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Created page with "{{Infobox officeholder |name=Michael Gene "Mike" Strain |image=Mike Strain of LA.jpg |office=Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry |governo=Bobby Jindal<b..."
{{Infobox officeholder
|name=Michael Gene "Mike" Strain
|image=Mike Strain of LA.jpg
|office=[[Louisiana]] Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry
|governo=[[Bobby Jindal]]<br>
[[John Bel Edwards]]
|term_start=January 14, 2008
|term_end=
|predecessor=Bob Odom
|office2= Louisiana State Representative<br> for District 74
|term_start2=2000
|term_end2=January 2008
|predecessor2=[[Bill Strain]]
|successor2=[[Scott Simon (politician)|Scott Simon]]
|birth_date=December 2, 1958
|birth_place=Covington, St, Tamanny Parish, Louisiana
|death_date =
|death_place=
|party=[[Republican Party|Republican]]
|spouse=Susan Searcy Strain
|chldren=Melissa and Michael
|alma_mater=[[Louisiana State University]] ([[Baton Rouge]])
|religion=Roman Catholic]]
}}
'''Michael Gene Strain''', known as '''Mike Strain''' (born December 2, 1958), is the first [[Republican Party |Republican]] ever elected to the position of [[Louisiana]] Agriculture and Forestry commissioner.
A former state representative from Covington in [[suburb]]an St. Tammany Parish near [[New Orleans]], Strain assumed his position with his state's other constitutional officers on January 14, 2008.
== Background ==
A [[veterinarian]] and rancher, Strain was born in Covington to Charles "Butch" Strain, Jr., and Carol Strain of Abita Springs, a small town in St. Tammany Parish. He graduated in 1976 from Covington High School]]. In 1983, he earned his [[Veterinarian|Doctor of Veterinary Medicine]] from [[Louisiana State University]] in [[Baton Rouge]]. He and his veterinarian wife, Dr. Susan Searcy Strain (born January 31, 1958), a native of [[Hot Springs, Arkansas|Hot Springs]], [[Arkansas]], operate Claiborne Hill Veterinary Hospital in Covington. The Strains have two children, Melissa and Michael. They attend St. Jane's d'Chantal [[Roman Catholic]] Church in Abita Springs.<ref>[http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/070222/0218723.html Representative Mike Strain Enters Agriculture Commissioner Race: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance<!--Bot-generated title-->]</ref>
A cousin of St. Tammany Parish [[Sheriff]] [[Jack Strain|Rodney "Jack" Strain, Jr.]], Strain is a former member of the Sheriff’s Office Reserves and a former commissioner for the St. Tammany Parish Fire District. He was chosen by the [[Centers for Disease Control]] as one of three Louisiana veterinarians to have been instructed in awareness of bioterrorism. Dr. Strain is a past president and board member for the Louisiana [[Farm Bureau]] Federation]and is affiliated with the Louisiana Cattlemen's Association.<ref>[http://www.mikestrain.org/about.aspx Mike Strain for Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner<!--Bot-generated title-->]</ref>
== State representative ==
In 1999, Strain was elected to the Louisiana House for District 74, a conservative constituency located in St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, and Washington parishes. In 2000, he succeeded a cousin, [[R. H. "Bill" Strain]], a veteran [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] lawmaker. Strain was re-elected without opposition in 2003.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 23, 1999.</ref>
In the legislature, Strain chaired the Rural Caucus for two terms and was named ''Legislator of the Year'' by the St. Tammany Parish Alliance for Good Government.
