1987 Louisiana lieutenant gubernatorial election

1987 Louisiana lieutenant gubernatorial election

←  1983 24 October 1987 (first round) 21 November 1987 (runoff) 1991  →

Candidate Paul Hardy Robert Louis Freeman Sr. Party Republican Democratic First round 429,906 29.35% 586,335 40.03% Runoff 521,992 53.15% 460,199 46.85%   Candidate Bill Dodd Patricia Norton Party Democratic Democratic First round 242,519 16.56% 161,231 11.00% Runoff Eliminated Eliminated

Lieutenant Governor before election Robert Louis Freeman Sr. Democratic Elected Lieutenant Governor Paul Hardy Republican

The 1987 Louisiana lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on 21 November 1987 in order to elect the lieutenant governor of Louisiana. Former Republican Secretary of State of Louisiana Paul Hardy defeated incumbent Democratic lieutenant governor Robert Louis Freeman Sr. in the Runoff election, thereby becoming the first Republican to have been elected lieutenant governor of the U.S. state of Louisiana since Reconstruction.

Background

Elections in Louisiana—with the exception of U.S. presidential elections—follow a variation of the open primary system called the jungle primary or the nonpartisan blanket primary. Candidates of any and all parties are listed on one ballot; voters need not limit themselves to the candidates of one party. Unless one candidate takes more than 50% of the vote in the first round, a run-off election is then held between the top two candidates, who may in fact be members of the same party. Texas uses this same format for its special elections. In this election, the first round of voting was held on 24 October 1987. The runoff was held on 21 November 1987. ^[1]

Primary election

On election day, 24 October 1987, incumbent Democratic lieutenant governor Robert Louis Freeman Sr. and former Republican Secretary of State of Louisiana Paul Hardy received the most votes and thus advanced to a runoff election on 21 November. ^[2]

Results

Louisiana lieutenant gubernatorial primary election, 1987

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Robert Louis Freeman Sr. (incumbent)	586,335	40.03
	Republican	Paul Hardy	429,906	29.35
	Democratic	Bill Dodd	242,519	16.56
	Democratic	Patricia Norton	161,231	11.00
	Democratic	Royce J. Guillory	24,905	1.70
	Democratic	Budd Olister	19,944	1.36
Total votes			1,464,840	100.00

Runoff election

On election day, 21 November 1987, former Republican Secretary of State of Louisiana Paul Hardy defeated incumbent Democratic lieutenant governor Robert Louis Freeman Sr. by a margin of 61,793 votes, thereby gaining Republican control over the office of lieutenant governor for the first time since reconstruction. Hardy was sworn in as the 48th Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana on 14 March 1988. ^[3]

Results

Louisiana lieutenant gubernatorial runoff election, 1987

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paul Hardy	521,992	53.15
	Democratic	Robert Louis Freeman Sr. (incumbent)	460,199	46.85
Total votes			982,191	100.00
	Republican gain from Democratic

References

1. Wayne, Stephen (2008). Parties and Elections in America: The Electoral Process Fifth Edition. Rowman & Littlefield.
2. "LA Lt. Governor - Initial Election". ourcampaigns.com. 30 September 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
3. "LA Lt. Governor - Runoff". ourcampaigns.com. 13 July 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2025.