Biography: John James Exon (August 9, 1921 – June 10, 2005) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 33rd governor of Nebraska from 1971 to 1979, and as a United States senator from Nebraska from 1979 to 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, Exon never lost an election, and was the only Democrat ever to hold Nebraska's Class 2 U.S. Senate seat. He was elected governor in 1970, re-elected in 1974, elected to the Senate in 1978, and re-elected to that seat in 1984 and 1990.