James Prather Jontz (December 18, 1951 – April 14, 2007) was an American politician who represented the Indiana's 5th congressional district, comprising rural north central Indiana, centering on Kokomo and Logansport. A Democrat, he served in the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 1993. He was previously a member of the Indiana General Assembly. As of 2020, he was the last Democrat to represent his district in Congress. Early life and education He was born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1951. He graduated at the age of 17 from North Central High School in Washington Township in Indianapolis. Jontz began his collegiate studies at Williams College and transferred to Indiana University, where he graduated with honors (Phi Beta Kappa) in less than three years with a degree in geology. He was active in Crisis Biology and lobbied on behalf of a host of environmental causes while a student on the IU Bloomington campus. Despite a heavy study load, and involvement in student government and extra curricular affairs, Jontz co-founded the Indiana Public Interest Research Group as a Senior working project. He obtained a Master's Degree in History from Butler University, and graduated from Valparaiso University School of Law during his third term as State Representative . Early political career His political career began in 1974, sparked by his opposition to a dam-building project in Central Indiana. Running for a seat in the Indiana House of Representatives against the dam's sponsor, House Majority Leader John Guy, he was elected at age 22 - the second youngest person to serve in the Indiana House at the time - by a margin of only two votes. He was reelected five more times in a heavily Republican district, even after the Republican-controlled legislature made it even more Republican on paper after the 1980 census. He was elected to the Indiana Senate in 1984, where he served for only two years before being elected to the U.S. House. U.S. House of Representatives Jontz's campaigns for Congress drew national attention. Celebrity supporters included singers Carole King, Bob Weir, and Don Henley, designer Liz Claiborne, and actors Bonnie Franklin and Woody Harrelson. Most of this support stemmed from Jontz's work on environmental issues. In 1990, he appeared in the press room at Farm Aid IV where he played an impromptu straight man while Arlo Guthrie made jokes. Elections Jontz was elected to Congress in 1986 after