Kelly Loeffler

American businesswoman and former United States Senator from Georgia

Kelly Lynn Loeffler (/ˈlɛflər/; born November 27, 1970) is an American businesswoman, political donor and politician. Loeffler was the United States Senator from Georgia from January 6, 2020 to January 20, 2021. Before becoming senator, she had no political experience. She is a member of the Republican Party. She lost her re-election bid on January 5, 2021 to Raphael Warnock.

Kelly Loeffler
United States Senator
from Georgia
In office
January 6, 2020 – January 20, 2021
Appointed byBrian Kemp
Preceded byJohnny Isakson
Succeeded byRaphael Warnock
Personal details
Born
Kelly Lynn Loeffler

(1970-11-27) November 27, 1970 (age 53)[1]
Bloomington, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Jeffrey Sprecher (m. 2004)
EducationUniversity of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (BA)
DePaul University (MBA)

She was the chief executive officer of Bakkt and the part-owner of the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association.

On November 27, 2019 Governor Brian Kemp's said that Loeffler was his top pick to replace Senator Johnny Isakson.[2][3] Kemp formally picked Loeffler as his senate pick.[4]

Loeffler is very wealthy and was one of the wealthiest members of the United States Senate.

Early life

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Kelly was born on November 27, 1970, in Bloomington, Illinois. She was raised on the family farm in Stanford, Illinois.

Business career

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According to the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics, Loeffler and her husband have donated 3.2 million dollars to political committees. While the majority of these donations have gone to the Republican Party, some donations have gone to Democrats, including Representative David Scott (GA–13), a Democrat, who received $10,200. Loeffler donated $750,000 to Restore Our Future, a Super PAC supporting former Governor Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign. The National Republican Senatorial Committee received $247,500 from Loeffler and her husband.

Loeffler first considered running for office in 2014. She briefly expressed interest in seeking the Republican nomination in the 2014 United States Senate election in Georgia but ultimately passed on the race because of Intercontinental Exchange's pending acquisition with the New York Stock Exchange.

Personal life

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In 2004, Loeffler, then 34, married businessman Jeffrey Spreecher. Spreecher is 15 years older than Loeffler. They have no children.

References

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  1. Loomis, Carol J. (December 5, 2013). "The ICE Man Cometh". Fortune.com. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  2. Bluestein, Greg (November 26, 2019). "In secretive trip, Georgia governor tried to sell Trump on Senate pick". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  3. Bluestein, Greg (November 29, 2019). "Georgia gov expected to tap finance exec to US Senate next week". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  4. Bluestein, Greg (December 4, 2019). "Kemp taps Kelly Loeffler, financial exec, to US Senate seat". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved December 4, 2019.