| | Milkovich won the senatorial general election on November 21, 2015, when he defeated the Republican [[Richard Burford]] of Stonewall in DeSoto Parish, a departing member of the Louisiana House of Representatives. Milkovich led with 15,665 votes (52.4 percent) to Burford's 14,206 (47.6 percent).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/11212015/11212015_Legislative.html|title=Results for Election Date: 11/21/2015|publisher=Louisiana Secretary of State|accessdate=November 22, 2015}}</ref> In his campaign, Milkovich advocated [[conservative]] social and economic views in sharp contrast to his party.<ref name=ballot/> | | Milkovich won the senatorial general election on November 21, 2015, when he defeated the Republican [[Richard Burford]] of Stonewall in DeSoto Parish, a departing member of the Louisiana House of Representatives. Milkovich led with 15,665 votes (52.4 percent) to Burford's 14,206 (47.6 percent).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/11212015/11212015_Legislative.html|title=Results for Election Date: 11/21/2015|publisher=Louisiana Secretary of State|accessdate=November 22, 2015}}</ref> In his campaign, Milkovich advocated [[conservative]] social and economic views in sharp contrast to his party.<ref name=ballot/> |
| − | In 1994, Milkovich and his wife were the attorneys in the case of James Marvin Monds (born December 1963), a former surgical technician at Barksdale Air Force Base, who won release after serving nearly nine years for the [[murder]] in 1985 of Vicki Thomas, who was raped, assaulted, and killed at a parking lot at a [[Bossier City]] high school. Monds became the key suspect when his vehicle, a Ford Bronco, was identified as the one at the scene of the murder. Monds testified that he had never met Vicki Thomas and had no knowledge of her death but had cut his hand while working on a flat tire the night of the crime. The Louisiana Supreme Court, which heard the case after the Second Circuit Court of Appeals recused itself, ruled that insufficient evidence - most of what was available was circumstantial nature - existed to continue to incarcerate Monds. He was therefore declared "acquitted" and released.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.leagle.com/decision/19941167631So2d536_11006/STATE%20v.%20MONDS|title=State of Louisiana v. James M. Monds|publisher=leagle.com|accessdate=June 6, 2017}}</ref> Milkovich accused the presiding judge in the case, [[Graydon K. Kitchens, Jr.]], of [[Minden, Louisiana|Minden]] in Webster Parish and then District Attorney Henry Newton Brown, Jr., of Bossier City, later a circuit court judge, of having engaged in serious legal errors in the case. Milkovich accused Judge Kitchens of trying to block testimony which would have cleared Monds, and he further accused Brown and Monds' former wife, Shea, of plotting the killing of Thomas.<ref>Danny Anderson, "Lawyer: Death No Puzzle," ''Minden Press-Herald'', May 5, 1994, pp. 1-2.</ref> The charge against Brown was quickly repudiated by James M. "Jim" Bullers, who succeeded Brown as district attorney of Bossier and Webster parishes: "The theory was and is so ridiculous that it's almost unbelievable. I personally believe that Milkovich is totally obsessed with Henry Brown. I really don't know if he believes it himself."<ref>Pat Culverhouse, "Bullers rejects theory: nothing new," ''Minden Press-Herald'', May 6, 1994, p. 1.</ref> | + | In 1994, Milkovich and his wife were the attorneys in the case of James Marvin Monds (born December 1963), a former surgical technician at Barksdale Air Force Base, who won release after serving nearly nine years for the [[murder]] in 1985 of Vicki Thomas, who was raped, assaulted, and killed at a parking lot at a [[Bossier City]] high school. Monds became the key suspect when his vehicle, a Ford Bronco, was identified as the one at the scene of the murder. Monds testified that he had never met Vicki Thomas and had no knowledge of her death but had cut his hand while working on a flat tire the night of the crime. The Louisiana Supreme Court, which heard the case after the Second Circuit Court of Appeals recused itself, ruled that insufficient evidence - most of what was available was circumstantial nature - existed to continue to incarcerate Monds. He was therefore declared "acquitted" and released.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.leagle.com/decision/19941167631So2d536_11006/STATE%20v.%20MONDS|title=State of Louisiana v. James M. Monds|publisher=leagle.com|accessdate=June 6, 2017}}</ref> Milkovich accused the presiding judge in the case, [[Graydon K. Kitchens, Jr.]], of [[Minden, Louisiana|Minden]] in Webster Parish and then District Attorney Henry Newton Brown, Jr., of Bossier City, later a circuit court judge since retired, of having engaged in serious legal errors in the case. Milkovich accused Judge Kitchens of trying to block testimony which would have cleared Monds, and he further accused Brown and Monds' former wife, Shea, of plotting the killing of Thomas.<ref>Danny Anderson, "Lawyer: Death No Puzzle," ''Minden Press-Herald'', May 5, 1994, pp. 1-2.</ref> The charge against Brown was quickly repudiated by James M. "Jim" Bullers, who succeeded Brown as district attorney of Bossier and Webster parishes: "The theory was and is so ridiculous that it's almost unbelievable. I personally believe that Milkovich is totally obsessed with Henry Brown. I really don't know if he believes it himself."<ref>Pat Culverhouse, "Bullers rejects theory: nothing new," ''Minden Press-Herald'', May 6, 1994, p. 1.</ref> |
