Ben Barnes (Texas politician)

Ben Barnes
Barnes in 2019
36th Lieutenant Governor of Texas
In office January 21, 1969 – January 16, 1973
Governor	Preston Smith
Preceded by	Preston Smith
Succeeded by	William P. Hobby Jr.
Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives
In office January 12, 1965 – January 14, 1969
Preceded by	Byron M. Tunnell
Succeeded by	Gus F. Mutscher
Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 64th district
In office January 8, 1963 – January 14, 1969
Preceded by	O.H. Schram
Succeeded by	Lynn Nabers
Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 73rd district
In office January 10, 1961 – January 8, 1963
Preceded by	Ben Sudderth
Succeeded by	Richard C. Slack
Personal details
Born	Benny Frank Barnes (1938-04-17) April 17, 1938 (age 86) Gorman, Texas, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouses	Martha Morgan ​ ​ (m. 1957, divorced)​ Nancy DeGraffenried ​ (divorced)​ Melanie Harper ​ ​ (m. 1989, divorced)​ Liz McDermott ​ (m. 2019)​
Children	2 (with Martha Morgan) 2 adopted (with Melanie Harper)
Residence(s)	Austin, Texas, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Texas at Austin (BA)
Profession	Real estate investor, politician, crisis manager

Benny Frank Barnes (born April 17, 1938) is an American real estate magnate, politician, and crisis manager, who formerly served as Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives from 1965 to 1969 and the 36th Lieutenant Governor of Texas from January 21, 1969, to January 16, 1973, for two two-year terms. He was a vice-chair,^[1] as well as top fund-raiser, of John Kerry's presidential campaign. Barnes was also one of only eight persons who raised over $500,000 for Kerry.^[2]