Jay Dardenne
Encyclopedia
John Leigh "Jay" Dardenne, Jr. (born February 6, 1954), has been Louisiana
's Republican
lieutenant governor
since November 22, 2010. He won a special election
to the position held in conjunction with the regular November 2 general election. At the time, Dardenne was Louisiana secretary of state
. Formerly, Dardenne was a state senator
from the Baton Rouge suburbs, having served from 1992 until after his election as secretary of state on September 30, 2006.
Dardenne was reelected to a full term as secretary of state in the October 20, 2007, nonpartisan blanket primary. He received 758,156 votes (63 percent) to 373,956 (31 percent) for the Democrat
R. 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. Dardenne outpolled gubernatorial candidate
Bobby Jindal
, a fellow Republican, in raw votes and won sixty-one parishes to Jindal's sixty.
On November 2, 2010, Dardenne was elected the next Lieutenant Governor
of Louisiana
, defeating opponent Caroline Fayard
, a young Democrat originally from Denham Springs
, in the 2010 State of Louisiana elections
. Tom Schedler
, Dardenne's chief deputy in the secretary of state's office, succeeded him in performing the responsibilities of the secretary of state when Dardenne was sworn in as lieutenant governor
. 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
.
and Benjamin F. Jonas
in the 19th century. Buddy Caldwell
, Louisiana's current attorney general, is also Jewish. and was first elected to that statewide position in 2007, a year after Dardenne was elected to fill an unexpired term for the Secretary of State's office. Dardenne is a graduate of Baton Rouge High School. Dardenne later graduated from Louisiana State University
in Baton Rouge, with both bachelor's and law degrees. He was elected student body president while at LSU.
He is active in social and civic endeavors in his native Baton Rouge and through non-profit organizations throughout Louisiana. Dardenne also 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.
Dardenne 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. Dardenne also won the Most Vile Pun award in the contest.
incumbent Larry S. Bankston (born 1951), one of three sons of former Democratic state party chairman and centenarian Jesse Bankston
. Dardenne then won an election for a seat on the East Baton Rouge Metropolitan Council and held that seat until 1992.
In 1991, Dardenne ran the District 16 seat in the state Senate vacated by the retiring Republican Kenneth E. Osterberger. In the primary, Dardenne trailed fellow Republican Lynda Imes, the District 8 member of the East Baton Rouge Metro Council. However, in the general election, Dardenne defeated Imes. Dardenne quickly gained a reputation as a champion of reform and a thorn in the side of Democratic Governor Edwin Washington Edwards. However, few of his reform proposals were enacted.
Following the election of Republican Murphy J. "Mike" Foster
as governor in 1995, Dardenne became the governor's floor leader and began to pass landmark legislation. He continued to push for reforms in the administration of Foster's successor, Democrat Kathleen Blanco
, but Blanco largely shunned Dardenne.
Among other accomplishments, Dardenne helped pass constitutional amendments on term limits, coastal erosion and victims' rights, the creation of a single State Board of Ethics, spearheading reform of the river pilots' system, and working to reduce government waste as the chairman of the Louisiana Senate Finance Committee.
Dardenne was named the "National Republican Legislator of the Year" in 2003. According to the Louisiana Political Fax Weekly of December 20, 2002, "Jay Dardenne... is widely regarded as one of the most talented lawmakers to ever serve [sic] in the Capitol."
, a fellow Republican who died in the summer of 2005. McKeithen had been temporarily succeeded by his friend, former Democratic State Representative Alan Ray Ater
(born 1953) of Ferriday
in Concordia Parish, at the time an assistant secretary of state under McKeithen, who chose not to run for the post in the special election.
The major candidates in the race were Dardenne, Democratic state Senator Francis Heitmeier of New Orleans and former Republican State Chairman Mike Francis
of Lafayette and Crowley
. The race was characterized by attacks on Dardenne from Francis (both taking pro-life positions) over predominantly social issues, including a vote that Dardenne cast 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 allow the flow of Medicaid
funds into Louisiana.
