen
David C. Treen
David Conner "Dave" Treen, Sr. , was an American attorney and politician from Mandeville, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana – the first Republican Governor of the U.S. state of Louisiana since Reconstruction. He was the first Republican in modern times to have served in the U.S...
, Buddy Roemer
Buddy Roemer
Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer III is an American politician who served as the 52nd Governor of Louisiana, from 1988 to 1992. He was elected as a Democrat but switched to the Republican Party on March 11, 1991...
, and the Democrat Jimmie Davis
Jimmie Davis
James Houston Davis , better known as Jimmie Davis, was a noted singer of both sacred and popular songs who served two nonconsecutive terms as the 47th Governor of Louisiana...
all endorsed Jenkins.
On Election Day
Election Day (United States)
Election Day in the United States is the day set by law for the general elections of public officials. It occurs on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The earliest possible date is November 2 and the latest possible date is November 8...
, TV network exit polls showed Jenkins leading 51-49 percent. Jenkins' lead held up throughout the evening, but a late surge of votes from heavily Democratic New Orleans, as well as Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
's strong performance in the state, put Landrieu ahead by 5,788 votes out of 1.7 million cast.
It was the closest U.S. Senate race in the presidential election year of 1996, and one of the closest in Louisiana history. Jenkins carried thirty-eight parishes and exclusive of Orleans parish, he secured 53 percent of the vote. New Orleans gave Landrieu a 100,000 vote margin. The final returns showed Landrieu with 852,945 votes and Jenkins with 847,157 votes.
Jenkins led Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole by more than 134,000 votes state wide. Jenkins' vote total, as of 2004, was the third highest by Republican running in a state wide race ever, topped only by former Governor Foster and current U.S. Senator David Vitter
David Vitter
David Vitter is the junior United States Senator from Louisiana and a member of the Republican Party. Previously, he served in the United States House of Representatives, representing the suburban Louisiana's 1st congressional district. He served as a member of the Louisiana House of...
.
After losing this election, Jenkins contested the results. He claimed that at least 7,454 "phantom votes" were cast in 4,000 precincts in the state in 1996. The so-called phantom votes were alleged to have occurred when more votes were cast on the voting machines than voters who signed up to vote in that precinct on election day. Jenkins also claimed that more than 30,000 signatures of voters on election day did not match their signatures on voter registration cards. Claims were also made that individuals were hauled multiple times to various precinct
Precinct
A precinct is a space enclosed by the walls or other boundaries of a particular place or building, or by an arbitrary and imaginary line drawn around it. The term has several different uses...
s in New Orleans to cast votes without being required to sign the register. The Jenkins forces alleged that buses drove through the inner city and offered payments to anyone who would vote. Moreover, they claimed that further investigations proved that about 1,300 votes were cast by voters whose registered addresses were abandoned public housing
Public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
units.
Jenkins took his case to the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate, claiming that Landrieu's 5,788-vote margin was made possible only by fraudulent votes mostly in New Orleans. In a hearing before the Senate Rules Committee
United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration
The Senate Committee on Rules and Administration is responsible for the rules of the United States Senate, with administration of congressional buildings, and with credentials and qualifications of members of the Senate, including responsibility for dealing with contested elections.The committee...
carried live on C-SPAN
C-SPAN
C-SPAN , an acronym for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is an American cable television network that offers coverage of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming via its three television channels , one radio station and a group of websites that provide streaming...
, Jenkins charged massive election fraud. He petitioned the Senate to unseat Landrieu and to order a new election—and on an 8-7 party-line vote the committee agreed to set up a probe.
Only a month into the probe, however, Democrats claimed that Thomas "Papa Bear" Miller, a detective hired by Jenkins' campaign to investigate claims of fraud, had coached witnesses to claim they had participated in election fraud. The Jenkins campaign denied the charge and said it was a Democratic attempt to distract attention from the massive vote-buying and election fraud they said occurred in the election. Miller had several felony convictions on his record, including a guilty plea to attempted murder. Miller was killed in a drive by shooting in May 2003. The Democrats walked out of the probe in protest, but the probe continued.
