Ben Barnes (Texas politician)

Ben Barnes
Barnes in 2019
36th Lieutenant Governor of Texas
In office
January 21, 1969 – January 16, 1973
GovernorPreston Smith
Preceded byPreston Smith
Succeeded byWilliam P. Hobby Jr.
Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives
In office
January 12, 1965 – January 14, 1969
Preceded byByron M. Tunnell
Succeeded byGus F. Mutscher
Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from the 64th district
In office
January 8, 1963 – January 14, 1969
Preceded byO.H. Schram
Succeeded byLynn Nabers
Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from the 73rd district
In office
January 10, 1961 – January 8, 1963
Preceded byBen Sudderth
Succeeded byRichard C. Slack
Personal details
Born
Benny Frank Barnes

(1938-04-17) April 17, 1938 (age 86)
Gorman, Texas, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouses
Martha Morgan
(m. 1957, divorced)
Nancy DeGraffenried
(divorced)
Melanie Harper
(m. 1989, divorced)
Liz McDermott
(m. 2019)
Children2 (with Martha Morgan)
2 adopted (with Melanie Harper)
Residence(s)Austin, Texas, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Texas at Austin (BA)
ProfessionReal estate investor, politician, crisis manager

Benny Frank Barnes (born April 17, 1938) is an American real estate magnate, politician, and crisis manager, who formerly served as Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives from 1965 to 1969 and the 36th Lieutenant Governor of Texas from January 21, 1969, to January 16, 1973, for two two-year terms. He was a vice-chair[1] and top fund-raiser of John Kerry's presidential campaign. Barnes was one of only eight persons who raised over $500,000 for Kerry.[2]

  1. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2004-09-03. Retrieved 2004-09-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ "Kerry Keeping Eye On Big Donors". CBS News. 18 June 2004.