Despite these attacks, Dardenne was able to project himself as the candidate of reform in the race, and racked up huge numbers of votes in the Baton Rouge area, the suburbs of New Orleans and even into the heavily Democratic city of New Orleans itself. He campaigned in North Louisiana with assistance of Aubrey W. Young
, a former state official and grass roots organizer originally from Monroe
whose service dated back to the role of aide de camp under Governor John J. McKeithen, the father of Fox McKeithen. 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. Francis chose not to endorse either candidate and stated his intentions to run for the seat in the 2007 regular election. Franics, however, did not seek the position in the October 20, 2007, jungle primary
.
About two weeks into the special election runoff campaign, Heitmeier withdrew. He cited the fact that his New Orleans black voter base had been decimated because of Hurricane Katrina
. He said that without help from national Democrats, victory over Dardenne would be impossible. Perhaps, his action was premature in light of the national Democratic sweep in the 2006 midterm elections.
In an aberration, 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. Two months earlier, two Republican candidates for mayor of New Orleans together barely polled 10 percent of the vote.
in Baton Rouge.
The collision occurred near the Essen Lane exit ramp after the secretary of state had left a downtown breakfast meeting. He was transported to Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center where he was in the neurological intensive care unit. He sustained rib fractures, chest bruises, and pelvic and back injuries to the L-2 vertebra, near the base of the spine. Dardenne was reportedly awake and alert. His surgery was completed on August 14.
He also successfully pushed to cancel admission fees to the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum in Shreveport and the Old State Capitol and Old Arsenal Museum in Baton Rouge, saying that the financial loss from museum fees will be absorbed in his departmental budget through other cost reductions and that "people ought to be able to enjoy museums free of charge." Dardenne has promoted tourism through his office and has taken a special interest in the creation of the Delta Music Museum
and the companion restoration in 2008 of the Arcade Theatre in Ferriday
in Louisiana
.
In the recent legislative session, Dardenne also pushed for election reform and against establishing satellite voting areas throughout the state and elsewhere for Hurricane Katrina
evacuees, similar to those established for the New Orleans mayoral race in 2006 and the 2007 gubernatorial and statewide races. Dardenne proposed that poll commissioner fees be increased, election day hours be shortened, and an early voting period to compensate for the reduced hours on election day.
Dardenne also objected to widespead satellite voting for Katrina evacuees on the basis that it would impose an overwhelming and impossible burden on election workers, stating that "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 received special consideration because no other elections were held on that day. Dardenne did support the reinstatement of absentee voting provisions from the election.
In December 2007, Dardenne named a former state Senate colleague, Tom Schedler
of St. Tammany Parish
, a Republican, as his chief deputy.
In 2008, Dardenne was mentioned as a possible United States Senate
candidate against incumbent Democrat Mary Landrieu
, but the Republican candidate was State Treasurer
John N. Kennedy
, a Democrat who switched to the GOP before qualifying for reelection in 2007.
, a previously political unknown who enjoyed the backing of former U.S. President Bill Clinton
and trailed with 24 percent of the vote. The two were to meet in the November 2 general election. Three other Republican candidates were eliminated in the primary—Country
singer Sammy Kershaw
(19 percent), St. Tammany Parish
President Kevin Davis (8 percent), and Louisiana Republican Party state chairman Roger F. Villere, Jr.
(4 percent)—along with Democrat
Butch Gautreaux
(4 percent), a Louisiana state senator. Kershaw, Davis, and Villere endorsed fellow Republican Dardenne, as Gautreaux supported fellow Democrat Fayard.
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
:
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
.
On October 4, Southeastern Louisiana University
political scientist Michael Kurt Corbello summarized the runoff election between veteran officeholder Dardenne and political newcomer Fayard as "a very interesting, competitive race."
