John Milkovich is an American politician and attorney from the state of Louisiana. A Democrat, Milkovich represented the 38th district of the Louisiana State Senate, based in southern Shreveport, from 2016 until 2020.[1]
John Milkovich | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Louisiana Senate from the 38th district | |
| In office January 11, 2016 – January 13, 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Sherri Smith Buffington |
| Succeeded by | Barry Milligan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Roundup, Montana, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Carola |
| Children | 1 |
| Residence(s) | Keithville, Louisiana |
| Education | |
| Website | Campaign website |
Career
editMilkovich was born and raised in Roundup, Montana, and went to the University of Montana.[2] After obtaining his J.D. at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Milkovich worked as a judicial clerk for Fred C. Sexton Jr. of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Milkovich has also been an attorney at law since 1985.[3]
Political history
editMilkovich ran for Louisiana's 4th congressional district in 2002, losing in a landslide to Republican incumbent Jim McCrery.[3]
In 2015, Milkovich announced he would run for the 38th district of the Louisiana State Senate, vacated by term-limited Republican Sherri Smith Buffington.[4] After failing to win a majority in the first round, Milkovich defeated state representative Richie Burford in the runoff with 52% of the vote.[5]
Milkovich was defeated in his bid for a second term in 2019 by Republican Barry Milligan, who won a majority in the first round.[6]
Comments on vaccines
editOn April 29, 2019, during a vote on Senator Regina Barrow's legislation to expand a state immunization database, Milkovich caused controversy by repeating unscientific and debunked claims about vaccinations and autism. Among other things, Milkovich claimed that "tissue from aborted babies is now used in vaccines" and that "autism did not exist" when he and another senator were growing up, both of which have been repeatedly proven false.[7][8] Although no lawmaker responded to Milkovich on the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, a medical doctor, later called Milkovich's comments "fake news."[9]
Comments on 2020 Presidential Election
editJohn Milkovich has repeatedly denied the results of the 2020 Presidential Election. Milkovich has echoed the disproven claims made by Presidential Trump that he won the election, despite nearly every judicial body that heard the claims ruling that there was not election determinative fraud.[10]
References
edit- ^ "John Milkovich". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
- ^ "Meet John". John Milkovich, Louisiana Senate. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
- ^ a b "John Milkovich's Biography". VoteSmart. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
- ^ Michelli McKnight (June 23, 2015). "Milkovich makes Senate run official". KTBS3. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
- ^ Lex Talamo (November 21, 2015). "Milkovich wins Senate District 38". Shreveport Times. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
- ^ John Walton, Sam Jovic (October 12, 2019). "Milkovich ousted; Republican Milligan wins District 38 State Senate race". ArkLaTex Homepage. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
- ^ Sam Karlin (April 29, 2019). "Louisiana senator links vaccines, autism on Senate floor; officials say 'myth' causes measles resurgence". The Advocate. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
- ^ Jonathan Freeman (April 30, 2019). "LA State Senator Milkovich claims vaccines cause Autism during legislative session". MyArkLaMiss. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
- ^ Elizabeth Crisp (April 30, 2019). "Sen. Bill Cassidy defends vaccines after state lawmaker makes autism claims: 'That's fake news'". The Advocate. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
- ^ "John Milkovich for Senate | Priorities". johnmilkovichforsenate.com. Retrieved 2023-10-04.