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'''John Langston Kuempel''' (born May 11, 1970) is a salesman for Commercial Metals Company in Seguin, [[Texas]], and a [[Republican Party|Republican]] state representative for District 44 in Guadalupe, Gonzales, and Wilson counties.

'''John Langston Kuempel''' (born May 11, 1970) is a salesman for Commercial Metals Company in Seguin, [[Texas]], and a [[Republican Party|Republican]] state representative for District 44 in Guadalupe, Gonzales, and Wilson counties.

A former [[football]] player, Kuempel graduated in 1998 from Seguin High School and the [[University of Texas]]. He and his wife, Michelle, a former city librarian, have twin sons, Will and Sam Kuempel (born c. 2004). Kuempel coaches his sons' [[Little League]] [[baseball]] team. The family is active in the Faith [[Lutheran]] Church in Seguin. He is a member of Rotary International, the Texas [[Farm Bureau]], the [[National Rifle Association]], and the capital campaign committee of the Guadalupe Valley Medical Center.<ref>"Edmund Kuempel passes away," ''Seguin (Texas) Gazette-Enterprise'' November 8, 2010, p. 1.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://johnkuempel.com/about|title=About John Kuempel|publisher=johnkuempel.com|accessdate=December 22, 2010}}</ref>

A former [[football]] player, Kuempel graduated in 1998 from Seguin High School and the [[University of Texas]]. He and his wife, Michelle, a former city librarian, have twin sons, Will and Sam Kuempel (born c. 2004). Kuempel coaches his sons' [[Little League]] [[baseball]] team. The family is active in the Faith [[Lutheran]] Church in Seguin. He is a member of Rotary International, the Texas [[Farm Bureau]], the [[National Rifle Association]], and the capital campaign committee of the Guadalupe Valley Medical Center.<ref>"Edmund Kuempel passes away," ''Seguin (Texas) Gazette-Enterprise,'' November 8, 2010, p. 1.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://johnkuempel.com/about|title=About John Kuempel|publisher=johnkuempel.com|accessdate=December 22, 2010}}</ref>

==Political life==

==Political life==

Kuempel's father, Edmund Kuempel, had held the seat in the heavily [[Republican Party|GOP]] district since the retirement in 1983 of previous Representative Bennie Bock, a Republican, and had won reelection to the House in 2010 without opposition.  However, two days after his 2010 re-election, on November 4 Edmund Kuempel died, thus requiring a December 14, 2010 [[special election]] to full the position.

Kuempel's father, Edmund Kuempel, had held the seat in the heavily [[Republican Party|GOP]] district since the retirement in 1983 of previous Representative Bennie Bock, a Republican, and had won reelection to the House in 2010 without opposition.  However, two days after his 2010 re-election, Edmund Kuempel died on November 4. The vacant seat compelled a [[special election]] on December 14, 2010, to fill the position.

Kuempel was the only candidate in the field openly committed to the retention of [[Moderate Republican]] [[Joe Straus]] of [[San Antonio] as the Texas House Speaker. Edmund Kuempel had also been a Straus backer in 2009, when Straus deposed the more [[conservative]] former Speaker [[Tom Craddick]] of [[Midland.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.texasmonthly.com/blogs/burkablog/?p=8702|title=Paul Burka, "Huge Lead for John Kuempel"|publisher=''Texas Monthly''|date= December 14, 2010|accessdate=December 17, 2010}}</ref> Kuempel also secured the backing of [[Houston Astros]] baseball great [[Nolan Ryan]], who relocated into District 44.<ref>"Ryan endorses Kuempel," ''The Dallas Morning News,'' December 2, 2010.</ref>

Kuempel was the only candidate in the field openly committed to the retention of [[Moderate Republican]] [[Joe Straus]] of [[San Antonio] as the Texas House Speaker. Edmund Kuempel had also been a Straus backer in 2009, when Straus deposed the more [[conservative]] former Speaker [[Tom Craddick]] of [[Midland.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.texasmonthly.com/blogs/burkablog/?p=8702|title=Paul Burka, "Huge Lead for John Kuempel"|publisher=''Texas Monthly''|date= December 14, 2010|accessdate=December 17, 2010}}</ref> Kuempel also secured the backing of [[Houston Astros]] baseball great [[Nolan Ryan]], who relocated into District 44.<ref>"Ryan endorses Kuempel," ''The Dallas Morning News,'' December 2, 2010.</ref>