Political columnist John Maginnis
joked that
The runoff campaign soon turned controversial as Dardenne described Fayard as a supporter of U.S. President
Barack Hussein 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. For further information about the 2010 election, please see Louisiana state elections, 2010#Lieutenant Governor.
, president of Plaquemines Parish and the son of the late former Republican Party state chairman William A. "Billy" Nungesser. In a low-turnout race, Dardenne defeated Nungesser, 504,228 votes (53.1 percent) to 444,750 ballots (46.9 percent).
.
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 24, 1987
Second Ballot, November 8, 1987
East Baton Rouge Metropolitan Council, District 12, 1988
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 1, 1988
Louisiana State Senate, District 16, 1991
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First Ballot, October 19, 1991
Second Ballot, November 16, 1991
Louisiana State Senate, District 16, 1995
Louisiana State Senate, District 16, 1999
Louisiana State Senate, District 16, 2003
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First Ballot, October 4, 2003
Secretary of State of Louisiana, 2006
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First Ballot, September 30, 2006
Second Ballot, November 7, 2006
Secretary of State of Louisiana, 2007
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First Ballot, October 20, 2007
Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, 2010
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 2, 2010
Second Ballot, November 7, 2010
Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, 2010
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 22, 2011
All election results taken from the Louisiana Secretary of State website.
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
's Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
lieutenant governor
Lieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...
since November 22, 2010. He won a special election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
to the position held in conjunction with the regular November 2 general election. At the time, Dardenne was Louisiana secretary of state
Secretary of State of Louisiana
The Secretary of State of Louisiana is one of the elected constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The position was created by Article 4, Section 7 of the Louisiana Constitution.The current Secretary of State is Tom Schedler....
. Formerly, Dardenne was a state senator
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
from the Baton Rouge suburbs, having served from 1992 until after his election as secretary of state on September 30, 2006.
Dardenne was reelected to a full term as secretary of state in the October 20, 2007, nonpartisan blanket primary. He received 758,156 votes (63 percent) to 373,956 (31 percent) for the Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
R. 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. Dardenne outpolled gubernatorial candidate
Louisiana gubernatorial election, 2007
The Louisiana gubernatorial election of 2007 was held on October 20. The filing deadline for candidates was September 6. On the day of the election, all 12 candidates competed in an open jungle primary. With all precincts reporting, Bobby Jindal won the election with 54%.-Background:Elections in...
Bobby Jindal
Bobby Jindal
Piyush "Bobby" Jindal is the 55th and current Governor of Louisiana and formerly a member of the United States House of Representatives. He is a member of the Republican Party....
, a fellow Republican, in raw votes and won sixty-one parishes to Jindal's sixty.
On November 2, 2010, Dardenne was elected the next Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...
of Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, defeating opponent Caroline Fayard
Caroline Fayard
Cathryn Caroline Fayard , daughter of Cynthia Felder Fayard and Calvin Clifford Fayard, Jr., of Springfield, Louisiana, is a Democrat who sought the office of lieutenant governor of Louisiana in the 2010 elections....
, a young Democrat originally from Denham Springs
Denham Springs, Louisiana
Denham Springs is a city in Livingston Parish, Louisiana, United States, and part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area. Downtown Denham Springs has transformed itself from hardware stores, drug stores, doctor's offices, and a single movie theater to a collection of various and varied...
, in the 2010 State of Louisiana elections
Louisiana state elections, 2010
-Federal:Elections for Federal offices, as in the rest of the country, occurred on November 2. The Primaries were held on August 28 with a runoff for the Republican U.S. House nomination occurring on October 2 in Louisiana's 3rd congressional district .-United States Congress:Louisiana's Class III...
. Tom Schedler
Tom Schedler
John Thomas Schedler, known as Tom Schedler , is a politician from suburban St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, USA, who served as the District 11 Louisiana state senator from 1996 to 2008, when he was term-limited after twelve years...