In October 1997, after a ten-month investigation, the committee allowed Landrieu's victory to stand. It concluded that while there were numerous irregularities, it was impossible to determine if they were egregious enough to change the outcome.
In 1999, Jenkins ran for Commissioner of Elections against incumbent Democrat Jerry Fowler
Jerry Fowler
Jerry Marston Fowler was a Baton Rouge businessman who served as Louisiana's state Elections Commissioner from 1980 until his defeat in the 1999 jungle primary. He was part of the Fowler family Democratic political dynasty...
, whom Jenkins had alleged was part of the election fraud in 1996. Jenkins pledged to clean up elections in Louisiana and create a Voter Fraud Unit. In the primary, Jenkins ran first and fellow Republican Suzanne Haik Terrell
Suzanne Haik Terrell
Suzanne Haik Terrell is a Louisiana lawyer who failed in a high-profile Republican bid for the U.S. Senate in 2002 and for state attorney general in 2003. She was the state's last commissioner of elections, having served from 2000 to 2004. In 2005, President George W...
finished in second place. Fowler ran third and was eliminated.
In the run-off between Jenkins and Terrell, the first statewide run-off between two Republicans in the history of Louisiana's open elections system, Terrell won handily. She took office and made many changes, including creation of a Voter Fraud Unit, which successfully prosecuted numerous cases of voter fraud.
Later developments
In January 2000, Jenkins retired from the Louisiana House after twenty-eight years in office. In 2002, Mrs. Terrell was a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, matched against Landrieu, in a race that also included state Representative Tony PerkinsTony Perkins (politician)
Anthony Richard "Tony" Perkins is president of the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian think tank and public policy foundation based in Washington, D.C...
, Jenkins' 1996 campaign manager. Jenkins endorsed Perkins in the primary. In the runoff between Terrell and Landrieu, Jenkins endorsed Terrell, but Landrieu was elected to her second term.
Jenkins and Dan Richey
Dan Richey
Daniel Wesley "Dan" Richey is a Baton Rouge-based political consultant for "pro-family" candidates and organizations, including Louisiana Family Forum. From 1997 to 2004, Richey served under appointment of Republican Governor Murphy J...
, his long-term friend and former legislative colleague, helped to organize David Vitter
David Vitter
David Vitter is the junior United States Senator from Louisiana and a member of the Republican Party. Previously, he served in the United States House of Representatives, representing the suburban Louisiana's 1st congressional district. He served as a member of the Louisiana House of...
's grassroots campaign in 2004, when Vitter became the first Republican elected to the United States Senate from Louisiana since Reconstruction.
In private life, Jenkins has been active in efforts to assist refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
s and poor people in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. Jenkins has visited Latin America more than sixty times.
Jenkins served as CEO for WBTR-TV in Baton Rouge from 1987 to 2004. He was named to the LSU School of Journalism Hall of Fame in 1991; "Legislator of the Year" by the National Taxpayers Union, 1977, and Phyllis Schlafly
Phyllis Schlafly
Phyllis McAlpin Stewart Schlafly is a Constitutional lawyer and an American politically conservative activist and author who founded the Eagle Forum. She is known for her opposition to modern feminism ideas and for her campaign against the proposed Equal Rights Amendment...
's Eagle Forum
Eagle Forum
Eagle Forum is a conservative interest group in the United States founded by Phyllis Schlafly in 1972 and is the parent organization that also includes the Eagle Forum Education and Legal Defense Fund and the Eagle Forum PAC. The Eagle Forum has been primarily focused on social issues; it describes...
, 1990; 96 percent rating, Louisiana Association of Business and Industry; recipient, Winston Churchill Award, Council for National Policy, 1990; producer, Baton Rouge Today, named "Outstanding Local News Program in the U.S." by Community Broadcasters Association, 1992; named "Louisiana's Pro-Family, Pro-Life Champion" by Christian Coalition of Louisiana for his service in the legislature; listed in Who's Who in America; B.A., Journalism, Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
, LSU.