== Campaign critics ==
In the campaign, some [[conservative]]s questioned Strain's legislative votes for higher [[tax]]es, including his support for the [[Stelly Plan]] (named for former State Representative [[Vic Stelly]] of [[Lake Charles]]. Nevertheless, Strain carried the support of the conservative Louisiana Family Forum, headed by the Reverend Gene Mills, which honored him in 2007 as one of twenty-three lawmakers designated as an "Outstanding Family Advocate".<ref>[http://www.mikestrain.org/NewsDetails.aspx?ContentId=21 Mike Strain for Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner<!--Bot-generated title-->]</ref>
== Agriculture commissioner ==
=== Campaign ===
Early in 2007, Strain entered the race fo ragriculture commissioner in opposition to the 28-year Democratic [[incumbent]], Robert Fulton "Bob" Odom, Jr.,<ref>[http://preview.ussearch.com/preview/newsearch;jsessionid=4B2B234EA80FFAC889BB9242A6DB1B57?searchFName=robert&searchMName=&searchLName=odom&searchCity=zachary&searchState=LA&searchApproxAge=72&adID=10002101&searchtab=people&x=45&y=15 People Search & Background Check<!--Bot-generated title-->]</ref> who in recent years had been engulfed in multiple personal corruption allegations.
Numerous newspapers endorsed Strain's candidacy. They include ''The New Orleans Times-Picayune,'' ''The Shreveport Time,'' the ''[[Monroe News-Star]]'' in [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]] (the seat of Ouachita Parish in northeast Louisiana) and ''The Alexandria Town Talk,'' published three days a week in in [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]] (the seat of [[Rapides Parish]] in central Louisiana).<ref>[http://www.mikestrain.org/newssummary.aspx Mike Strain for Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner<!--Bot-generated title-->]</ref> In declaring its support for Strain, ''The Times-Picayune'' said that the department is "badly in need of change. The department in recent years has run amok, particularly as it embarked on an ill-conceived and wasteful building campaign. Taxpayers are now carrying a $56 million debt risk for a syrup mill that's not meeting production projections. Yet the department sought to build a separate $135 million mill last year until public pressure helped kill the project . . . "
Strain also received the endorsement of the Louisiana Republican Party and the support of Republican then [[U.S. Senator]] [[David Vitter]], who urged voters to elect Strain in order to "move beyond our past of cronyism and corruption. "<ref>[http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/index.ssf?/base/news-22/1185002089295770.xml&coll=1 Mike Strain standing by an old ally- NOLA.com<!--Bot-generated title-->]</ref>
=== Election returns ===
In the October 20 nonpartisan [[primary]], Odom led Strain, 505,466 (41 percent) to 494,726 (40 percent). Two other candidates, Republicans Wayne Carter, a conservative member of the East Baton Rouge Parish Metro council from Odom's own Zachary, and Don Johnson, a farmer from Transylvania in the heavily Democratic East Carroll Parish, trailed with 152,872 (13 percent) and 69,469 (6 percent), respectively. The total Republican vote hence totaled 59 percent. Johnson had also run against Odom in 1987, 1991, 1995, and 2003.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 20, 2007.</ref>
Less than a week later, Odom announced that he would not contest the general election. Therefore, Strain was declared the winner of the election.<ref>Robert Travis Scott, [l Odom quits race for re-election, Robert Travis Scott, Odom quits race for reelection, ''The New Orleans Times-Picayune, October 25, 2007.</ref>
TStrain won a second term as agriculture commissioner in the primary held on October 22, 2011. With 640,631 votes (66.5 percent), he defeated two politically unknown opponents, Democrat Jamie LaBranche, who trailed with 267,576 votes (27.8 percent), and Republican Belinda Alexandrenko, who polled 54,842 votes (5.7 percent).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Primary election returns, October 22, 2011.</ref>
==2015 reelection bid==
Strain earlier said that he would likely run for governor when the seat was contested again in 2015.<ref>http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20120124/NEWS01/120124013/Mike-Strain-eyeing-2015-governor-s-race</ref> The incumbent, Republican [[Bobby Jindal]], was term-limited.
In 2012, Strain, presumably seeking future allies in a race for governor, became the first statewide or multi-parish political figure to make an endorsement in the heated 3rd congressional district race between Republican incumbents Charles Boustany, a [[Moderate Republican]] and [[Jeff Landry]], a conservative. Strain chose Boustany, the winning candidate, having cited the representative's past support for the agricultural sector.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://theadvocate.com/news/4281456-123/boustany-gets-strains-support|author=Jordan Blum|title=Boustany gets Strain's suppor," ''The Baton Rouge Advocate''|accessdate=October 31, 2012}}</ref> The 3rd district seat is now held by a conservative Republican, [[Clay Higgins]].
