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'''Robert Leon Maness''', known as '''Rob Maness''' (born November 14, 1961), is a retired [[colonel]] in the [[United States Air Force]] and a [[Republican Party|Republican]] and [[Tea Party]] figure in his adopted U.S. state of [[Louisiana]].<ref name=ballot>{{cite web|url=http://ballotpedia.org/Rob_Maness|title=Rob Maness|publisher=ballotpedia.org|accessdate=November 20, 2015}}</ref>  

'''Robert Leon Maness''', known as '''Rob Maness''' (born November 14, 1961), is a retired [[colonel]] in the [[United States Air Force]] and a [[Republican Party|Republican]] and [[Tea Party]] figure in his adopted U.S. state of [[Louisiana]].<ref name=ballot>{{cite web|url=http://ballotpedia.org/Rob_Maness|title=Rob Maness|publisher=ballotpedia.org|accessdate=November 20, 2015}}</ref>  

On November 18, 2017, Maness was an unsuccessful candidate in the special election runoff to fill the unexpired term of District 77 state Representative [[John Schroder]]. In the first round of voting on October 14, Maness led a four-candidate field with 3,126 votes (37 percent). In the second round of balloting, however, he was defeated by Covington City Council member and fellow Republican [[Mark Wright]], who polled 2,125 votes (25 percent) in the primary.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/Graphical|title=Election Returns|date=October 14, 2017|publisher=Louisiana Secretary of State|accessdate=October 14, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/politics/e|title=Four candidates vying for Louisiana House seat left open by John Schroder's departure|publisher=''The Baton Rouge Advocate''|date=September 24, 2017|author=Sara Pagones|accessdate=September 28, 2017}}</ref> Schroder instead ran successfully for state treasurer in the same special election runoff against the [[African-American]] [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] Derrick Edwards, a lawyer confined to a wheelchair after sustaining a [[football]] injury. The treasurer's position opened when [[John Neely Kennedy]] resigned to become the state's junior [[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]]. A move to draft Maness for the treasurer's race developed, but he instead ran for the legislature. Had he sought the treasurer's position, Maness would have faced among others fellow Republicans John Schroder and state Senator Neil Riser of Columbia in Caldwell Parish,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/ColRobManessLATreasurer/|title=Draft Col. Rob Maness for Louisiana State Treasurer|publisher=[[Facebook]]|accessdate=May 27, 2017}}</ref> who polled 18 percent of the ballots cast in the treasurer's race.

On November 18, 2017, Maness was an unsuccessful candidate in the special election runoff to fill the unexpired term of District 77 state Representative [[John Schroder]]. In the first round of voting on October 14, Maness led a four-candidate field with 3,126 votes (37 percent). In the second round of balloting, however, he was defeated by Covington City Council member and fellow Republican [[Mark Wright]], who polled 2,125 votes (25 percent) in the primary.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 14, 2017.</ref></ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/politics/e|title=Four candidates vying for Louisiana House seat left open by John Schroder's departure|publisher=''The Baton Rouge Advocate''|date=September 24, 2017|author=Sara Pagones|accessdate=September 28, 2017}}</ref> Schroder instead ran successfully for state treasurer in the same special election runoff against the [[African-American]] [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] Derrick Edwards, a lawyer confined to a wheelchair after sustaining a [[football]] injury. The treasurer's position opened when [[John Neely Kennedy]] resigned to become the state's junior [[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]]. A move to draft Maness for the treasurer's race developed, but he instead ran for the legislature. Had he sought the treasurer's position, Maness would have faced among others fellow Republicans John Schroder and state Senator [[Neil Riser]], a funeral home owner in Columbia in Caldwell Parish,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/ColRobManessLATreasurer/|title=Draft Col. Rob Maness for Louisiana State Treasurer|publisher=[[Facebook]]|accessdate=May 27, 2017}}</ref> who polled 18 percent of the ballots cast in the treasurer's race.

