Dardenne was reelected to a full term as secretary of state in the October 20,2007,nonpartisan blanket primary with 758,156 votes (63 percent) to 373,956 (31 percent) for the Democrat R. Rick Wooley. A "No Party" candidate,Scott Lewis,received the remaining 64,704 votes (5 percent). Dardenne won fifty-eight of the state's sixty-four parishes. He outpolled gubernatorial candidateBobby Jindal,a fellow Republican,in raw votes and won sixty-one parishes to Jindal's sixty.[1]
On November 2,2010,Dardenne was elected lieutenant governor when he defeated Caroline Fayard,a young Democrat originally from Denham Springs in Livingston Parish.[2]Tom Schedler,Dardenne's chief deputy in the secretary of state's office,succeeded him as acting secretary of state when Dardenne was sworn in as lieutenant governor.[3]
Dardenne polled 719,243 votes (57 percent) to Fayard's 540,633 (43 percent). Dardenne won most of the sixty-four parishes but lost Orleans,Caddo,and St. Landry.[4]
Background
Dardenne is one of two sons of the late Tonet and Johnny Dardenne;his grandparents were Nathan and Ula Coronna Abramson and Teakle Wallis "T. W." and Esther Cohn Dardenne. His younger brother,Richard James Dardenne (1956-2018),was a basketball and track coach who spent his last years in Fort Worth,Texas.[5]
Dardenne is married to the former Catherine "Cathy" McDonald (born September 23,1955). The couple has two sons:John Dardenne of Los Angeles,California,and Matthew Dardenne of Baton Rouge.[6]
Dardenne is active in social and civic endeavors in his native Baton Rouge and through non-profit organizations throughout Louisiana. He volunteers with the Muscular Dystrophy Association,the annual Labor Day Telethon,the Cerebral Palsy Foundation,and the River City Festivals Association. He serves as chairman of the U.S. National Senior Sports Classic (the Senior Olympics),and has served as president of ten non-profit organizations in the greater Baton Rouge Community.[6]
Dardenne is also an amateur fiction writer and has won "Dishonorable Mentions" for his entries in the 2008 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest,a competition where contestants submit bad opening lines to imaginary novels.[8] Dardenne also won the 'Most Vile Pun' award in the 2006 contest.[9]
State senator
In 1987,Dardenne narrowly lost his first race for the District 15 state Senate seat to the DemocratLarry S. Bankston,one of three sons of former Democratic state party chairman and centenarian Jesse Bankston.[10] Dardenne then won an election for a seat on the East Baton Rouge Metropolitan Council and held that seat until 1992.[11]
Following the election of Republican Murphy J. "Mike" Foster,Jr.,as governor in 1995,Dardenne became the governor's floor leader and began to pass landmark legislation. He continued to push unsuccessfully for reforms in the administration of Foster's successor,Democrat Kathleen Babineaux Blanco. He did help pass constitutional amendments on term limits,coastal erosion,and victims' rights. He worked for the creation of a single State Board of Ethics,spearheading reform of the river pilots' system,and reducing government waste as the chairman of the Louisiana Senate Finance Committee.[6] In 2003,Dardenne was named the "National Republican Legislator of the Year".[6]
Secretary of state candidacy and transition
Dardenne ran in the September 30 special election to complete the term vacated by the death of former Secretary of State W. Fox McKeithen,a fellow Republican who died in the summer of 2005. former Democratic State Representative Al Ater of Ferriday in Concordia Parish,was assistant secretary of state under McKeithen and served as acting until a new secretary was elected. He was a friend of McKeithen and former Democratic State Representative. He chose not to run for the post in the special election.[12]
The major candidates in the race were Dardenne,Democratic state Senator Francis C. Heitmeier of New Orleans and Republican former State Chairman Mike Francis of Lafayette and Crowley.[13] The race was characterized by attacks on Dardenne from Francis (both taking anti-abortion positions) over predominantly social issues,including Dardenne's vote as Senator in the 1990s for language in the federal Hyde Amendment which allows for federally funded abortions in the case of rape or incest. These exceptions have been included since 1977 in response to women's rights advocates,while abortion opponents argue that they punish the unborn for the crimes of the fathers. Dardenne maintained that his vote was required to ensure Louisiana continuing to receive Medicaid funds.[14]
Dardenne received 30 percent of the vote in the primary;Heitmeier,28 percent,and Francis,26 percent. Minor candidates took the rest of the vote. A Dardenne v. Heitmeier runoff loomed.[13] Francis chose not to endorse either candidate and said he would run for the seat in the 2007 regular election.[15] In the end,Francis did not run for the position in the regular primary held on October 20,2007.