| | In 2002, Milkovich was an unsuccessful candidate for Louisiana's 4th congressional district seat. He lost to the then incumbent, Republican [[Jim McCrery]], 114,649 (72 percent) to Milkovich's 42,340 (26 percent).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/Graphical|title=Election Returns|date=November 5, 2002|publisher=Louisiana Secretary of State|accessdate=September 20, 2017}}</ref> In 2008, he again ran for Congress but lost the Democratic nomination to then Caddo Parish District Attorney Paul Carmouche. Milkovich finished third in the primary with 21 percent of the ballots cast<ref>{{cite web|url=https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/Graphical|title=Election Returns|date=October 4, 2008|publisher=Louisiana Secretary of State|accessdate=September 20, 2017}}</ref> and was hence eliminated from the runoff contest narrowly won not by Carmouche but by Republican [[John Fleming]], a physician from Minden. The seat is now held by Republican [[Mike Johnson|James Michael "Mike" Johnson]] of Benton in Bossier Parish. | | In 2002, Milkovich was an unsuccessful candidate for Louisiana's 4th congressional district seat. He lost to the then incumbent, Republican [[Jim McCrery]], 114,649 (72 percent) to Milkovich's 42,340 (26 percent).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/Graphical|title=Election Returns|date=November 5, 2002|publisher=Louisiana Secretary of State|accessdate=September 20, 2017}}</ref> In 2008, he again ran for Congress but lost the Democratic nomination to then Caddo Parish District Attorney Paul Carmouche. Milkovich finished third in the primary with 21 percent of the ballots cast<ref>{{cite web|url=https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/Graphical|title=Election Returns|date=October 4, 2008|publisher=Louisiana Secretary of State|accessdate=September 20, 2017}}</ref> and was hence eliminated from the runoff contest narrowly won not by Carmouche but by Republican [[John Fleming]], a physician from Minden. The seat is now held by Republican [[Mike Johnson|James Michael "Mike" Johnson]] of Benton in Bossier Parish. |
| | The Democrat Milkovich is a frequent supporter of [[U.S. President]] [[Donald Trump]]. In December 2018, he self-published ''Robert Mueller: Errand Boy for a New World Order,'' a critical account of special counsel [[Robert Mueller]], who soon enters his third year in the investigation of Trump for "Russian collusion" in the 2016 presidential election. According to the website promoting Milkovich's book, | | The Democrat Milkovich is a frequent supporter of [[U.S. President]] [[Donald Trump]]. In December 2018, he self-published ''Robert Mueller: Errand Boy for a New World Order,'' a critical account of special counsel [[Robert Mueller]], who soon enters his third year in the investigation of Trump for "Russian collusion" in the 2016 presidential election. According to the website promoting Milkovich's book, |
| − | the work "is really based on the ground breaking research of federal agents, whistleblowers, many people who were in government service — or still are; police officers, veterans, families of [[September 11, 2001 attacks|9/11]] victims, and some international writers as well."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ktbs.com/news/arklatex-indepth/louisiana-state-senator-authors-book-on-mueller-investigation/article_1267f750-2fec-11e9-b2d2-4744f965e5ca.html|title=Louisiana state senator authors book on Mueller investigation|publisher=KTBS-TV|date=February 13, 2019|author=Jeff Beimfohr|accessdate=February 16, 2019}}</re | + | the work "is really based on the ground breaking research of federal agents, whistleblowers, many people who were in government service — or still are; police officers, veterans, families of [[September 11, 2001 attacks|9/11]] victims, and some international writers as well."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ktbs.com/news/arklatex-indepth/louisiana-state-senator-authors-book-on-mueller-investigation/article_1267f750-2fec-11e9-b2d2-4744f965e5ca.html|title=Louisiana state senator authors book on Mueller investigation|publisher=KTBS-TV|date=February 13, 2019|author=Jeff Beimfohr|accessdate=February 16, 2019}}</ref> |
| | On April 29, 2019, in a speech on the state Senate floor, the strongly pro-life Milkovich flatly declared that [[vaccination]]s are linked to [[autism]]. In a speech on the Senate floor, Milkovich recalled that “autism did not exist” when he was growing up in Montana: "Did you know tissue from aborted babies is now used in vaccines. Did you know that vaccines use [[aluminum]], which is shown to be a neurotoxin? Did you know vaccines in America [are] preserved often with [[mercury]], which is beyond neurotoxic?”<ref name=autism>{{cite web|url=https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/article_0c13f5ea-6ad7-11e9-876a-b3|title=Louisiana senator links vaccines, autism on Senate floor; officials say 'myth' causes measles resurgence|author=Sam Karlin|date=April 29, 2019|publisher=''The Baton Rouge Advocate''|accessdate=April 30, 2019}}</ref> Dr. Joe Kanter, the assistant state health officer, disputed Milkovich's claim as "a myth." Kanter said that the issue of autism and vaccination has been “incredibly well studied”, and no correlation has been found.<ref name=autism/> | | On April 29, 2019, in a speech on the state Senate floor, the strongly pro-life Milkovich flatly declared that [[vaccination]]s are linked to [[autism]]. In a speech on the Senate floor, Milkovich recalled that “autism did not exist” when he was growing up in Montana: "Did you know tissue from aborted babies is now used in vaccines. Did you know that vaccines use [[aluminum]], which is shown to be a neurotoxin? Did you know vaccines in America [are] preserved often with [[mercury]], which is beyond neurotoxic?”<ref name=autism>{{cite web|url=https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/article_0c13f5ea-6ad7-11e9-876a-b3|title=Louisiana senator links vaccines, autism on Senate floor; officials say 'myth' causes measles resurgence|author=Sam Karlin|date=April 29, 2019|publisher=''The Baton Rouge Advocate''|accessdate=April 30, 2019}}</ref> Dr. Joe Kanter, the assistant state health officer, disputed Milkovich's claim as "a myth." Kanter said that the issue of autism and vaccination has been “incredibly well studied”, and no correlation has been found.<ref name=autism/> |