On June 28, 2013, Strain bowed out of further consideration in the gubernatorial race and announced in New Orleans that he would instead seek a third term as agriculture commissioner; in his words, "to keep the job I love." Then Lieutenant Governor John Leigh "Jay" Dardenne, Jr., who sought the governorship, expressed satisfaction that Strain would not be running because the two would have appealed to the same segment of voters had both entered the race to succeed Bobby Jindal.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20130628/NEWS01/306280039/Strain-skip-governor-s-race|title=Strain to skip governor's race|date=June 28, 2013|publisher=''[[The News-Star]]''|accessdate=July 1, 2013}}</ref>
In the primary on October 24, 2015, Strain defeated the Democrat Charlie Greer of [[rural]] Natchez in [[Natchitoches, Louisiana|Natchitoches Parish]]; a fellow Republican, Jamie LaBranche of LaPlace, n [[St. John the Baptist Parish, and a [[Green Partyy]] opponent, Adrian "Ace" Juttner of Abita Springs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://710keel.com/candidates-qualified-in-statewide-elections/|title=Candidates Qualified in Statewide Elections|publisher=KEEL (AM) Radio|accessdate=September 10, 2015}}</ref> Strain polled 603,557 votes (58.2 percent) to Greer's 312,335 (30.1 percent), LaBranche's 85,363 (8.2 percent), and Juttner's 36,180 (3.5 percent).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Primary election returns, October 24, 2015}}</ref>
Strain won a fourth term as commissioner in the primary held on October 12, 2019).
==References==
{{reflist}}
[{DEFAULTSORT:Strain, Mike}}
[[Category:Louisiana People]]
[[Category:Veterinarians]]
[[Category:Ranchers]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:State Representatives]]
[[Category:Catholics]]
[[Category:Catholic Politicians]]
[[Category:Republicans]]
|name=Michael Gene "Mike" Strain
|image=Mike Strain of LA.jpg
|office=[[Louisiana]] Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry
|governo=[[Bobby Jindal]]<br>
[[John Bel Edwards]]
|term_start=January 14, 2008
|term_end=
|predecessor=Bob Odom
|office2= Louisiana State Representative<br> for District 74
|term_start2=2000
|term_end2=January 2008
|predecessor2=[[Bill Strain]]
|successor2=[[Scott Simon (politician)|Scott Simon]]
|birth_date=December 2, 1958
|birth_place=Covington, St, Tamanny Parish, Louisiana
|death_date =
|death_place=
|party=[[Republican Party|Republican]]
|spouse=Susan Searcy Strain
|chldren=Melissa and Michael
|alma_mater=[[Louisiana State University]] ([[Baton Rouge]])
|religion=Roman Catholic]]
}}
'''Michael Gene Strain''', known as '''Mike Strain''' (born December 2, 1958), is the first [[Republican Party |Republican]] ever elected to the position of [[Louisiana]] Agriculture and Forestry commissioner.
A former state representative from Covington in [[suburb]]an St. Tammany Parish near [[New Orleans]], Strain assumed his position with his state's other constitutional officers on January 14, 2008.
