Whitney graduated from Vandebilt Catholic High School in Houma and obtained an associate degree in business from Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana.
[3] Whitney ran in the November 4, 2014, nonpartisan blanket primary for Louisiana's 6th congressional district, being vacated by the physician Bill Cassidy, who was instead challenging Mary Landrieu for the United States Senate.
[7] On June 25, 2014, Lenar Whitney claimed in a campaign video that human-caused climate change is "the greatest deception in the history of mankind."
As evidence, Whitney stated "any 10-year-old can invalidate [the theses of climate scientists] with one of the simplest scientific devices known to man: a thermometer.
"[9][10][11] Fact checker website PolitiFact.com ruled that, "There is an overwhelming consensus among respected scientists that human-caused global warming is real, and Whitney's supporting evidence falls flat.
[9] Nonpartisan analyst David Wasserman of The Cook Political Report called Whitney "the most frightening candidate I've met in seven years interviewing congressional hopefuls."
When Whitney was asked if she doubted the Hawaiian birthplace of U.S. President Barack Obama, her campaign consultants pulled her from the interview and thereafter called Wasserman's attitude "belittling".
"[16] Steve Benen, producer of The Rachel Maddow Show, commented, "A tip for candidates everywhere: if you literally run away from questions, you’re doing it wrong.