John Jenkins Barrow (born October 31, 1955) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 2005 to 2015. The district includes much of the Georgia side of the Central Savannah River Area and includes counties as far south as Coffee County and as far west as Laurens County. He is a member of the Democratic Party. As a Democratic congressman in an increasingly Republican district, Barrow was targeted for defeat by Republican strategists from the time he was first elected. Twice the GOP-controlled Georgia General Assembly redrew his district, forcing him to move first from Athens to Savannah and then from Savannah to Augusta to remain a resident of his district. He was ultimately defeated in his 2014 bid for re-election. Barrow was the Democratic nominee for Georgia Secretary of State in 2018, but lost in a run-off election. Education, early career, and family Barrow was born in Athens, Georgia, to Judge James Barrow and his wife, Phyllis (Jenkins) Barrow, who both had served as military officers during World War II. His family has deep roots in the Athens area, and according to his staff he is a great-great-nephew of David Crenshaw Barrow Jr., for whom nearby Barrow County was named. Through his Barrow ancestors he is related to 19th-century Georgia Gov. Wilson Lumpkin. Barrow graduated from the University of Georgia with a political science degree in 1976. While a student, he was a member of the university's Demosthenian Literary Society. In 1979, he earned a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School. After graduation, he entered private practice as a lawyer, working until his election to public office. Barrow is married to the former Angèle Hawkins of Atlanta. Together they have 5 children: Charlie, Manette, Alex, James, and Ruth. Athens-Clarke County politics In 1990, voters from the City of Athens and Clarke County voted to consolidate the two governing bodies. Barrow was elected to the newly created Athens-Clarke County Commission, representing the county's fourth district. He won re-election in 1992, 1996, and in 2000. U.S. House of Representatives Legislation Barrow sponsored 59 bills of his own, including: 109th Congress (2005–2006) H.R. 2073, a bill to create a tax credit for businesses with no more than 50 employees equal to 50% of the amount paid by the employer for health insurance coverage for the business's employees, introduced May 4, 2005. A version of this tax credit would