==Biography==

==Biography==

In December 2015, Maness announced his candidacy to succeed Vitter in the Senate. With 90,812 votes (5 percent), Maness finished sixth in the primary election on November 8, 2016, held in conjunction with the U.S. presidential election in which [[Donald Trump]] handily carried the state over [[Hillary Clinton]]. The two leading Senate candidates, state Treasurer [[John Neely Kennedy]], a Democrat-turned-Republican, and veteran Democratic former state senator and current Public Service Commissioner Foster Lonnie Campbell, Jr., met in a December 10 runoff election for the right to succeed Vitter. Kennedy won a large victory over Campbell. Eliminated in the primary were Republican U.S. Representatives Charles Boustany of [[Lafayette]] and [[John Fleming]] of [[Minden, Louisiana|Minden]], two physicians<ref name=returns>{{cite web|url=https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/Graphical|title=Election Returns|date=November 8, 2016|publisher=Louisiana Secretary of State|accessdate=November 10, 2016}}</ref> who gave up presumably safe House seats for the Senate race. [[David Duke]], a former figure in the [[Ku Klux Klan]], who joined the GOP in 1989, finished seventh with 58,581 votes (3 percent).<ref name=returns/>

In December 2015, Maness announced his candidacy to succeed Vitter in the Senate. With 90,812 votes (5 percent), Maness finished sixth in the primary election on November 8, 2016, held in conjunction with the U.S. presidential election in which [[Donald Trump]] handily carried the state over [[Hillary Clinton]]. The two leading Senate candidates, state Treasurer [[John Neely Kennedy]], a Democrat-turned-Republican, and veteran Democratic former state senator and current Public Service Commissioner Foster Lonnie Campbell, Jr., met in a December 10 runoff election for the right to succeed Vitter. Kennedy won a large victory over Campbell. Eliminated in the primary were Republican U.S. Representatives Charles Boustany of [[Lafayette]] and [[John Fleming]] of [[Minden, Louisiana|Minden]], two physicians<ref name=returns>{{cite web|url=https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/Graphical|title=Election Returns|date=November 8, 2016|publisher=Louisiana Secretary of State|accessdate=November 10, 2016}}</ref> who gave up presumably safe House seats for the Senate race. [[David Duke]], a former figure in the [[Ku Klux Klan]], who joined the GOP in 1989, finished seventh with 58,581 votes (3 percent).<ref name=returns/>

Maness received some 112,000 votes fewer than he had in the 2014 Senate election and had been urged to drop out of the race to support the equally conservative Fleming, who led in six parishes but finished fifth in the voting. Maness and Fleming both pursued positions with the Trump administration in [[Washington, D.C.]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theadvocate.com/acadiana/news/politics/elections/article_5bc8107e-a6d2-11e6-8011-9f0284eb23bf.html|title=Foster Campbell seen as facing steep climb in U.S. Senate race against John Kennedy|publisher=''The Baton Rouge Advocate''|author=Tyler Bridges|date=November 9, 2016|accessdate=November 10, 2016}}</ref> but thus far only Fleming has been successful in that regard.

Maness in 2016 received some 112,000 fewer votes than he had in the 2014 Senate election and had been urged to drop out of the race to support the equally conservative Fleming, who led in six parishes but finished fifth in the voting. Maness and Fleming both pursued positions with the Trump administration in [[Washington, D.C.]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theadvocate.com/acadiana/news/politics/elections/article_5bc8107e-a6d2-11e6-8011-9f0284eb23bf.html|title=Foster Campbell seen as facing steep climb in U.S. Senate race against John Kennedy|publisher=''The Baton Rouge Advocate''|author=Tyler Bridges|date=November 9, 2016|accessdate=November 10, 2016}}</ref> but thus far only Fleming was successful in that regard.

In the last days of the state legislative contest, Maness criticized national Republican leaders for calling upon conservative [[Roy Moore]] to withdraw from the U.S. Senate special election in [[Alabama]] after allegations surfaced that Moore while in his early thirties had engaged in sexual misconduct with at least six female teenagers. Maness contends that Moore should continue his race as no legal charges have been filed in any of the incidents. When David Bellinger, a liberal caller to a radio show, called Maness "an extremist," the candidate told the caller to "blow me and get out of here". Columnist Stephanie Grace said that Maness' crude remark shows that his skin is "too thin" for public office.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/stephanie_grace/article_5cde4f20-ca29-11e7-8f99-63fcb9682d53.html|title=Maness telling radio show caller 'blow me' proves his skin too thin for public office|publisher=''The Baton Rouge Advocate''|author=Stephanie Grace|date=November 15, 2017|accessdate=November 16, 2017}}</ref> The outburst may have cost Maness dearly. He received 3,154 votes (42 percent) to Wright's 4,383 (58 percent).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/Graphical|title=Election Returns|publisher=Louisiana Secretary of State|date=November 18, 2017|accessdate=November 18, 2017}}</ref> Maness has hence lost three consecutive political races in his adopted home state.

