David Vitter

David Vitter (born May 3, 1961, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.) is an American politician who was elected as a Republican to the U.S. Senate in 2004 and represented Louisiana from 2005 to 2017. He previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1999–2005).

Vitter was born in New Orleans and grew up in the area. He received a bachelor’s degree (1983) from Harvard University; a bachelor’s degree (1985) in economics and history from the University of Oxford, which he attended on a Rhodes scholarship; and a doctorate (1988) in jurisprudence from Tulane University. Vitter subsequently worked in private practice, specializing in business law, and during that time he married Wendy Baldwin; the couple later had four children.

In 1991 Vitter entered politics by running for the Louisiana House of Representatives. He won and took office the following year. In 1999 he ran in a special election for the seat in the U.S. House of Representatives left vacant following the resignation of a Republican who had admitted to adultery. Vitter narrowly defeated David Treen, the first Republican to serve as governor of Louisiana since Reconstruction, and was sworn into office later that year. Vitter, who was reelected in 2000 and 2002, was a social conservative who was especially known for his support of traditional family values. He strongly opposed abortion and same-sex marriage.

Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.

SIGN UP

By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

In 2004 Vitter ran for a seat in the U.S. Senate. Despite allegations that he had frequented a New Orleans prostitute—a charge he vigorously denied—Vitter won the election and entered the Senate in 2005. Two years later, however, his phone number appeared on the client list of a woman who had been arrested for allegedly running a prostitution ring in Washington, D.C. Vitter made a public appeal for forgiveness and was little heard from for the remainder of his first term. In 2010, however, he was easily reelected.

Vitter subsequently gained greater visibility by championing some of the standard causes of the Republican Party while identifying as a member of the Tea Party movement. He opposed any regulations limiting the ownership of guns and was against immigration reforms offering a path to citizenship for anyone illegally residing in the United States. He publicly advocated abstinence-only sex education and supported mandatory prayer in school. In addition, he sought to limit the ability of Native Americans to open and operate gambling casinos. In 2009 he voted against the confirmation of Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, one of only two senators to do so. At the same time, he crossed the aisle to work with Democratic colleagues on numerous issues. In 2015 he and Elizabeth Warren notably cosponsored a bill that sought to make the Federal Reserve System more transparent.

In 2014 Vitter announced that he was running for governor of Louisiana. Although widely seen as the favourite, he struggled as the race became increasingly contentious, especially among the Republican candidates. Opponents frequently cited the prostitution scandal, and an “anyone but Vitter” movement gained popularity. Vitter narrowly placed second in the nonpartisan primary in 2015, but he was easily defeated by John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, in the runoff. Shortly thereafter Vitter announced that he would not seek reelection to the Senate in 2016. He left office the following year.