Changes

| name=Paul Jude Hardy​

| name=Paul Jude Hardy​

| nationality=[[France-French]]-[[United States|American]]

| nationality=[[France-French]]-[[United States|American]]

| office=48th Lieutenant Governor of [[Louisiana​]]

| office=48th Lieutenant Governor of [[Louisiana​]]

| term_start=March 14, 1988​

| term_start=March 14, 1988​

| term_end= January 13, 1992​

| term_end= January 13, 1992​

| governor=[[Buddy Roemer]]​

| governor=[[Buddy Roemer]]​

| predecessor=[[Robert Freeman]]​

| predecessor=[[Robert Freeman]]​

| successor= [[Melinda Schwegmann]]​

| successor=[[Melinda Schwegmann]]​

| office2=Louisiana Secretary of State​

| office2=Louisiana Secretary of State​

| term_start2=March 1976​

| term_start2=March 1976​

| predecessor2 = Wade Omer Martin, Jr.​

| predecessor2 = Wade Omer Martin, Jr.​

| successor2=[[James H. "Jim" Brown]]​

| successor2=[[James H. "Jim" Brown]]​

| office3 =Louisiana State Senator for Iberia and St. Martin parishes​

| office3=Louisiana State Senator for Iberia and St. Martin parishes​

| term_start3= 1972​

| term_start3= 1972​

| term_end3=March 1976​

| term_end3=March 1976​

| religion=[[Roman Catholic]]​}}​

| religion=[[Roman Catholic]]​}}​

​

​

'''Paul Jude Hardy''' (born October 18, 1942) is an [[United States|American]] [[attorney]] from the capital city of [[Baton Rouge]],  [[Louisiana]], who was the first [[Republican Party|Republican]] to have been elected as his state's lieutenant governor  since [[Reconstruction]]. He served in the second-ranking post under [[Governor]] [[Buddy Roemer]] from 1988 to 1992. Both Roemer and Hardy are former [[Democatic Party|Democrats]] who switched parties later in their careers.​

'''Paul Jude Hardy''' (born October 18, 1942) is an [[United States|American]] [[attorney]] from the capital city of [[Baton Rouge]],  [[Louisiana]], who was the first [[Republican Party|Republican]] to have been elected as his state's lieutenant governor  since [[Reconstruction]]. He served in the second-ranking post under [[Governor]] [[Buddy Roemer]] from 1988 to 1992. Both Roemer and Hardy are former [[Democratic Party|Democrats]] who switched parties later in their careers.​

 

==Background==​

==Background==​

Hardy was born in [[Lafayette]] to  Florent Hardy, Sr. (1913–2003), and the former Agnes Angelle (1904–2008), a [[Roman Catholic]] couple from the census-designated place of Cecilia in St. Martin Parish. His mother was a homemaker, teacher, and school principal who was visited on the job by former state education superintendents [[T. H. Harris]] and [[Shelby M. Jackson]]. Agnes's brother, [[Robert Angelle]], the maternal uncle of Paul Hardy,<ref name=agneshardy>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405115040/http://www.avoyellestoday.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Agnes+Angelle+Hardy%20&id=8635494|title=Agnes Hardy obituary|publisher=Avoyellestoday.com|date=April 2008|accessdate=May 20, 2020}}</ref> was a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1934 to 1964 and the House [[Speaker]] from 1957 to 1960.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://house.louisiana.gov/H_PDFdocs/HouseMembership_History_CURRENT.pdf|title=Membership of the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-24 (ST. Martin Parish) |publisher=Louisiana House of Representatives|accessdate=May 20, 2020}}</ref>​

Hardy was born in [[Lafayette]] to  Florent Hardy, Sr. (1913–2003), and the former Agnes Angelle (1904–2008), a [[Roman Catholic]] couple from the census-designated place of Cecilia in St. Martin Parish. His mother was a homemaker, teacher, and school principal who was visited on the job by former state education superintendents [[T. H. Harris]] and [[Shelby M. Jackson]]. Agnes's brother, [[Bob Angelle]], the maternal uncle of Paul Hardy,<ref name=agneshardy>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405115040/http://www.avoyellestoday.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Agnes+Angelle+Hardy%20&id=8635494|title=Agnes Hardy obituary|publisher=Avoyellestoday.com|date=April 2008|accessdate=May 20, 2020}}</ref> was a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1934 to 1964 and the House [[Speaker]] from 1957 to 1960.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://house.louisiana.gov/H_PDFdocs/HouseMembership_History_CURRENT.pdf|title=Membership of the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-24 (ST. Martin Parish) |publisher=Louisiana House of Representatives|accessdate=May 20, 2020}}</ref>​