== Background ==
A [[veterinarian]] and rancher, Strain was born in Covington to Charles "Butch" Strain, Jr., and Carol Strain of Abita Springs, a small town in St. Tammany Parish. He graduated in 1976 from Covington High School]]. In 1983, he earned his [[Veterinarian|Doctor of Veterinary Medicine]] from [[Louisiana State University]] in [[Baton Rouge]]. He and his veterinarian wife, Dr. Susan Searcy Strain (born January 31, 1958), a native of [[Hot Springs, Arkansas|Hot Springs]], [[Arkansas]], operate Claiborne Hill Veterinary Hospital in Covington. The Strains have two children, Melissa and Michael. They attend St. Jane's d'Chantal [[Roman Catholic]] Church in Abita Springs.<ref>[http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/070222/0218723.html Representative Mike Strain Enters Agriculture Commissioner Race: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance<!--Bot-generated title-->]</ref>
A cousin of St. Tammany Parish [[Sheriff]] [[Jack Strain|Rodney "Jack" Strain, Jr.]], Strain is a former member of the Sheriff’s Office Reserves and a former commissioner for the St. Tammany Parish Fire District. He was chosen by the [[Centers for Disease Control]] as one of three Louisiana veterinarians to have been instructed in awareness of bioterrorism. Dr. Strain is a past president and board member for the Louisiana [[Farm Bureau]] Federation]and is affiliated with the Louisiana Cattlemen's Association.<ref>[http://www.mikestrain.org/about.aspx Mike Strain for Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner<!--Bot-generated title-->]</ref>
== State representative ==
In 1999, Strain was elected to the Louisiana House for District 74, a conservative constituency located in St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, and Washington parishes. In 2000, he succeeded a cousin, [[R. H. "Bill" Strain]], a veteran [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] lawmaker. Strain was re-elected without opposition in 2003.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 23, 1999.</ref>
In the legislature, Strain chaired the Rural Caucus for two terms and was named ''Legislator of the Year'' by the St. Tammany Parish Alliance for Good Government.
== Campaign critics ==
In the campaign, some [[conservative]]s questioned Strain's legislative votes for higher [[tax]]es, including his support for the [[Stelly Plan]] (named for former State Representative [[Vic Stelly]] of [[Lake Charles]]. Nevertheless, Strain carried the support of the conservative Louisiana Family Forum, headed by the Reverend Gene Mills, which honored him in 2007 as one of twenty-three lawmakers designated as an "Outstanding Family Advocate".<ref>[http://www.mikestrain.org/NewsDetails.aspx?ContentId=21 Mike Strain for Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner<!--Bot-generated title-->]</ref>
== Agriculture commissioner ==
=== Campaign ===
Early in 2007, Strain entered the race fo ragriculture commissioner in opposition to the 28-year Democratic [[incumbent]], Robert Fulton "Bob" Odom, Jr.,<ref>[http://preview.ussearch.com/preview/newsearch;jsessionid=4B2B234EA80FFAC889BB9242A6DB1B57?searchFName=robert&searchMName=&searchLName=odom&searchCity=zachary&searchState=LA&searchApproxAge=72&adID=10002101&searchtab=people&x=45&y=15 People Search & Background Check<!--Bot-generated title-->]</ref> who in recent years had been engulfed in multiple personal corruption allegations.
Numerous newspapers endorsed Strain's candidacy. They include ''The New Orleans Times-Picayune,'' ''The Shreveport Time,'' the ''[[Monroe News-Star]]'' in [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]] (the seat of Ouachita Parish in northeast Louisiana) and ''The Alexandria Town Talk,'' published three days a week in in [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]] (the seat of [[Rapides Parish]] in central Louisiana).<ref>[http://www.mikestrain.org/newssummary.aspx Mike Strain for Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner<!--Bot-generated title-->]</ref> In declaring its support for Strain, ''The Times-Picayune'' said that the department is "badly in need of change. The department in recent years has run amok, particularly as it embarked on an ill-conceived and wasteful building campaign. Taxpayers are now carrying a $56 million debt risk for a syrup mill that's not meeting production projections. Yet the department sought to build a separate $135 million mill last year until public pressure helped kill the project . . . "
