Clinton Bernard LeSueur (born March 2, 1969) is an American journalist and political aide. He has worked in Mississippi and Washington, D.C., and was the unsuccessful

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in

Mississippi's 2nd congressional district Mississippi's 2nd congressional district (MS-2) covers much of Western Mississippi. It includes most of Jackson, the riverfront cities of Greenville and Vicksburg and the interior market cities of Clarksdale, Greenwood and Clinton. The distr ...

in 2002 and 2004.

Personal life

LeSueur was born and reared in Holly Springs, a suburb of

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, Tennessee. His father was a

Church of God in Christ The Church of God in Christ (COGIC) is a Holiness–Pentecostal Christian denomination, and the largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States. Although an international and multi-ethnic religious organization, it has a predominantly Bl ...

minister. The tenth of fifteen children, LeSueur earned a Bachelor of Science degree in

print journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profe ...

from historically black

Rust College Rust College is a private historically black college in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Founded in 1866, it is the second-oldest private college in the state. Affiliated with the United Methodist Church, it is one of ten historically black colleges ...

, a

liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...

institution in Holly Springs. He then received a master's degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

from

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

in Washington, D.C. He worked as a news reporter for the '' Afro-American Newspaper'', one of the oldest black-owned newspapers in United States. He left there to work as a news assistant at ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'', where he received the "Voice of Courage" award for writing about health issues. Later, he became lead reporter for ''TV Technology Magazine'', for which he covered the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

and the Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Committee on

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...

. He became the legislative writer for Washington, D.C., City Council member Adrian M. Fenty. He has served on the I Have A Dream Foundation, a nationwide network of projects dedicated to keeping at-risk children in school and named for

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

's 1963 "

I Have A Dream "I Have a Dream" is a public speech that was delivered by American civil rights activist and Baptist minister, Martin Luther King Jr., during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. In the speech, King called ...

" speech. LeSueur completed a one-year program as an AmeriCorps volunteer, in which he mentor students in local urban schools. Prior to his relocation to Washington, LeSueur had resided in

Greenville, Mississippi Greenville is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 34,400 at the 2010 census. It is located in the area of historic cotton plantations and culture known as the Mississippi Delta. Hi ...

Political career

LeSueur grew up as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. He switched his party affiliation to

in 2001 after becoming disenchanted with the Democratic party's stances on abortion and

gay marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

. He struggled with that decision for some time, even to the point of saying, "Lord, I don't want to be a Republican!" In 2002, he ran as the Republican candidate in

against incumbent Democrat

Bennie Thompson Bennie Gordon Thompson (born January 28, 1948) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 1993. A member of the Democratic Party, Thompson has been the chair of the Committee on Homeland Security since 2019 and from ...

, who still holds this seat. LeSueur ran on a strongly socially conservative platform but was defeated by Thompson, 55.1 to 42.7 percent. LeSueur took comfort in his showing given the heavily Democratic tilt of the district and the fact that LeSueur received little encouragement from the national GOP. He challenged Thompson again in 2004. This time, he attracted more attention from the national party, and spoke at the

2004 Republican National Convention The 2004 Republican National Convention took place from August 30 to September 2, 2004 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The convention is one of a series of historic quadrennial meetings at which the Republican candidates fo ...

. He lost again, receiving 40.6 percent of the vote. To date, he is the only Republican to have made a credible bid against Thompson. On July 1, 2005, LeSueur was appointed director of the

Delta Regional Authority The Delta Regional Authority (DRA) is a Federal-State partnership whose mission it is to improve the quality of life for the residents of the Mississippi Delta. The Delta Regional Authority serves 252 counties and parishes in parts of eight state ...

(DRA) faith-based initiative.Rust College alum, Clinton LeSueur, appointed Faith-Based Initiative (FBI) director
. The Rustorian, September 4, 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lesueur, Clinton 1969 births 20th-century American journalists African-American journalists African-American people in Mississippi politics American Pentecostals American University School of Public Affairs alumni American male journalists Candidates in the 2002 United States elections Candidates in the 2004 United States elections Journalists from Mississippi Journalists from Washington, D.C. Living people Mississippi Democrats Mississippi Republicans People from Holly Springs, Mississippi Politicians from Greenville, Mississippi Rust College alumni