Kelly Loeffler | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2019 | |
| United States Senator from Georgia | |
| In office January 6, 2020 – January 20, 2021 | |
| Appointed by | Brian Kemp |
| Preceded by | Johnny Isakson |
| Succeeded by | Raphael Warnock |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kelly Lynn Loeffler November 27, 1970 Bloomington, Illinois, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Education | University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (BS) DePaul University (MBA) |
Kelly Lynn Loeffler (/ˈlɛflər/ LEF-lər; born November 27, 1970) is an American businesswoman and politician who served as a United States senator from Georgia from 2020 to 2021. Loeffler was chief executive officer (CEO) of Bakkt, a subsidiary of commodity and financial service provider Intercontinental Exchange, of which her husband, Jeffrey Sprecher, is CEO. She is a former co-owner of the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).[1] Loeffler is a member of the Republican Party.
Brian Kemp, the Republican governor of Georgia, appointed Loeffler to the U.S. Senate in December 2019 after Senator Johnny Isakson resigned for health reasons. Loeffler ran in the 2020 Georgia U.S. Senate special election, seeking to hold the seat until January 2023. She finished second in the November 3 election, advancing to a runoff with Democrat Raphael Warnock held on January 5, 2021, where she lost.[2] That same day, her fellow Georgia senator David Perdue also lost his bid for re-election. When Perdue's term ended on January 3, 2021, Loeffler ascended to be the senior senator from Georgia, a position she held for just under three weeks until Warnock was sworn in.
Loeffler aligned with President Donald Trump in her time in the Senate, touting a "100 percent Trump voting record" during her campaigns.[3][4] After the November 2020 election, Loeffler and Perdue claimed without evidence that there had been unspecified failures in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, and called for the resignation of Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger, who rejected the accusations. She later supported a lawsuit by Trump allies seeking to overturn the election results,[5] and also announced her intention to object to the certification of the Electoral College results in Congress.[6] After the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, Loeffler announced that she would withdraw her objection to the certification of the electoral votes and later voted to certify.
Loeffler was chosen by president-elect Trump to co-chair his inaugural committee in his upcoming second presidency, along with Steve Witkoff.
- ^ Zirin, Dave (March 3, 2021). "Kelly Loeffler Just Lost Her WNBA Team to a Player She Refused to Meet". The Nation. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
NYTwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
:0was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Loeffler's wealth, Trump loyalty face scrutiny in Georgia". AP NEWS. December 21, 2020. Archived from the original on December 21, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
- ^ Bluestein, Greg (December 9, 2020). "Trump warns Georgia AG not to rally other Republicans against Texas lawsuit". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on December 17, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
- ^ Kenny, Caroline (January 4, 2021). "Loeffler says she'll object to certification of Biden's Electoral College win". CNN. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2021.