, Dardenne's chief deputy in the secretary of state's office, succeeded him in performing the responsibilities of the secretary of state when Dardenne was sworn in as lieutenant governor
Lieutenant governor (United States)
In the United States, 43 of the 50 states have a separate, full-time office of lieutenant governor. In most cases, the lieutenant governor is the highest officer of state after the governor, standing in for that officer when he or she is absent from the state or temporarily incapacitated...
. 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
Caddo Parish, Louisiana
Caddo Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Shreveport; as of 2000, the population was 252,161...
, and St. Landry
St. Landry Parish, Louisiana
St. Landry Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is at the heart of Acadian/Cajun culture and heritage in Louisiana. The parish seat is Opelousas. According to the 2010 census, the population of St. Landry Parish is 83,384.St...
.
Personal information
Dardenne is the son of the late John L. Dardenne, Sr., and the former Janet Abramson. He is married to the former Catherine "Cathy" McDonald (born 1955), and they have two sons: John Dardenne, III (born 1984), and Matthew M. Dardenne. Dardenne is Jewish and the first known Jewish state official in Louisiana since U.S. Senators Judah P. BenjaminJudah P. Benjamin
Judah Philip Benjamin was an American politician and lawyer. Born a British subject in the West Indies, he moved to the United States with his parents and became a citizen. He later became a citizen of the Confederate States of America. After the collapse of the Confederacy, Benjamin moved to...
and Benjamin F. Jonas
Benjamin F. Jonas
Benjamin Franklin Jonas was a Democratic U.S. Senator from Louisiana and an officer in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He was the third Jew to serve in the Senate.-Biography:...
in the 19th century. Buddy Caldwell
Buddy Caldwell
James David Caldwell, Sr., or Buddy Caldwell , is the Republican attorney general of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Prior to serving as attorney general, Caldwell was the district attorney for Madison, East Carroll, and Tensas parishes from 1979 to 2008...
, Louisiana's current attorney general, is also Jewish. and was first elected to that statewide position in 2007, a year after Dardenne was elected to fill an unexpired term for the Secretary of State's office. Dardenne is a graduate of Baton Rouge High School. Dardenne later graduated from Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in Baton Rouge, with both bachelor's and law degrees. He was elected student body president while at LSU.
He is active in social and civic endeavors in his native Baton Rouge and through non-profit organizations throughout Louisiana. Dardenne also volunteers with the Muscular Dystrophy Association
Muscular Dystrophy Association
The Muscular Dystrophy Association is an American organization which combats muscular dystrophy and diseases of the nervous system and muscular system in general by funding research, providing medical and community services, and educating health professionals and the general public...
, the annual Labor Day Telethon, the Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement....
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.
Dardenne has won "Dishonorable Mentions" for his entries in the 2008 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest
Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest
The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest is a tongue-in-cheek contest that takes place annually and is sponsored by the English Department of San Jose State University in San Jose, California. Entrants are invited "to compose the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels" – that is,...
, a competition where contestants submit bad opening lines to imaginary novels. Dardenne also won the Most Vile Pun award in the contest.
State senator
In 1987, Dardenne narrowly lost his first race for the state Senate to the DemocraticDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
incumbent Larry S. Bankston (born 1951), one of three sons of former Democratic state party chairman and centenarian Jesse Bankston
Jesse Bankston
Jesse Homer Bankston, Sr. was a politician within the Democratic Party of Louisiana, a businessman, and, at his death at the age of 103, a member of the board of Louisiana Public Broadcasting...
. Dardenne then won an election for a seat on the East Baton Rouge Metropolitan Council and held that seat until 1992.
In 1991, Dardenne ran the District 16 seat in the state Senate vacated by the retiring Republican Kenneth E. Osterberger. In the primary, Dardenne trailed fellow Republican Lynda Imes, the District 8 member of the East Baton Rouge Metro Council. However, in the general election, Dardenne defeated Imes. Dardenne quickly gained a reputation as a champion of reform and a thorn in the side of Democratic Governor Edwin Washington Edwards. However, few of his reform proposals were enacted.
