John Lance Harris (born June 11, 1961) is an American businessman and politician from

Alexandria, Louisiana Alexandria is the ninth-largest city in the state of Louisiana and is the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the prin ...

. He is a

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 ...

member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 25 in

Rapides Parish Rapides Parish () (french: Paroisse des Rapides) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 131,613. The parish seat is Alexandria, which developed along the Red River of the South. ''Rapides ...

. In

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

, Harris ran for Congress in

Louisiana's 5th congressional district Louisiana's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The 5th district encompasses rural northeastern Louisiana and much of central Louisiana, as well as the northern part of Louisiana's Florida paris ...

. He was defeated by fellow Republican

Luke Letlow Luke Joshua Letlow (December 6, 1979 – December 29, 2020) was an American businessman and politician from Louisiana. A Republican, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives for in 2020 but died from complications caused by ...

in the runoff election.

Background

Harris attended

Louisiana College Louisiana Christian University (LCU) is a private Baptist university in Pineville, Louisiana. It enrolls 1,100 to 1,200 students. It is affiliated with the Louisiana Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist Convention). Louisiana Christ ...

in his native Pineville and

Northwestern State University Northwestern State University of Louisiana (NSU) is a public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Polk and Alexandria. It is a part of the Univer ...

in Natchitoches, Louisiana. Harris owns the Leebo's chain of convenience stores. In the

nonpartisan blanket primary A nonpartisan blanket primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of the political party. Partisan elections are, on the other hand, segregated by political party. ...

held on October 22, 2011, Harris defeated his only opponent, fellow Republican Barett Byrd, a retired colonel in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

from Woodworth. Harris succeeded Democratic Representative Chris Roy, Jr., of Alexandria, effective January 2012. Harris defeated Byrd, 7,577 votes (55.5 percent) to 6,088 (44.6 percent) to claim the position. Harris was elected chairman of the Louisiana Republican legislative delegation in December 2012. In 2020, he was succeeded by Rep.

Blake Miguez Blake John Miguez (born November 1981) is a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from Iberia and Vermilion parishes. He won a special election against John Robert Bering on February 21, 2015, to succeed Simone B. Champagne ...

as chairman. At the beginning of his third term in 2020, Harris was named Chairman of the House Retirement Committee and additionally serves on the Appropriations Committee, the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget, and the House Select Leadership Committee. He is a member of the Louisiana Republican Legislative Delegation and the Louisiana Rural Caucus.

Legislative record

In 2013, Harris endorsed

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Bobby Jindal's decision to withdraw a plan to increase sales taxes while at the same time repealing the

state income tax In addition to Federal government of the United States, federal Income tax in the United States, income tax collected by the United States, most individual U.S. states collect a state income tax. Some local governments also impose an income tax, ...

. Jindal dropped the plan after opposition surfaced in public opinion polls and among legislators. "While repeal is off the table for this legislative session, we will continue to work on the issue so that we can craft a responsible way to achieve our objectives in reforming the tax code in the future," Harris said. In May 2016, he wrote an amendment to Louisiana's hate crime statue, adding protections for police officers and firefighters who are targeted based on their profession. The amendment was signed into law by Governor John Bel Edwards.

References

External links

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Lance 1961 births 21st-century American politicians Businesspeople from Louisiana Farmers from Louisiana Living people Louisiana Christian University alumni Republican Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives Northwestern State University alumni People from Pineville, Louisiana Politicians from Alexandria, Louisiana Ranchers from Louisiana