Johnny Isakson was a member of the United States Congress for 20 years. A Republican, he was elected from Georgia. Initially to the United States House of Representatives and later to the United States Senate.
Isakson served as one of the Senate's most influential members when he suddenly announced his resignation in 2019. Apparently because of health reasons. Whether it was directly connected to those health issues or not, Isakson has died suddenly.
Reportedly passed on while he was sleeping
Former U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson has passed away. According to KOTV, it happened while he was asleep, and that the cause of death was not immediately clear.
Isakson is the third former United States senator from Georgia to have died in 2021. Following David H. Gambrell and Max Cleland.
Isakson has been dealing with Parkinson's disease for the last several years. Because of the disease, he oftentimes used a wheelchair to get around. Shortly before announcing his Senate resignation, he had also suffered significant injuries in a fall.
Served in both state and federal legislatures
Isakson was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in a 1999 special election. He was elected from the 6th District of Georgia. The district had most recently been represented by Speaker of the House New Gingrich, who had resigned. Isakson was re-elected to the House of Representatives twice.
In 2004, Isakson was elected to the U.S. Senate by a hefty margin. He was re-elected to the Senate in 2010 and again in 2016, both times also rather comfortably in fashion over his opponents.
Isakson was appointed as the chairman of both the Senate Veterans Committee and the Senate Ethics Committee in 2015. He held onto both roles until he left the Senate.
Additionally, he'd also chaired the Employment and Workplace Safety Subcommittee of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.
Johnny Isakson's first attempt at running for the U.S. Senate went much differently than his subsequent ones. He ran for the Republican nomination for the Senate in 1996. The Senate seat was being vacated by retiring Senator Sam Nunn, who'd chaired the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Isakson lost the nomination to Guy Millner. Millner, in turn, lost the general election to Cleland.
In 1990, Isakson was the Republican nominee for governor of Georgia. He would ultimately lose to longtime Georgia Lieutenant Governor Zell Miller.
Isakson's first official political campaign was in 1974. It was an attempt at a seat in the Georgia House of Representatives. Another attempt in 1976 would prove to be successful. Isakson won re-election six times. Along the way, he would become the House minority leader. In 1996, he was elected to the Georgia State Senate.
Was an Air Force veteran
Johnny Isakson was born and brought up in Georgia. His paternal grandfather was an immigrant from Sweden.
Later, the younger Isakson would graduate from the University of Georgia and go into reality.
Isakson served in the United States Air Force for several years, eventually retiring as a staff sergeant. He would become a member of the American Legion. The organization said he "represented the best in public service after his death."