About two weeks into the special election runoff campaign,Heitmeier withdrew. He said that his New Orleans Democratic voter base had been decimated because of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina,as tens of thousands of people had to evacuate the city before and after the destructive storm and flooding. He said that without help from national Democrats,victory over Dardenne would be impossible. According to Louisiana Political Report,his withdrawal may have been premature in light of the national Democratic sweep in the 2006 midterm elections.[16]
Dardenne,Francis,and two minor Republican candidates together received 54 percent of the vote in the city of New Orleans,the power base for the state Democratic Party,reflecting changed demographics. Two months earlier,two Republican candidates for mayor of New Orleans together had barely polled 10 percent of the vote.[17]
Secretary of state
Secretary of state Jay Dardenne with TeamCPX in Fireball Run 2008.
Dardenne pushed for what he termed election reform,but his suggestions restricted access to voting. Although the region and many citizens were still struggling with disruption due to Hurricane Katrina,he opposed establishing satellite voting areas throughout the state and elsewhere for the evacuees. Dardenne also proposed that poll commissioner fees be increased,election day hours be shortened,and an early voting period be established to compensate for reduced hours on Election Day.[18]
Dardenne object to widespread satellite voting for Katrina evacuees because,he said,"if this bill passes,you are saying to them [election workers],you have to run an additional election for Orleans Parish. The 2006 mayoral race had received special consideration because no other elections were held on that day. Dardenne did support the reinstatement of absentee voting provisions from the election.[19] The Louisiana House panel approved more satellite voting.
Lieutenant governor
On February 12,2010,Dardenne announced his intention to run for Lieutenant Governor[20] in the special election held on October 2. Leading a multi-candidate field with 28% of the ballots cast,Dardenne advanced to face Democrat Caroline Fayard,a previously political unknown who enjoyed the backing of former U.S. President Bill Clinton and trailed with 24% of the vote. The two were to meet in the November 2 general election. Three other Republican candidates were eliminated in the primary —singer Sammy Kershaw (19%),St. Tammany Parish President Kevin Davis (8%),and Louisiana Republican Party state chairman Roger F. Villere,Jr. (4%) —along with DemocratButch Gautreaux (4 percent),then a Louisiana state senator. Kershaw,Davis,and Villere endorsed fellow Republican Dardenne,as Gautreaux supported fellow Democrat Fayard.[21][22] Results of the primary election—in the cases of Kershaw,Gautreaux,and Davis—were localized. Kershaw's appeal was in his home base of Acadiana and in rural areas where Country music is popular. Gautreaux's vote was largely in a radius around Morgan City. Davis won a strong plurality,47 percent,in his home parish of Saint Tammany. Kershaw's rural appeal helped him carry 31 of the 64 parishes,more than any other candidate.[23]
Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Jay Dardenne (left) spoke on January 19,2012,to the HammondChamber of Commerce,which met in Southeastern Louisiana University's Twelve Oaks Cafeteria. His presentation included popular songs associated with historic Louisiana political figures. The office of the lieutenant governor is heavily involved in marketing the state for tourism. Dardenne believes that an untapped potential for Louisiana is to attract tourists on the basis of political legends. He recounted examples of humorous statements by former governors and State Senator Dudley J. LeBlanc,originator of Hadacolpatent medicine.
