J. Bennett Johnston

J. Bennett Johnston, a U.S. senator who represented Louisiana for 24 years, died March 25, 2025 of complications from COVID-19 at a hospital in McLean, Virginia at the age of 92.

First elected in 1972, after having served as a state representative for eight years, Johnston was a conservative Democrat known for working across the aisle, sometimes voting with Republicans when he thought it would serve his state. He helped drive the creation of Interstate 49, brought money into the state to help protect wetlands (including helping establish two national parks and seven wildlife refuges), and in 1990, made national headlines when he defeated Ku Klux Klansman David Duke in that year's Senate race.

Political analyst Robert Collins, who got his start in politics working for Johnston, said of the campaign against Duke, "Those were some dark days. We got a lot of threats. I had a brick thrown through the window of my car. But he kept his cool through it all. He was the perfect southern gentleman. In every sense of the word. Not only did I learn a great deal about politics from him, I learned how effective elected officials should act, with decorum and grace."

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