John William Loudon (born August 14, 1967) is a former Republican member of the Missouri Senate for the 7th District from 2000 until 2008 and a member of the Missouri House of Representatives from 1995 through 2000. He is the chairman of Florida Citizen Voters and Citizen Voters Inc, a member of Mar-a-Lago, and a former advisor to America First Policies.[1]
John William Loudon | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Missouri Senate from the 7th district | |
| In office 2000–2008 | |
| Preceded by | Franc Flotron |
| Succeeded by | Jane Cunningham |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 14, 1967 St. Louis, Missouri |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Gina Loudon |
Early life
editLoudon was born and raised in St. Louis, one of four children of Robert and Janice Loudon. He graduated from Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1989.
Career
editPolitical career
editLoudon served in the Missouri House of Representatives from 1994 through 1998. He was elected to the Missouri State Senate in 2000, and again in 2004. While in the Senate, Loudon founded and chaired the Senate's Small Business, Insurance, and Industrial Relations Committee, was vice-chair of the Governmental Accountability and Fiscal Oversight Committee, and a member of the committees on education, gubernatorial appointments, and judiciary and civil and criminal Jurisprudence.
Towards the end of his career as senator, Loudon introduced an amendment to a health insurance bill that legalized the practice of midwifery in Missouri. (Missouri had previously been one of a minority of states that prohibited anyone other than registered nurses from serving as a midwife.)[2] The Missouri State Medical Association, which represents physicians in the state, sued to block the controversial provision, arguing that it violated the state's single-subject rule for legislation.[2][3] In 2008, the Missouri Supreme Court voted, 5–2, to uphold the legislation, finding that the Missouri State Medical Association lacked standing to sue.[4]
Loudon is the chair of both Florida Citizen Voters and Citizen Voters Inc. Both organizations are working in Florida and nationally to change state constitutions to explicitly state that only citizens may vote in elections. As of July 2019, the Florida organization had raised $4.7 million and collected more than 1.5 million signatures, more than twice what was needed to place the measure on the 2020 ballot in Florida.[1]
In May 2018, it was reported that Loudon had used inflammatory and derogatory language against women, Muslims and Democrats. He promoted conspiracy theories about President Obama's birth and religion, suggesting that Obama was a Kenyan-born Muslim.[5]
Private sector
editMissouri law limits state senators to eight years, so Loudon retired in 2008.[6] He worked for a time for an association of nonunion contractors in California.[7] Loudon is a former policy advisor for America First Policies, a pro-Trump organization[5] and is a member of Mar-a-Lago.[1] His wife, Gina Loudon, is a member of the Trump campaign's media advisory board and is a published author.[1]
Personal life
editLoudon married Gina (Gentry) Loudon in 1990. They have five children.
Loudon appeared on ABC's Wife Swap in 2013. The couple appeared on the show Wife Swap when they swapped with a polyamorous and bisexual family. Loudon was the first wife to ever walk off of the set.[8]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Secret donors and Trump allies: Inside the operation to push noncitizen voting laws in Florida and other states". The Washington Post. July 22, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
- ^ a b Rock, Steve (October 18, 2007). "Missouri midwifery debate takes nation's stage". The Kansas City Star. McClatchy-Tribune Information Services – via The Portsmouth Herald.
- ^ Waters, Amelia (March 5, 2008). "Video: Senator John Loudon speaks for midwives". KRCG.
- ^ Elizabeth Eberlin, UPDATE: Mo. Supreme Court upholds midwifery law, Columbia Missouri (July 22, 2008).
- ^ a b McDermott, Nathan; Kaczynski, Andrew; Massie, Chris (May 21, 2018). "Policy adviser for Trump-linked group called Obama 'Islamchurian candidate,' joked about 'crack whore Dem voter'". CNN. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
- ^ Joiner, Robert. "Term limits force GOP veterans into musical chairs over Mo. senate seat". news.stlpublicradio.org. Retrieved 2019-07-18.
- ^ "Nonunion Contractors Still Don't Work for L.A. | Los Angeles Business Journal". labusinessjournal.com. Retrieved 2019-07-18.
- ^ Woolf, Nicky; Wong, Julia Carrie (11 May 2016). "Reality stars and xenophobes: Trump's California delegates mirror their maker". The Guardian.
The family-values conservative switched spouses with a polyamorous part-time wrestler, and in the ensuing weeks Gina was thrown out of the house for her "didactic judgmentalism", and John grew concerned that "dark forces" had invaded his home, according to the St Louis Post-Dispatch.
External links
edit- Missouri Senate - John William Loudon
- Project Vote Smart - John William Loudon (MO) profile
- Follow the Money - John William Loudon