 

Agnes' father, and hence Paul Hardy's maternal grandfather, [[Drauzin Angelle]], was a constable, deputy sheriff, and a Democratic power broker in St. Martin Parish during much of the first half of the 20th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lahistory.org/resources/dictionary-louisiana-biography/dictionary-a/|title=Angelle, Drauvin|publisher=''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'': Louisiana Historical Association|accessdate=May 20, 2020}}</ref> Paul Hardy has a sister, Mary Agnes Belleau and her husband, Dr. Charles Dewey Belleau, of Baton Rouge, and a brother, Florent Hardy, Jr., [[Ph.D.]], and long-time employee of the Louisiana State Archives,<ref name=agneshardy/> who was honored in 2014 as "Public Official of the Year" by the Louisiana Association of Museums.​

Agnes's father, and hence Paul Hardy's maternal grandfather, [[Drauzin Angelle]], was a constable, deputy sheriff, and a Democratic power broker in St. Martin Parish during much of the first half of the 20th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lahistory.org/resources/dictionary-louisiana-biography/dictionary-a/|title=Angelle, Drauvin|publisher=''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'': Louisiana Historical Association|accessdate=May 20, 2020}}</ref> Paul Hardy has a sister, Mary Agnes Belleau and her husband, Dr. Charles Dewey Belleau, of Baton Rouge, and a brother, Florent Hardy, Jr., [[Ph.D.]], and long-time employee of the Louisiana State Archives,<ref name=agneshardy/> who was honored in 2014 as "Public Official of the Year" by the Louisiana Association of Museums.​

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Hardy was graduated in 1960 from Cecilia High School. In 1965, he received his bachelor's degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, then the University of Southwestern Louisiana, from which his mother had also graduated. ​<refname=whoswho>"Louisiana: Paul Hardy", ''Who's Who in American Politics, 2007-2008'' (Marquis Who's Who: New Providence, [[New Jersey]], 2007), p. 660.</ref> While Hardy was a member of the USL track team, he won the Gulf States Conference high jump competition for two consecutive years.<ref name=athlete>{{cite web|url=https://www.athleticnetwork.net/site.php?pageID=54&profID=1442|title=Paul Jude Hardy|publisher= Louisiana's Ragin Cajuns Athletic Network|date=June 21, 2010|accessdate=May 20, 2020}}</ref>

Hardy was graduated in 1960 from Cecilia High School. In 1965, he received his bachelor's degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, then the University of Southwestern Louisiana, from which his mother had also graduated. ​<refname=whoswho>"Louisiana: Paul Hardy", ''Who's Who in American Politics, 2007-2008'' (Marquis Who's Who: New Providence, [[New Jersey]], 2007), p. 660.</ref> While Hardy was a member of the USL track team, he won the Gulf States Conference high jump competition for two consecutive years.<ref name=athlete>{{cite web|url=https://www.athleticnetwork.net/site.php?pageID=54&profID=1442|title=Paul Jude Hardy|publisher= Louisiana's Ragin Cajuns Athletic Network|date=June 21, 2010|accessdate=May 20, 2020}}</ref>

==Republican lieutenant governor==​

==Republican lieutenant governor==​

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Hardy switched parties and ran as a Republican in 1987 for lieutenant governor.  First though he was for two weeks in January 1987 a gubernatorial candidate once again. After intra-party rival, [[U.S. Representative]] [[Bob Livingston]] of suburban New Orleans, defeated Hardy by a five-to-one margin at a caucus straw poll in [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]], Hardy said that he would not be a disrupting factor in the race. He therefore endorsed Livingston and incorrectly predicted that Livingston would be elected governor that year. Victory instead went to then Democrat Buddy Roemer.<ref>"[[William J. Guste|Guste]] bows out; Hardy jumps in," ''[[Minden Press-Herald]]'', January 7, 1987, p.1</ref><ref>"Hardy withdraws from governor's race,"''Minden Press-Herald,'' January 21, 1987, p. 1.</ref>​

