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'''Mark Alexander Wright''' (born June 23, 1970) is a [[business]]man from Covington,  [[Louisiana]], who is the incoming [[Republican Party|Republican]] state representative for District 77 in St. Tammany Parish in [[suburb]]an [[New orleans]]. Wright won the special election runoff held on November 18, 2017, to succeed fellow Republican [[John Schroder]], who instead in the same election won the position of state treasurer.

'''Mark Alexander Wright''' (born June 23, 1970) is a [[business]]man from Covington,  [[Louisiana]], who is the incoming [[Republican Party|Republican]] state representative for District 77 in St. Tammany Parish in [[suburb]]an [[New Orleans]]. Wright won the special election runoff held on November 18, 2017, to succeed fellow Republican [[John Schroder]], who instead in the same election won the position of state treasurer.

Wright is employed in the towboat and barge industry as the southern regional vice president for American Waterways Operators. He has been the president of the River Forest Homeowners Association in Covington. From 2008 to 2012, he held the District 1 seat on the St. Tammany Republican Parish Executive Committee. From 2011 until his election to the state House, he was the District C member of the Covington City Council, on which he opposed tax increases and advocated streamlining of the budget. He holds a Bachelor of  

Wright is employed in the towboat and barge industry as the southern regional vice president for American Waterways Operators. He has been the president of the River Forest Homeowners Association in Covington. From 2008 to 2012, he held the District 1 seat on the St. Tammany Republican Parish Executive Committee. From 2011 until his election to the state House, he was the District C member of the Covington City Council, on which he opposed tax increases and advocated streamlining of the budget. He holds a Bachelor of  

Arts from the [[Roman Catholic]] Xavier University in New Orleans. He then earned a [[Master of Business Administration]] from the University of  Dallas in Irving, [[Texas]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wrightforcovington.com/about/|title=About Mark Wright|publisher=Wrightforcovington.com|accessdate=November 22, 2017}}<ref> He formerly resided in [[New York City]], [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], Fresno, [[California]], and [[Providence]], [[Rhode Island]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.intelius.com/people-search/Mark-A-Wright/Covington-LA|title=Mark A. Wright, Covington, LA|publishe=Intelius.com|accessdate=November 22, 2017}}</ref>

Arts from the [[Roman Catholic]] Xavier University in New Orleans. He then earned a [[Master of Business Administration]] from the University of  Dallas in Irving, [[Texas]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wrightforcovington.com/about/|title=About Mark Wright|publisher=Wrightforcovington.com|accessdate=November 22, 2017</ref> He formerly resided in [[New York City]], [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], Fresno, [[California]], and [[Providence]], [[Rhode Island]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.intelius.com/people-search/Mark-A-Wright/Covington-LA|title=Mark A. Wright, Covington, LA|publisher=Intelius.com|accessdate=November 22, 2017}}</ref>

Though he trailed in the [[primary]] election for the state House, Wright in the runoff contest defeated fellow Republican and [[conservative]] political activist [[Rob Maness]], who had twice lost races for the [[United States Senate]] in 2014 and 2016 to [[Bill Cassidy]] and [[John Neely Kennedy]], respectively. Wright polled 4,368 votes (58 percent) in a low-turnout contest to Maness' 3,154 (42 percent).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/|title=Election Returns|date=November 18, 2017|publisher=Louisiana Secretary of State|accessdate=November 22, 2017}}</ref>

Though he trailed in the [[primary]] election for the state House, Wright in the runoff contest defeated fellow Republican and [[conservative]] political activist [[Rob Maness]], who had twice lost races for the [[United States Senate]] in 2014 and 2016 to [[Bill Cassidy]] and [[John Neely Kennedy]], respectively. Wright polled 4,368 votes (58 percent) in a low-turnout contest to Maness' 3,154 (42 percent).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/|title=Election Returns|date=November 18, 2017|publisher=Louisiana Secretary of State|accessdate=November 22, 2017}}</ref>