Tanner Magee

Tanner Daniel Magee
Member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from the 53 district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 11, 2016
Preceded by	Lenar Whitney
Personal details
Born	July 1980 Houma, Terrebonne Parish Louisiana, USA
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Kristen Magee
Children	Triplet daughters
Parents	Dennis Magee (deceased) Danny (stepfather) and Elaine Smith
Residence	Houma, Louisiana
Alma mater	Vandebilt Catholic High School Louisiana State University Louisiana State University Law Center
Occupation	Lawyer
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Tanner Daniel Magee (born July 1980) is a criminal defense lawyer from downtown Houma in Terrebonne Parish in south Louisiana, who is a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 53. On January 11, 2016, he succeeded fellow Republican Lenar Whitney, whom he unseated in the runoff election held on November 21, 2015.

Background

Magee is the son of the late Dennis Magee of Dularge in Terrebonne Parish, who was employed in the oil and natural gas business; his mother and stepfather, Elaine and Danny Smith, are retired educators. He graduated in 1998 from Vandebilt Catholic High School in Houma and in 2002 from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. In 2004, he obtained his Master in Public Administration degree from LSU and returned thereafter to Houma to work at the South Central Planning and Development Commission as a project manager. His work focused on economic development and infrastructure projects. In 2007, he earned his law degree from the Louisiana State University Law Center. He practices with Taylor Wellons Politz & Duhe in Houma.

Magee and his wife, Kristen, have triplet daughters. He is an active member of the Roman Catholic St. Francis de Sales Cathedral in Houma.

Political life

In the primary election held on October 24, 2015, Magee led Lenar Whitney by nine votes, 3,073 (34.35 percent) to her 3,064 (34.25 percent). The lone Democratic candidate, Brenda Leroux Babin, polled the remaining but critical 2,809 ballots (31.4 percent). In the second round of balloting in conjunction with the victory of the Democrat John Bel Edwards as governor over United States Senator David Vitter, Magee toppled Whitney, 4,978 votes (60.8 percent) to 3,206 votes (39.2 percent). A particularly conservative politician, Whitney was among the defeated candidates in the 2014 race for Louisiana's 6th congressional district seat, won by another Republican, Garret Graves, who succeeded Bill Cassidy, a physician who was instead elected to the other U. S. Senate previously held by the New Orleans Democrat Mary Landrieu.

District 53 encompasses Broadmoor, Lisa Park, Old Houma, East Houma, Bourg, Montegu, Point-Aux-Chenes, and Chauvin. Early in 2016, Magee joined a 76-28 House majority to support legislation by Representative Katrina Jackson, a Democrat from West Monroe, that increases beginning April 1, 2016, the state sales tax by one cent over eighteen months, later increased to twenty-seven months to extend through June 30, 2018. Joining Magee in support of the bill were area lawmakers Democrat Jerry "Truck" Gisclair of Larose and Republican Jerome Zeringue of Houma. Voting against the bill were his area colleagues, Independent Dee Richard of Thibodaux in Lafourche Parish and Republican Beryl Amedee of Gray in Terrebonne Parish.

References

Louisiana House of Representatives
Preceded by Lenar Whitney	Louisiana State Representative for District 53 (Terrebonne Parish) Tanner Daniel Magee 2016–	Succeeded by Incumbent