Changes

==Political life==

==Political life==

In 1982, Hooper ran for the District 81 state House seat vacated by the [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] Larry Dixon, who was elected to the state Senate and switched to Republican affiliation in 1984. He was narrowly defeated by another Democrat, Ham Wilson, Jr., who received 7,996 votes (50.9 percent) to Hooper's 7,725 (49.1 percent). In a [[special election]] in District 73 in 1983, a result of [[redistricting]], he narrowly unseated Wilson, 4,518 (51.1 percent) to 4,328 (48.9 percent) to fill the remaining three years of the term. Hooper was unopposed for reelection in 1986 and won with 64.1 percent in 1990 over the Democrat Robert Finley. Hooper increased his margin in 1994 to 73.3 percent over another Democrat, Ray Vaughan. He won re-nomination in 1998 over fellow Republican Donald Blair Little (1954-2012), an attorney in Montgomery and a son of Republican former state Representative Tandy Little. Hooper had no Democratic opponent in 1998 for what turned out to be his last four-year term in the state House. Hooper lost in the 2002 primary to fellow Republican David Grimes, 3,582votes (52.3 percent) to 3,273 (47.8 percent). Grimes was then unopposed in the [[general election]] of 2002 but lost the Republican primary in 2008.<ref name=campaigns/>Hooper's defeat by Grimes is attributed in part to a $12,000 fine that he received in 2001 from the Alabama Ethics Commission.<ref name=ddaily>{{cite web|url=http://legacy.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/news/060716/loyalty.shtml|title=Candidates in GOP runoff for PSC 2 question loyalty|publisher=''Decatur (Alabama) Daily'',|date=July 16, 2006|accessdate=April 30, 2014}}</ref>

In 1982, Hooper ran for the District 81 state House seat vacated by the [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] Larry Dixon, who was elected to the state Senate and switched to Republican affiliation in 1984. He was narrowly defeated by another Democrat, Ham Wilson, Jr., who received 7,996 votes (50.9 percent) to Hooper's 7,725 (49.1 percent). In a [[special election]] in District 73 in 1983, a result of [[redistricting]], he narrowly unseated Wilson, 4,518 (51.1 percent) to 4,328 (48.9 percent) to fill the remaining three years of the term. Hooper was unopposed for reelection in 1986 and won with 64.1 percent in 1990 over the Democrat Robert Finley. Hooper increased his margin in 1994 to 73.3 percent over another Democrat, Ray Vaughan. He won re-nomination in 1998 over fellow Republican Donald Blair Little (1954-2012), an attorney in Montgomery and a son of Republican former state Representative Tandy Little. Hooper had no Democratic opponent in 1998 for what turned out to be his last four-year term in the state House. Hooper lost in the 2002 primary to fellow Republican David Grimes, 3,582 votes (52.3 percent) to 3,273 (47.8 percent). Grimes was then unopposed in the [[general election]] of 2002 but lost the Republican primary in 2008.<ref name=campaigns/>Hooper's defeat by Grimes is attributed in part to a $12,000 fine that he received in 2001 from the Alabama Ethics Commission.<ref name=ddaily>{{cite web|url=http://legacy.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/news/060716/loyalty.shtml|title=Candidates in GOP runoff for PSC 2 question loyalty|publisher=''Decatur (Alabama) Daily'',|date=July 16, 2006|accessdate=April 30, 2014}}</ref>

Hooper was a delegate to the [[Republican National Convention]]s of 1984, 1992, and 1996. He served on the Platform Committee in 1992, with the re-nomination of the [[George Herbert Walker Bush|Bush]]-[[Dan Quayle|Quayle]] ticket, and the Rules Committee in 1996, when the party turned to veteran [[Kansas]] [[U.S. Senator]] [[Bob Dole]].<ref name=campaigns>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=61173|title=Hooper, Jr., Perry O.|publisher=ourcampaigns.com|accessdate=April 30, 2014}}</ref>

Hooper was a delegate to the [[Republican National Convention]]s of 1984, 1992, and 1996. He served on the Platform Committee in 1992, with the re-nomination of the [[George Herbert Walker Bush|Bush]]-[[Dan Quayle|Quayle]] ticket, and the Rules Committee in 1996, when the party turned to veteran [[Kansas]] [[U.S. Senator]] [[Bob Dole]].<ref name=campaigns>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=61173|title=Hooper, Jr., Perry O.|publisher=ourcampaigns.com|accessdate=April 30, 2014}}</ref>