BATON ROUGE (AP) — U.S. Sen.-elect John Kennedy said Thursday that he'll resign as Louisiana state treasurer on Jan. 3, the same day he's sworn in to his new elected office in Washington.
A special election to fill the open treasurer's seat will be held in October.
Kennedy said he's working his final weeks as treasurer rather than leaving early, because he still has work to do in the position. He also preferred the special election to be held on the October ballot, rather than an earlier March ballot.
"I want there to be a full and fair election for state treasurer," he said. "I just want people to have a chance to think about running, to have a chance to campaign and tell the people of this state their ideas. This is an important job."
Kennedy defeated Democratic Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell for the Senate seat in a runoff election Saturday. He attended orientation Wednesday in Washington, receiving his temporary office assignment and briefings on security, ethics rules and legislative process in the chamber, and meeting with Senate leaders.
After Kennedy's resignation, his top assistant, Ron Henson, will lead the office until a treasurer is elected.