Following the election of Republican Murphy J. "Mike" Foster
Murphy J. Foster, Jr.
Murphy James "Mike" Foster, Jr. served as 53rd Governor of Louisiana from January 1996 until January 2004. Foster's father was Murphy J. Foster, Jr., but Mike Foster uses "Jr." even though he is technically Murphy J. Foster, III. Foster is a businessman, landowner, and sportsman in St...
as governor in 1995, Dardenne became the governor's floor leader and began to pass landmark legislation. He continued to push for reforms in the administration of Foster's successor, Democrat Kathleen Blanco
Kathleen Blanco
Kathleen Babineaux Blanco was the 54th Governor of Louisiana, having served from January 2004 until January 2008. She was the first woman to be elected to the office of governor of Louisiana....
, but Blanco largely shunned Dardenne.
Among other accomplishments, Dardenne helped pass constitutional amendments on term limits, coastal erosion and victims' rights, the creation of a single State Board of Ethics, spearheading reform of the river pilots' system, and working to reduce government waste as the chairman of the Louisiana Senate Finance Committee.
Dardenne was named the "National Republican Legislator of the Year" in 2003. According to the Louisiana Political Fax Weekly of December 20, 2002, "Jay Dardenne... is widely regarded as one of the most talented lawmakers to ever serve [sic] in the Capitol."
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 McKeithenW. Fox McKeithen
Walter Fox McKeithen served five terms as Secretary of State of Louisiana between 1988 and 2005. He is best remembered for merging the state's election divisions into one department and for the promotion of historical preservation.-Son of a governor:He was born Walter Fox McKeithen in Columbia in...
, a fellow Republican who died in the summer of 2005. McKeithen had been temporarily succeeded by his friend, former Democratic State Representative Alan Ray Ater
Al Ater
Alan Ray Ater , known as Al Ater, is a farmer and businessman from Ferriday, Louisiana, who served from 1984-1992 as a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 21 in the eastern portion of his state....
(born 1953) of Ferriday
Ferriday, Louisiana
Ferriday is a town in Concordia Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States. The population, which is three-fourths African American, was 3,723 at the 2000 census....
in Concordia Parish, at the time an assistant secretary of state under McKeithen, who chose not to run for the post in the special election.
The major candidates in the race were Dardenne, Democratic state Senator Francis Heitmeier of New Orleans and former Republican State Chairman Mike Francis
Mike Francis
Michael Gordon Francis, known as Mike Francis , is a prominent Crowley businessman who was the chairman of the Republican Party in Louisiana from 1994–2000. A staunch fiscal and social conservative, Francis was an unsuccessful candidate for Secretary of State of Louisiana in a special election held...
of Lafayette and Crowley
Crowley, Louisiana
Crowley is a city in and the parish seat of Acadia Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 14,225 at the 2000 census. The city is noted for its annual International Rice Festival. Crowley has the nickname of "Rice Capital of America", because at one time it was a major center for...
. The race was characterized by attacks on Dardenne from Francis (both taking pro-life positions) over predominantly social issues, including a vote that Dardenne cast in the 1990s for language in the federal Hyde Amendment
Hyde Amendment
In U.S. politics, the Hyde Amendment is a legislative provision barring the use of certain federal funds to pay for abortions. It is not a permanent law, rather it is a "rider" that, in various forms, has been routinely attached to annual appropriations bills since 1976...
which allows for federally-funded abortions in the case of rape or incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
. 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 allow the flow of Medicaid
Medicaid
Medicaid is the United States health program for certain people and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the state and federal governments, and is managed by the states. People served by Medicaid are U.S. citizens or legal permanent...
funds into Louisiana.
Despite these attacks, Dardenne was able to project himself as the candidate of reform in the race, and racked up huge numbers of votes in the Baton Rouge area, the suburbs of New Orleans and even into the heavily Democratic city of New Orleans itself. He campaigned in North Louisiana with assistance of Aubrey W. Young
Aubrey W. Young
Aubrey Walsworth Young was a public official in the U.S. state of Louisiana, who between 1965 and 1999 established multiple drug and alcohol treatment programs through the Department of Health and Hospitals. A political activist, Young organized his contacts from Alcoholics Anonymous to support...
