Johnny Isakson, former US senator from Georgia, dead at 76

ATLANTA — Johnny Isakson, a former U.S. senator from Georgia, died Sunday morning after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease, WSB-TV reported. He was 76.

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Isakson served in the U.S. Senate from 2005 to 2019 and had a reputation as a consensus builder.

“Georgia has lost a giant, one of its greatest statesmen, and a servant leader dedicated to making his state and country better than he found it,” Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said in a statement. “Johnny Isakson personified what it means to be a Georgian. Johnny was also a dear friend to Marty, the girls, and me -- as he was to so many. He answered the call to public service many times over his career as a state legislator, minority leader in the Georgia House, chair of the State Board of Education, congressman, and finally as senator.”

Isakson represented Georgia’s District 6 in the House of Representatives from 1999 to 2005.

John Hardy Isakson was born Dec. 28, 1944, in Atlanta to a Greyhound bus driver and a stay-at-home mother, according to WSB.

Isakson got his first taste of politics while attending the University of Georgia, volunteering for Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater’s campaign in 1964.

“I went and looked at the vote patterns and where I lived, which is east Cobb County. (It) had gone Republican, but nobody else had around them,” Isakson recalled. “It wasn’t a total Republican district, but it looked like it was moving that way, so I said, ‘Well, I really believe more in what Richard Nixon stands for economically than George McGovern.’”

Isakson graduated from the University of Georgia in 1966 and then entered the Georgia National Guard, where he reached the rank of staff sergeant, according to WSB.

Isakson won a seat in the Georgia state House in 1976.

In 2015, Isakson revealed he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, according to The Associated Press. He remained in office until the end of 2019, retiring two years before his term ended.

Stacey Abrams, who is running for governor of Georgia, said in a statement that Isakson “served the whole of Georgia with attention and fairness.”

“With every interaction, my respect for him grew and never wavered. Though we held different ideologies, I was honored to call him friend,” Abrams tweeted. “God’s peace to his family, loved ones and friends.”

When Isakson retired in 2019, then-U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Atlanta, paid tribute to his friend of more than 20 years.

You, senator, led a team that could cross the aisle without compromising your values,” Lewis said during his speech, which was broadcast on the House’s live stream. “I will come over to meet you, brother.”

Isakson, despite his health issues, rose from his seat to meet Lewis halfway and embraced his colleague.

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