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Kelly LoefflerAmerican businesswoman and politician
Date of Birth: 27.11.1970
Country:  USA |
Content:
- Biography of Kelly Loeffler
- Business Career
- Political Ambitions
- U.S. Senate Appointment and Election
- Defeat in Runoff Election
Biography of Kelly Loeffler
Early Life and EducationKelly Loeffler was born in Bloomington, Illinois, and grew up on her family's soybean farm. She excelled in sports throughout high school, participating in track and basketball.
Loeffler earned a bachelor's degree in science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1992) and an MBA from DePaul University (1999).
Business Career
Loeffler joined Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, in 2002. She rose through the ranks and became part of the firm's executive management committee. In 2004, she married Jeffrey Sprecher, CEO of Intercontinental Exchange.
Loeffler founded Bakkt Bitcoin Futures, a subsidiary of Intercontinental Exchange focused on cryptocurrency futures contracts. She also became co-owner of the Atlanta Dream women's basketball team.
Political Ambitions
In 2014, Loeffler considered running for the U.S. Senate but ultimately withdrew. Despite her multi-million dollar fortune, she decided against self-funding her campaign. Political analysts speculate that Loeffler could help the Republican Party regain suburban female voters who have turned away since Donald Trump's presidential victory.
U.S. Senate Appointment and Election
On December 4, 2019, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp appointed Loeffler to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy created by the upcoming resignation of Senator Johnny Isakson. She was to serve until the winner of a special election held on November 3, 2020 took office.
Loeffler was sworn into office on January 6, 2020. In the November 3 special election, she received 26.07% of the vote, trailing Democratic candidate Rev. Raphael Warnock (32.69%). A second Republican candidate, Doug Collins, received 20.08% of the vote, with the remaining votes being split among four other Democratic candidates. Since no candidate received a majority, a runoff election between Loeffler and Warnock was scheduled for January 5, 2021.
Defeat in Runoff Election
In the January 5, 2021 runoff election, Loeffler lost to Warnock by a margin of 49.2%.
