John Thomas Watkins (January 15, 1854 – April 25, 1925) was an American lawyer, jurist and politician who served eight terms as a U.S. representative for Louisiana's 4th congressional district from 1905 to 1921.

As children, John T. and Elizabeth had been baptized in the same Baptist church in Minden on the same day.

Running as a Democrat, Watkins defeated Breazeale with 58 percent of the vote,[1] taking his seat in the Fifty-ninth Congress on March 4, 1905.

When Clark lost the nomination to New Jersey governor Woodrow Wilson, Watkins was left on unfriendly terms with the new administration.

[3] Appearing politically vulnerable, Watkins was challenged in the 1918 Democratic primary by Louisiana judge John N. Sandlin, who had served with Watkins as a delegate to the 1912 Democratic Convention, where Sandlin had supported Wilson.