John Boozman
John Nichols Boozman (/ˈboʊzmən/ BOHZ-mən; born December 10, 1950) is the senior United States Senator for Arkansas (since 2015). A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the United States Representative for Arkansas's 3rd congressional district (2001–2011). Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, he was the brother of state Senator Fay Boozman. He attended the University of Arkansas, where he played football for the Arkansas Razorbacks, and graduated from the Southern College of Optometry. He co-founded a private optometry clinic in 1977 and worked as a volunteer optometrist for low-income families. He won a special election in 2002 to the United States House of Representatives, where he served as assistant majority whip and sat on the Republican Policy Committee. He was an advocate for drug policy issues and chaired the Veteran Affairs Economic Opportunity Subcommittee, where he led the passage of bills expanding services for unemployed veterans. Boozman was elected to the United States Senate in 2010, defeating Democratic incumbent Blanche Lincoln by a 21 point margin and becoming the first Republican to be elected to the seat since Reconstruction. He took office in January 2011 and is the ranking Republican on the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Forestry and Natural Resources, the Commerce Subcommittee on Science and Space and the Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Green Jobs and the New Economy. Boozman became the senior Senator in 2015 when Mark Pryor left the senate after his defeat.