, a former state official and grass roots organizer originally from Monroe
Monroe, Louisiana
Monroe is a city in and the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. A July 1, 2007, United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 51,208, but 51,636...
whose service dated back to the role of aide de camp under Governor John J. McKeithen, the father of Fox McKeithen. 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. Francis chose not to endorse either candidate and stated his intentions to run for the seat in the 2007 regular election. Franics, however, did not seek the position in the October 20, 2007, jungle primary
Jungle primary
A nonpartisan blanket primary is a primary election in which all candidates for elected office run in the same primary regardless of political party. Under this system, the top two candidates who receive the most votes advance to the next round, as in a runoff election...
.
About two weeks into the special election runoff campaign, Heitmeier withdrew. He cited the fact that his New Orleans black voter base had been decimated because of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. He said that without help from national Democrats, victory over Dardenne would be impossible. Perhaps, his action was premature in light of the national Democratic sweep in the 2006 midterm elections.
In an aberration, 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. Two months earlier, two Republican candidates for mayor of New Orleans together barely polled 10 percent of the vote.
Dardenne in two-car collison
Dardenne was hospitalized on August 6, 2007, for a spinal injury and broken ribs following a two-car collision on Interstate 12Interstate 12
Interstate 12 is an intrastate Interstate Highway located entirely within the state of Louisiana. I-12 starts in Baton Rouge at Interstate 10, and travels along the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain before ending at the intersection of Interstate 10 and Interstate 59 near Slidell...
in Baton Rouge.
The collision occurred near the Essen Lane exit ramp after the secretary of state had left a downtown breakfast meeting. He was transported to Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center where he was in the neurological intensive care unit. He sustained rib fractures, chest bruises, and pelvic and back injuries to the L-2 vertebra, near the base of the spine. Dardenne was reportedly awake and alert. His surgery was completed on August 14.
Secretary of state
Shortly after becoming secretary of state, Dardenne announced that he will personally participate in anti-litter efforts even though such activities are not within the domain of his office. Dardenne told the Press Club of Baton Rouge that he saw too much litter as the traveled the state in his campaign for secretary of state. "The landscape of our state is . . . a window to the world. Anything we can do to call attention to this problem, we will do," Dardenne said.He also successfully pushed to cancel admission fees to the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum in Shreveport and the Old State Capitol and Old Arsenal Museum in Baton Rouge, saying that the financial loss from museum fees will be absorbed in his departmental budget through other cost reductions and that "people ought to be able to enjoy museums free of charge." Dardenne has promoted tourism through his office and has taken a special interest in the creation of the Delta Music Museum
Delta Music Museum
The Delta Music Museum is a museum located in Ferriday, Louisiana. It offers exhibits on sixteen rock and roll and blues musicians from the Mississippi River delta country. The museum opened with a grant from the State of Louisiana and is operated by local volunteers. There is no admission charge;...
and the companion restoration in 2008 of the Arcade Theatre in Ferriday
Ferriday, Louisiana
Ferriday is a town in Concordia Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States. The population, which is three-fourths African American, was 3,723 at the 2000 census....
in Louisiana
Concordia Parish, Louisiana
Concordia Parish borders the Mississippi River in eastern Louisiana. The parish seat is Vidalia. As of 2000, the population was 20,247. It is part of the Natchez, MS–LA Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Prehistory:...
.
In the recent legislative session, Dardenne also pushed for election reform and against establishing satellite voting areas throughout the state and elsewhere for Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
evacuees, similar to those established for the New Orleans mayoral race in 2006 and the 2007 gubernatorial and statewide races. Dardenne proposed that poll commissioner fees be increased, election day hours be shortened, and an early voting period to compensate for the reduced hours on election day.