Jenkins and Daniel Duggan started the Central City News in 2005. In 2006, they started the Zachary Post. In 2007, Duggan's company acquired the South Baton Rouge Journal. Jenkins serves as editor of all three papers. In 2006, Jenkins was honored by the National Newspaper Association with 3rd Place for Best Newspaper Column. In 2010, the Louisiana Press Association awarded the Central City News 1st Place in the state for General Excellence.
U.S. House special election in Louisiana's 6th District (2008)
On January 16, 2008, U.S. Representative Richard Hugh BakerRichard Baker (politician)
Richard Hugh Baker , an American politician,is a lobbyist and former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, having represented the 6th District of Louisiana from 1987 to 2008.-Early life and career:...
, representing Louisiana's 6th congressional district
Louisiana's 6th congressional district
Louisiana's 6th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located in south-central Louisiana, the district contains the state capital of Baton Rouge and its suburbs and the western half of the Florida Parishes and areas west and south of Baton Rouge...
, announced that he would soon resign from Congress. The political careers of Jenkins and Baker actually began on the same day thirty-four years earlier in 1972, when both were freshman Democratic members of the East Baton Rouge Parish state House delegation. Baker vacted his congressional seat on February 2. As a result, Governor Bobby Jindal
Bobby Jindal
Piyush "Bobby" Jindal is the 55th and current Governor of Louisiana and formerly a member of the United States House of Representatives. He is a member of the Republican Party....
called a special election
Louisiana's 6th congressional district special election, 2008
The February 2, 2008 resignation of Republican Richard Baker triggered a special election for Louisiana's 6th district. In anticipation of this election, party qualifying occurred before Baker's resignation. The timeline mirrored that of the 2008 special election for the 1st congressional district...
to fill the vacancy. The Republican and Democratic primaries, again closed primaries, were held on March 8 in conjunction with the presidential primaries, with the runoff, if needed, set for April 5, and the general election on May 3.
On January 17, 2008, Jenkins announced his candidacy for the GOP
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
nomination in the special election
Louisiana's 6th congressional district special election, 2008
The February 2, 2008 resignation of Republican Richard Baker triggered a special election for Louisiana's 6th district. In anticipation of this election, party qualifying occurred before Baker's resignation. The timeline mirrored that of the 2008 special election for the 1st congressional district...
. Jenkins received the endorsements of Pat Toomey
Pat Toomey
Patrick Joseph "Pat" Toomey, Sr. is the junior United States Senator for Pennsylvania and a member of the Republican Party. Previously, Toomey served as a U.S. Representative for three terms, but did not seek a fourth in compliance with a pledge he had made while running for office in 1998...
's Club for Growth Political Action Committee, and Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family. He also received the endorsement of the East Baton Rouge Parish Republican Party. Jenkins later received the endorsement of the National Rifle Association.
In the primary, he faced Baker's congressional aide, Paul Sawyer; Laurinda L. Calongne, president of Robert Rose Consulting; and Michael Cloonan, a veteran of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
from East Feliciana Parish.
Jenkins led in public opinion polls prior to the primary, but fell eighty-four votes short of an outright majority to win the GOP nomination. Calongne, with 7,584 ballots (25 percent), finished second and forced Jenkins, with 14,849 votes (just under 50 percent), into a runoff. Sawyer trailed with 6,924 (23 percent). Cloonan held the critical balance of 425 votes (1 percent).
In the April 5 Republican runoff against Calongne, Jenkins won handily, taking 15,179 (62 percent) of the vote to Calongne's 9,327 (38 percent) votes. He faced Democratic State Representative Don Cazayoux
Don Cazayoux
Donald J. 'Don' Cazayoux, Jr. is a former Democratic U.S. Representative from Louisiana's 6th congressional district. He is currently US Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana....
of New Roads
New Roads, Louisiana
New Roads is a city in and the parish seat of Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, United States. The center of population of Louisiana is located in New Roads . The population was 4,996 at the 2000 census. The city's ZIP code is 70760...
in the special election. Jenkins was immediately endorsed by Governor Jindal.
