Former Georgia Republican US Senator Johnny Isakson died at 76

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Georgia Republican politician and a US Senator, 76-years old Johnny Isakson has died on Sunday. His son John Isakson said his father died in his sleep before dawn at his home in Atlanta. He has Parkinson’s disease, but the cause of death wasn’t immediately disclosed. John Isakson said, “He was a great man and I will miss him”. The real estate business of Johnny Isakson made him a millionaire and he spent more than 4 decades in Georgia’s political life. He was the architect of a popular tax credit for first-time homebuyers in the Senate. Isakson worked as chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee to expand programs offering more private health care choices for veterans. Isakson’s famous motto was, “There are two types of people in this world: friends and future friends”.

This approach made him exceedingly popular among colleagues. A Kentucky Republican and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said, “Johnny was one of my very best friends in the Senate. But the amazing thing about him was that at any given time, approximately 98 other Senators felt the same way. His infectious warmth and charisma, his generosity and his integrity made Johnny one of the most admired and beloved people in the Capitol”. Isakson disclosed in 2015 that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, a chronic and progressive movement disorder. He underwent a scheduled surgery on his back to address spinal deterioration after winning reelection in 2016. He frequently depended on a cane or wheelchair in later years. He pleaded for bipartisanship in a farewell Senate speech at a time of bitter divisions between Republicans and Democrats.

Isakson cited his long friendship with US Rep. John Lewis to put the party aside to work on common problems. He said, “Let’s solve the problem and then see what happens. Most people who call people names and point fingers are people who don’t have a solution themselves”. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp issued a statement and said, “As a businessman and a gifted retail politician, Johnny paved the way for the modern Republican Party in Georgia, but he never let partisan politics get in the way of doing what was right”. Isakson suffered humbling setbacks before ascending to the Senate. In 1990, he lost the race for governor to Democrat Zell Miller. In 1996, Guy Millner defeated him in a Republican primary for Senate before Millner lost to Democrat Max Cleland. He became a US Senator in 2004 when he defeated Democrat Denise Majette with 58% of the vote.