Hardy switched parties and ran as a Republican in 1987 for lieutenant governor.  First though he was for two weeks in January 1987 a gubernatorial candidate once again. After intra-party rival, [[U.S. Representative]] [[Bob Livingston]] of suburban New Orleans, defeated Hardy by a five-to-one margin at a caucus straw poll in [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]], Hardy said that he would not be a disrupting factor in the race. He therefore endorsed Livingston and incorrectly predicted that Livingston would be elected governor that year. Victory instead went to then Democrat Buddy Roemer.<ref>"[[William J. Guste|Guste]] bows out; Hardy jumps in," ''[[Minden Press-Herald]]'', January 7, 1987, p.1</ref><ref>"Hardy withdraws from governor's race,"''Minden Press-Herald,'' January 21, 1987, p. 1.</ref>​

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Instead, Hardy faced five opponents in the race for lieutenant governor, including the two-term Democratic  [[incumbent]], [[Bobby Freeman]] of Plaquemine  in Iberville Parish. Another candidate was Democrat William Ford "Bill" Dodd of Baton Rouge, son of Democratic former Lieutenant Governor [[Bill Dodd]], who served from 1948 to 1952.<ref>''Minden Press-Herald,'' March 13, 1987.</ref> Primary results gave Freeman 586,335 (40 percent), Hardy 429,906 (29 percent), and Dodd 242,519 (17 percent). Three other Democrats polled a total of 14 percent of the primary vote.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Primary election returns, October 24, 1987</ref>​

Instead, Hardy faced five opponents in the race for lieutenant governor, including the two-term Democratic  [[incumbent]], [[Robert Freeman]] of Plaquemine  in Iberville Parish. Another candidate was Democrat William Ford "Bill" Dodd of Baton Rouge, son of Democratic former Lieutenant Governor [[Bill Dodd]], who served from 1948 to 1952.<ref>''Minden Press-Herald,'' March 13, 1987.</ref> Primary results gave Freeman 586,335 (40 percent), Hardy 429,906 (29 percent), and Dodd 242,519 (17 percent). Three other Democrats polled a total of 14 percent of the primary vote.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Primary election returns, October 24, 1987</ref>​

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In the general election held on November 21, 1987, Hardy unseated Freeman, 521,992 (53 percent) to 460,199 (47 percent). While Hardy was winning as lieutenant governor, state Representative  Walter Fox McKeithen (1946-2005),  a son of John McKeithen, was elected to Hardy's former position as secretary of state.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, General election returns, November 21, 1987.</ref> Incumbent Secretary of State  "Jim" Brown, originally from [[Ferriday, Louisiana|Ferriday]] in [[Concordia Parish]], who had succeeded Hardy in 1980, had vacated the post to make an ill-fated run for governor against both Buddy Roemer and Edwin Edwards.​

In the general election held on November 21, 1987, Hardy unseated Freeman, 521,992 (53 percent) to 460,199 (47 percent). While Hardy was winning as lieutenant governor, state Representative  Walter Fox McKeithen (1946-2005),  a son of John McKeithen, was elected to Hardy's former position as secretary of state.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, General election returns, November 21, 1987.</ref> Incumbent Secretary of State  "Jim" Brown, originally from Ferriday, in Concordia Parish, who had succeeded Hardy in 1980, had vacated the post to make an ill-fated run for governor against both Buddy Roemer and Edwin Edwards.​

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As lieutenant governor, Hardy led the way to enact legislation creating "Tax Free Shopping," which still today gives foreigners an incentive to visit Louisiana. In turn, this concept has resulted in increases in tourism-related jobs, and in 1989 alone increased tourist spending by a record $1.2 billion.​<ref name=athlete/>

As lieutenant governor, Hardy led the way to enact legislation creating "Tax Free Shopping," which still today gives foreigners an incentive to visit Louisiana. In turn, this concept has resulted in increases in tourism-related jobs, and in 1989 alone increased tourist spending by a record $1.2 billion.​<ref name=athlete/>