Republican chairman Villere's endorsement of Dardenne,which came after months of criticizing the frontrunner,was met with incredulous statements like those of political scientist Pearson Cross of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette:
Maybe he thinks that you can at the end of the day say,"Well,we just need to all come together." It just seems odd.[24]
Dardenne and Fayard appeared on the October 15 episode of the news magazine Louisiana:The State We're In televised by Louisiana Public Broadcasting and in an October 22 forum sponsored by the Baton Rouge League of Women Voters.[25]
Dardenne,rather,needs to raise the stakes of this election,emphasizing experience and readiness. Otherwise,should this become a beauty contest,he's got problems.[27]
The runoff campaign soon turned controversial as Dardenne described Fayard as a supporter of U.S. PresidentBarack Obama,a proponent of gay marriage,and an opponent of the death penalty,while Fayard,who was 32 years of age and had never held political office,countered that Dardenne represented "the same old crowd" of Louisiana politics.[28]
The 2011 regular election for a four-year term as lieutenant governor was similarly raucous,as Dardenne was challenged by fellow Republican Billy Nungesser,president of Plaquemines Parish and the son of the late former Republican Party state chairman William A. Nungesser.[30] In a low-turnout race,Dardenne defeated Nungesser,504,228 votes (53.1 percent) to 444,750 ballots (46.9 percent).[31]
In 2012,Dardenne complained of the lack of funds needed for tourism advertising,a main prerogative of the lieutenant governor's office in Louisiana. On June 15,2012,Governor Jindal used his line item veto to strip $2 million for tourism advertising from Dardenne's office budget. Jindal also took aim at more than $500,000 from the departmental operating funds of Louisiana State Treasurer John N. Kennedy.[32]
David Conner Treen Sr. was an American politician and attorney from Louisiana. A member of the Republican Party,Treen served as U.S. Representative for Louisiana's 3rd congressional district from 1973 to 1980 and the 51st governor of Louisiana from 1980 to 1984. Treen was the first Republican elected to either office since Reconstruction.
Samuel Paul Cashat,known professionally as Sammy Kershaw,is an American country music artist. He has released 16 studio albums,with three RIAA platinum certifications and two gold certifications among them. More than 25 singles have entered the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts,including his only number one hit "She Don't Know She's Beautiful" and 10 more Top 10 hits:"Cadillac Style","Anywhere but Here","Haunted Heart","Queen of My Double-Wide Trailer","I Can't Reach Her Anymore","National Working Woman's Holiday","Third Rate Romance","Meant to Be","Vidalia",and "Love of My Life".
Walter Joseph Boasso is an American businessman and Democratic former state senator from Chalmette,the seat of government of St. Bernard Parish in south Louisiana. He was defeated in a bid for governor in the October 20,2007,nonpartisan blanket primary by the Republican Bobby Jindal. Boasso won 47 percent in his own St. Bernard Parish,his sole plurality showing in any of his state's sixty-four parishes. From 2004 to 2008,Boasso represented Senate District 1,which includes parts of Orleans,Plaquemines,St. Bernard,and St. Tammany parishes,many of those areas having been devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
The 2003 Louisiana gubernatorial election was held on November 15,2003,to elect the governor of Louisiana. Incumbent Republican governor Mike Foster was not eligible to run for re-election to a third term because of term limits established by the Louisiana Constitution.
Anthony Claude Leach Jr.,known as Buddy Leach,was an American businessman,lawyer,military veteran,and Democratic politician from Louisiana. From 1979 to 1981,he served one term as a U.S. representative for Louisiana's 4th congressional district. He also served as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives and as chairman of the Louisiana Democratic Party.
John Georges is an American businessman from New Orleans,who owns Louisiana's two largest newspapers and online news sites. He formerly served on the Louisiana Board of Regents,the body which supervises higher education in his native state. In 2007,he ran for governor as an independent. He received 186,000 votes and procured a plurality in Orleans Parish. In 2010,he sought the office of mayor of New Orleans as a Democrat;he finished a distant third behind two other Democrats.