In the last days of the state legislative contest, Maness criticized national Republican leaders for calling upon conservative [[Roy Moore]] to withdraw from the U.S. Senate special election in [[Alabama]] after allegations surfaced that Moore while in his early thirties had engaged in sexual misconduct with at least six female teenagers. Maness contends that Moore should continue his race as no legal charges have been filed in any of the incidents. When David Bellinger, a liberal caller to a radio show, called Maness "an extremist," the candidate told the caller to "blow me and get out of here". Columnist Stephanie Grace said that Maness' crude remark shows that his skin is "too thin" for public office.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/stephanie_grace/article_5cde4f20-ca29-11e7-8f99-63fcb9682d53.html|title=Maness telling radio show caller 'blow me' proves his skin too thin for public office|publisher=''The Baton Rouge Advocate''|author=Stephanie Grace|date=November 15, 2017|accessdate=November 16, 2017}}</ref> The outburst may have cost Maness dearly. He received 3,154 votes (42 percent) to Wright's 4,383 (58 percent).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/Graphical|title=Election Returns|publisher=Louisiana Secretary of State|date=November 18, 2017|accessdate=November 18, 2017}}</ref> Maness has hence lost three consecutive political races in his adopted home state.

On October 4, 2018, Maness launched ''The Rob Maness Sho,'' a political forum carried daily on CRTV.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.opslens.com/2018/10/04/the-rob-maness-show/|title=''The Rob Maness Show''|publisher=Opslens.com|accessdate=October 31, 2018}}</ref>

On October 4, 2018, Maness launched ''The Rob Maness Show,'' a political forum carried daily on CRTV.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.opslens.com/2018/10/04/the-rob-maness-show/|title=''The Rob Maness Show''|publisher=Opslens.com|accessdate=October 31, 2018}}</ref>

In 2019, Maness confirmed that he had left the GOP and re-registered as an [[Independent]]. He opposed [Eddie Rispone]], the remaining Republican in the gubernatorial contest on November 16 against the Democratic incumbent [[John Bel Edwards]]. Maness claimed that Rispone represents everything in politics that should be reversed. The condemnation came after Maness challenged Rispone's remarks critical of Governor Edwards' West Point service, particularly after Rispone declined to enlist during the [[Vietnam War]]. Maness said that he supported U.S. Representative [[Ralph Abraham]] in the first round of voting but would not follow Abraham's lead in endorsing Rispone. Still, Maness claimed that he does "not endorse" Edwards but remains strongly opposed to Rispone.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=EK3vZdI9N60&app=desktop|title=A Louisiana Veteran Responds|publisher=You Tube|date=November 2, 2019|accessdate=November 3, 2019}}</ref>

In 2019, Maness confirmed that he had left the GOP and re-registered as an [[Independent]]. He opposed [Eddie Rispone]], the remaining Republican in the gubernatorial contest on November 16 against the Democratic incumbent [[John Bel Edwards]]. Maness claimed that Rispone represents everything in politics that should be reversed. The condemnation came after Maness challenged Rispone's remarks critical of Governor Edwards' West Point service, particularly after Rispone declined to enlist during the [[Vietnam War]]. Maness said that he supported U.S. Representative [[Ralph Abraham]] in the first round of voting but would not follow Abraham's lead in endorsing Rispone. Still, Maness claimed that he does "not endorse" Edwards but remains strongly opposed to Rispone.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=EK3vZdI9N60&app=desktop|title=A Louisiana Veteran Responds|publisher=You Tube|date=November 2, 2019|accessdate=November 3, 2019}}</ref>