Strain also received the endorsement of the Louisiana Republican Party and the support of Republican then [[U.S. Senator]] [[David Vitter]], who urged voters to elect Strain in order to "move beyond our past of cronyism and corruption. "<ref>[http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/index.ssf?/base/news-22/1185002089295770.xml&coll=1 Mike Strain standing by an old ally- NOLA.com<!--Bot-generated title-->]</ref>
=== Election returns ===
In the October 20 nonpartisan [[primary]], Odom led Strain, 505,466 (41 percent) to 494,726 (40 percent). Two other candidates, Republicans Wayne Carter, a conservative member of the East Baton Rouge Parish Metro council from Odom's own Zachary, and Don Johnson, a farmer from Transylvania in the heavily Democratic East Carroll Parish, trailed with 152,872 (13 percent) and 69,469 (6 percent), respectively. The total Republican vote hence totaled 59 percent. Johnson had also run against Odom in 1987, 1991, 1995, and 2003.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 20, 2007.</ref>
Less than a week later, Odom announced that he would not contest the general election. Therefore, Strain was declared the winner of the election.<ref>Robert Travis Scott, [l Odom quits race for re-election, Robert Travis Scott, Odom quits race for reelection, ''The New Orleans Times-Picayune, October 25, 2007.</ref>
TStrain won a second term as agriculture commissioner in the primary held on October 22, 2011. With 640,631 votes (66.5 percent), he defeated two politically unknown opponents, Democrat Jamie LaBranche, who trailed with 267,576 votes (27.8 percent), and Republican Belinda Alexandrenko, who polled 54,842 votes (5.7 percent).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Primary election returns, October 22, 2011.</ref>
==2015 reelection bid==
Strain earlier said that he would likely run for governor when the seat was contested again in 2015.<ref>http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20120124/NEWS01/120124013/Mike-Strain-eyeing-2015-governor-s-race</ref> The incumbent, Republican [[Bobby Jindal]], was term-limited.
In 2012, Strain, presumably seeking future allies in a race for governor, became the first statewide or multi-parish political figure to make an endorsement in the heated 3rd congressional district race between Republican incumbents Charles Boustany, a [[Moderate Republican]] and [[Jeff Landry]], a conservative. Strain chose Boustany, the winning candidate, having cited the representative's past support for the agricultural sector.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://theadvocate.com/news/4281456-123/boustany-gets-strains-support|author=Jordan Blum|title=Boustany gets Strain's suppor," ''The Baton Rouge Advocate''|accessdate=October 31, 2012}}</ref> The 3rd district seat is now held by a conservative Republican, [[Clay Higgins]].
On June 28, 2013, Strain bowed out of further consideration in the gubernatorial race and announced in New Orleans that he would instead seek a third term as agriculture commissioner; in his words, "to keep the job I love." Then Lieutenant Governor John Leigh "Jay" Dardenne, Jr., who sought the governorship, expressed satisfaction that Strain would not be running because the two would have appealed to the same segment of voters had both entered the race to succeed Bobby Jindal.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20130628/NEWS01/306280039/Strain-skip-governor-s-race|title=Strain to skip governor's race|date=June 28, 2013|publisher=''[[The News-Star]]''|accessdate=July 1, 2013}}</ref>
In the primary on October 24, 2015, Strain defeated the Democrat Charlie Greer of [[rural]] Natchez in [[Natchitoches, Louisiana|Natchitoches Parish]]; a fellow Republican, Jamie LaBranche of LaPlace, n [[St. John the Baptist Parish, and a [[Green Partyy]] opponent, Adrian "Ace" Juttner of Abita Springs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://710keel.com/candidates-qualified-in-statewide-elections/|title=Candidates Qualified in Statewide Elections|publisher=KEEL (AM) Radio|accessdate=September 10, 2015}}</ref> Strain polled 603,557 votes (58.2 percent) to Greer's 312,335 (30.1 percent), LaBranche's 85,363 (8.2 percent), and Juttner's 36,180 (3.5 percent).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Primary election returns, October 24, 2015}}</ref>
Strain won a fourth term as commissioner in the primary held on October 12, 2019).
==References==
{{reflist}}
[{DEFAULTSORT:Strain, Mike}}
[[Category:Louisiana People]]
[[Category:Veterinarians]]
[[Category:Ranchers]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:State Representatives]]
[[Category:Catholics]]
[[Category:Catholic Politicians]]
[[Category:Republicans]]