Cooksey was elected to Congress in 1996 and represented Louisiana's Fifth District for three terms, traditionally based in the northeastern quadrant of the state about Monroe, but since reconfigured to reach deep into South Louisiana as well. Cooksey first won the seat by defeating Democratic state legislator Francis C. Thompson of Delhi in Richland Parish. Cooksey had edged past former U.S. RepresentativeClyde C. Holloway of Forest Hill in Rapides Parish in the nonpartisan blanket primary. In that campaign, Cooksey pledged to serve no more than three terms in the House, a pledge that he kept.[1]
In 2002, Cooksey was an unsuccessful candidate in the Republican primary for the United States Senate seat held until 2015 by Democrat Mary Landrieu. In that campaign, Cooksey made a derogatory remark about Arabs — comparing turbans and keffiyehs to diapers fastened by fan belts[2] — which was attacked by his opponents as racist. He never overcame the blunder. In the November general election, the losing Republican candidate was Cooksey's intra-party rival, Suzanne Haik Terrell of New Orleans.
In addition to the reelection of Landrieu, the Democrats temporarily regained Cooksey's House seat in the same general election balloting.
Personal lifeedit
Cooksey with family
After his Senate campaign, Cooksey retired from politics and resumed his medical practice. He and his wife, the former Ann Grabill (born 1943), had three children. He was Methodist and a member of Lambda Chi Alphafraternity.
john, cooksey, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, july, 2023, . This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources John Cooksey news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message John Charles Cooksey August 20 1941 June 4 2022 was an American ophthalmologist and politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for Louisiana s 5th congressional district from 1997 to 2003 John CookseyMember of theU S House of Representativesfrom Louisiana s 5th districtIn office January 3 1997 January 3 2003Preceded byCleo Fields Redistricting Succeeded byRodney AlexanderPersonal detailsBornJohn Charles Cooksey 1941 08 20 August 20 1941Alexandria Louisiana U S DiedJune 4 2022 2022 06 04 aged 80 Columbia Louisiana U S Political partyRepublicanSpouseAnn GrabillChildren3EducationLouisiana State University BS MD University of Texas at Austin MBA Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 References 5 External linksEarly life and education editCooksey was born in Alexandria in Rapides Parish in Central Louisiana He graduated from La Salle High School in Olla in LaSalle Parish where his father operated a sawmill He attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and received his M D degree from the LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans in 1966 In 1994 he received a Master of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin From 1967 until 1969 he served in the United States Air Force where he was stationed in Texas and Thailand He served in the Air Force Reserve from 1969 until 1972 Career editCooksey was elected to Congress in 1996 and represented Louisiana s Fifth District for three terms traditionally based in the northeastern quadrant of the state about Monroe but since reconfigured to reach deep into South Louisiana as well Cooksey first won the seat by defeating Democratic state legislator Francis C Thompson of Delhi in Richland Parish Cooksey had edged past former U S Representative Clyde C Holloway of Forest Hill in Rapides Parish in the nonpartisan blanket primary In that campaign Cooksey pledged to serve no more than three terms in the House a pledge that he kept 1 In 2002 Cooksey was an unsuccessful candidate in the Republican primary for the United States Senate seat held until 2015 by Democrat Mary Landrieu In that campaign Cooksey made a derogatory remark about Arabs comparing turbans and keffiyehs to diapers fastened by fan belts 2 which was attacked by his opponents as racist He never overcame the blunder In the November general election the losing Republican candidate was Cooksey s intra party rival Suzanne Haik Terrell of New Orleans In addition to the reelection of Landrieu the Democrats temporarily regained Cooksey s House seat in the same general election balloting Personal life edit nbsp Cooksey with family After his Senate campaign Cooksey retired from politics and resumed his medical practice He and his wife the former Ann Grabill born 1943 had three children He was Methodist and a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity Cooksey died in Columbia Louisiana on June 4 2022 at the age of 80 3 References edit Term limits as the pledges come home to roost Archived from the original on July 24 2008 Retrieved August 16 2006 Hitchens Christopher September 11 2006 Fear Factor Slate ISSN 1091 2339 Retrieved August 13 2018 Former Louisiana Congressman dies Saturday WBRZ June 4 2022 Retrieved June 4 2022 External links editUnited States Congress John Cooksey id C000735 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Vote 2002 profile Archived November 5 2012 at the Wayback Machine PBS Congress freshmen 1997 profile CNN Appearances on C SPAN U S House of Representatives Preceded byJim McCrery Member of the U S House of Representatives from Louisiana s 5th congressional district1997 2003 Succeeded byRodney Alexander Portals nbsp Biography nbsp United States nbsp Medicine nbsp Politics Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Cooksey amp oldid 1206164975, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
