Kyle Ardoin

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Robert Kyle Ardoin, known as Kyle Ardoin (born July 31, 1967), is the Louisiana Secretary of State, a post he has filled since May 18, 2018.. A Republican, he won an easy victory in the special election runoff contest to finish the remaining thirteen months of the term of Tom Schedler, who resigned in the spring of 2018 under a sexual harassment cloud.​ ​ A native of Ville Platte in Evangeline Parish and a former resident of Brusly in West Baton Rouge Parish, Ardoin, a graduate of Louisiana State University, resides in the capital city of Baton Rouge. In 2010, he became the first assistant secretary of state. On May 9, 2018, he became the acting secretary of state the day after Schedler's resignation.​ ​ On November 6, 2018, in the in nonpartisan blanket primary to fill the remainder of Schedler's term through January 13, 2020, Ardoin received 298,652 votes (20 percent), barely leading the field but advancing to the runoff contest in which he faced Democrat Gwen Collins-Greenup, an African-American, who finished with 289,070 votes (also 20 percent). In the runoff, held a month later on December 8, Ardoin defeated Collins-Greenup, 306,538 (59 percent) to 210,080 (41 percent), in a turnout of just 17.2 percent of registered voters. Ardoin now faces a rematch with Collins-Greenup in the general election pending on November 16, 2019, to choose a secretary of state for a full four-year term. In that same election will be the gubernatorial race between incumbent Democrat John Bel Edwards and the Baton Rouge Republican businessman, Eddie Rispone. ​ In July 2019, Ardoin hired outgoing state Representative Nancy Landry of Lafayette to become his chief of staff.

In the primary election for a full term as secretary of state held on October 12, 2019, Ardoin led a four-candidate field with 528,246 (41 percent). Two other Republicans, Thomas J. Kennedy, III, and Amanda "Jennings" Smith, held, respectively, another 244,139 votes (19 percent) and 78,903 (6 percent). Therefore Ardoin faces his former opponent Gwen Collins-Greenup, who received 434,580 votes (34 percent) in the primary. Nearly two-thirds of primary voters cast ballots for the three Republican candidates. Turnout in the contest was 43.4 percent of registered voters.

In 2007, Ardoin fell short in a race for House District 68 to succeed the Democrat-turned-Republican incumbent William Daniel, a petroleum engineer. Ardoin led the legislative vote with 5,531 ballots (41 percent) to fellow Republican Steve Carter's 5,242 votes (38.9 percent). The remaining 2,705 votes (20 percent) were received by Jay Lyles. In the second balloting on November 17, which had a lower turnout because of the lack of a gubernatorial contest, Carter prevailed by 87 votes, 4,967 (50.4 percent) to Ardoin's 4,880 (49.6 percent).​

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