The 2011 Louisiana gubernatorial election was held on October 22 with 10 candidates competing in a nonpartisan blanket primary. Incumbent Republican Bobby Jindal won a second term. Since he won an outright majority of the vote in the blanket primary,a runoff election that would have otherwise occurred on November 19 was unnecessary. This was the last time until 2023 that a Republican was elected governor of Louisiana,or that a Louisiana governor election was decided without a runoff.
William Harold Nungesser is an American politician serving as the 54th lieutenant governor of Louisiana since 2016. A member of the Republican Party,Nungesser is also the former president of the Plaquemines Parish Commission,having been re-elected to a second four-year term in the 2010 general election in which he topped two opponents with more than 71 percent of the vote. His second term as parish president began on January 1,2011,and ended four years later.
Scott Anthony Angelle is an American politician who is the former director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement in Washington,D.C. From 2013 to 2017,he was the District 2 member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission,an elected five-person utility regulatory body.
Dudley Anthony Gautreaux,known as Butch Gautreaux was an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate from Morgan City,Louisiana. From 2000 to 2012,he represented Senate District 21. In 2012,the reconfigured district incorporated mostly Republican portions of Iberia,Lafourche,St. Mary,and Lafourche parishes.
George Gregory Cromer,is an American politician,currently serving as the mayor of Slidell,Louisiana. A Republican,he previously served as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 2008 to 2018.
Louisiana's 2011 state elections were held on October 22,2011,with runoff elections held on November 19. All statewide elected offices were up,as well as all seats in the Louisiana State Legislature.
Paul Bryan Hollis is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for the revised 104th District in St. Tammany Parish in southeastern Louisiana from 2012 to 2024.
The 2015 Louisiana gubernatorial election was held on November 21,2015,to elect the governor of Louisiana. Incumbent Republican governor Bobby Jindal was not eligible to run for re-election to a third term because of term limits established by the Louisiana Constitution.
United States gubernatorial elections were held in three states in 2015 as part of the 2015 United States elections. In Kentucky and Mississippi,the elections were held on November 3,and in Louisiana,as no candidate received a majority of votes at the primary election on October 24,2015,a runoff election was held on November 21. The last regular gubernatorial elections for all three states were in 2011. Democrats picked up the open seat of term-limited Republican Bobby Jindal in Louisiana,while Republicans re-elected incumbent Phil Bryant in Mississippi and picked up the seat of term-limited Democrat Steve Beshear in Kentucky.
The 2016 United States Senate election in Louisiana took place on November 8,2016,to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Louisiana,concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election,as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 2015 Louisiana lieutenant gubernatorial election took place on October 24,2015,to elect the Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana,with a runoff election held on November 21,2015. Incumbent Republican Lieutenant Governor Jay Dardenne did not run for re-election to a second full term in office. He instead ran for governor. Billy Nungesser won the election defeating Kip Holden,despite a Democratic victory in the gubernatorial election,in which John Bel Edwards defeated David Vitter by a similar margin.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Louisiana on October 24,2015. All of Louisiana's executive officers,in addition to both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature were up for election. Under Louisiana's jungle primary system,all candidates appeared on the same ballot,regardless of party and voters voted for any candidate,regardless of their party affiliation. Since no candidate received a majority of the vote during the primary election,a runoff election was held on November 21,2015 between the top two candidates in the primary. Louisiana is the only state that has a jungle primary system.
Richard Phillip Edmonds Jr.,is an American pastor and politician from the U.S. state of Louisiana. A Republican,he is a member of the Louisiana Senate from East Baton Rouge Parish. He previously served in the Louisiana House of Representatives and was among nine candidates for secretary of state in the 2018 special election to fill the seat vacated by Tom Schedler.
↑ "Forums to feature race between Dardenne, Fayard". Times-Picayune. No.Metro Edition. October 10, 2010. p.A6. Retrieved October 10, 2010.[permanent dead link] The Louisiana Public Broadcasting forum, actually videotaped on October 8, was announced by Bob Neese; the League of Women Voters' spokeswoman was Jean Armstrong.
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