John Boozman

John Nichols Boozman ( BOHZ-mən; born December 10, 1950) is an American politician and former optometrist serving as the senior United States senator from Arkansas, a seat he has held since 2011. From 2001 to 2011, he served as the U.S. representative for Arkansas's 3rd congressional district. A member of the Republican Party, Boozman has been the dean of Arkansas's congressional delegation since 2013. Boozman was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, where his father was stationed with the U.S. Air Force, but the family eventually returned to Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he was raised. He is the brother of the late state senator Fay Boozman. He attended the University of Arkansas, where he played football for the Arkansas Razorbacks, and later 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. Boozman was first elected to Congress in a 2001 special election for Arkansas's 3rd congressional district. In the House, he served as assistant majority whip and sat on the Republican Policy Committee. He was an advocate for drug policy issues and chaired the Veterans' Affairs Economic Opportunity Subcommittee, where he led the passage of bills expanding services for unemployed veterans. In 2010, Boozman was elected to the U.S. Senate, defeating Democratic incumbent Blanche Lincoln by a 21-point margin; he is only the second Republican to be elected to the U.S. Senate from Arkansas since Reconstruction. Boozman was reelected in 2016 and 2022.