In Congress, Senator David Vitter and the three Republicans in Louisiana's House delegation--Jim McCrery
Jim McCrery
James Otis "Jim" McCrery, III , is an American lawyer who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1988 to 2009; he represented the 4th District of Louisiana, based in the northwestern quadrant of the state.McCrery was a ranking member on the House Ways and...
, Rodney Alexander
Rodney Alexander
Rodney McKinnie Alexander is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district covers twenty-two parishes in roughly the northeast quadrant of the state...
, and Charles Boustany
Charles Boustany
Charles William Boustany, Jr. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education, and medical career:...
endorsed Jenkins. Jenkins was also supported by House Minority Leader John Boehner
John Boehner
John Andrew Boehner is the 61st and current Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party, he is the U.S. Representative from , serving since 1991...
, Minority Whip Roy Blunt
Roy Blunt
Roy D. Blunt is the junior United States Senator from Missouri. He is a member of the Republican Party. His Senate seat was previously held by Republican Kit Bond, until his retirement....
, and Assistant Whip Eric Cantor
Eric Cantor
Eric Ivan Cantor is the U.S. Representative for Virginia's 7th congressional district, serving since 2001. A member of the Republican Party, he became House Majority Leader when the 112th Congress convened on January 3, 2011...
. On April 25, former U.S. Senator John Breaux
John Breaux
John Berlinger Breaux is a former United States senator from Louisiana who served from 1987 until 2005. He was also a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1972 to 1987. He was considered one of the more conservative national legislators from the Democratic Party...
, now a resident of Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, endorsed Cazayoux on grounds that the self-styled "John Breaux Democrat" could work across party lines. In 1996, Breaux had also opposed Jenkins in the race against Mary Landrieu.
Despite support from the state Republican establishment, some Republicans were cool toward Jenkins. Some considered him a second-tier candidate despite his long tenure in the state legislature, his near-victory in the Senate race a decade earlier, and support among social conservatives in the Louisiana GOP. The National Republican Congressional Committee
National Republican Congressional Committee
The National Republican Congressional Committee is the Republican Hill committee which works to elect Republicans to the United States House of Representatives....
, the campaign arm of House Republicans, reportedly tied his financial aid to meeting certain financial benchmarks, an unusual obstacle considering that the GOP had held this seat since 1975. Additionally, Jenkins faced potential problems from a past indirect connection to David Duke
David Duke
David Ernest Duke is a former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan an American activist and writer, and former Republican Louisiana State Representative. He was also a former candidate in the Republican presidential primaries in 1992, and in the Democratic presidential primaries in...
. Before the 1996 Senate general election, Jenkins' campaign retained a firm to do automated phone calls to voters. The firm had previously done work for Duke. He was fined $3,000 by the Federal Election Commission
Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the United States. It was created in a provision of the 1975 amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act...
because the purchase was paid for by his ad agency instead of directly by the campaign. Later Jenkins learned that Duke received a commission from the firm he had hired, but said he had no knowledge that Duke would profit from the transaction. However, his signed agreement with the FEC admitted that he knew Duke had used the same firm.
Cazayoux won the special election on May 3, 2008, with 49,702 votes (49.2 percent) to Jenkins' 46,741 votes (46.3 percent). An independent Republican candidate and two minor candidates held the remaining 4.5 percent of the vote. Jenkins ran best in the City of Central, where he received 77 percent of the votes cast, and Livingston Parish, a heavily Republican suburban parish near Baton Rouge, where he received 72 percent. However, Cazayoux won by almost 5,000 votes in Jenkins' own East Baton Rouge Parish.
Jenkins was expected to seek a rematch against Cazayoux in the election for the full term in Congress in the fall of 2008 but announced instead that he would support Republican state Senator Bill Cassidy
Bill Cassidy
William "Bill" Cassidy is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2009. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education and career:...
.
On Sunday, May 18, 2008, Jenkins was elected as Louisiana's representative on the Platform Committee at the Republican National Convention.