Dardenne also objected to widespead satellite voting for Katrina evacuees on the basis that it would impose an overwhelming and impossible burden on election workers, stating that "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 received special consideration because no other elections were held on that day. Dardenne did support the reinstatement of absentee voting provisions from the election.
In December 2007, Dardenne named a former state Senate colleague, Tom Schedler
Tom Schedler
John Thomas Schedler, known as Tom Schedler , is a politician from suburban St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, USA, who served as the District 11 Louisiana state senator from 1996 to 2008, when he was term-limited after twelve years...
of St. Tammany Parish
St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana
St. Tammany Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana, in the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area. The parish seat is Covington....
, a Republican, as his chief deputy.
In 2008, Dardenne was mentioned as a possible United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
candidate against incumbent Democrat Mary Landrieu
Mary Landrieu
Mary Loretta Landrieu is the senior United States Senator from the State of Louisiana and a member of the Democratic Party.Born in Arlington, Virginia, Landrieu was raised in New Orleans, Louisiana...
, but the Republican candidate was State Treasurer
State Treasurer
In the state governments of the United States, 49 of the 50 states have the executive position of treasurer. Texas abolished the position of Texas State Treasurer in 1996....
John N. Kennedy
John N. Kennedy
John Neely Kennedy is the Republican state treasurer of Louisiana. He was re-elected without opposition to his fourth term as State Treasurer on September 8, 2011.-Early life and career:...
, a Democrat who switched to the GOP before qualifying for reelection in 2007.
Lieutenant governor
On February 12, 2010, Dardenne announced his intention to run for Lieutenant Governor in the special election held on October 2. Leading a multi-candidate field with 28 percent of the ballots cast, Dardenne advanced to face Democrat Caroline FayardCaroline Fayard
Cathryn Caroline Fayard , daughter of Cynthia Felder Fayard and Calvin Clifford Fayard, Jr., of Springfield, Louisiana, is a Democrat who sought the office of lieutenant governor of Louisiana in the 2010 elections....
, a previously political unknown who enjoyed the backing of former U.S. President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
and trailed with 24 percent of the vote. The two were to meet in the November 2 general election. Three other Republican candidates were eliminated in the primary—Country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer Sammy Kershaw
Sammy Kershaw
Samuel Paul "Sammy" Kershaw is an American country music artist. A third cousin of Cajun fiddler Doug Kershaw and ex-husband of Lorrie Morgan, he has been active in country music since 1991. He has released ten studio albums, with three RIAA platinum certifications and two gold certifications...
(19 percent), St. Tammany Parish
St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana
St. Tammany Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana, in the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area. The parish seat is Covington....
President Kevin Davis (8 percent), and Louisiana Republican Party state chairman Roger F. Villere, Jr.
Roger F. Villere, Jr.
Roger Francis Villere, Jr. is a businessman from Metairie in Jefferson Parish in suburban New Orleans who on March 26, 2004, was elected state chairman of the Louisiana Republican Party by the 144-member GOP State Central Committee. He succeeded Pat Brister of St...
(4 percent)—along with Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Butch Gautreaux
Butch Gautreaux
Dudley Anthony Gautreaux, known as Butch Gautreaux , is a departing Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate from Morgan City, Louisiana. Since 2000, he has represented Senate District 21. In 2012, the reconfigured district will include mostly Republican portions of Iberia, Lafourche, St...
(4 percent), a Louisiana state senator. Kershaw, Davis, and Villere endorsed fellow Republican Dardenne, as Gautreaux supported fellow Democrat Fayard.
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
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, or UL Lafayette, is a coeducational, public research university located in Lafayette, Louisiana, in the heart of Acadiana...
:
- 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.
Dardenne and Fayard appeared on the October 15 episode of the news magazine Louisiana: The State We're In televised by Louisiana Public Broadcasting
Louisiana Public Broadcasting
Louisiana Public Broadcasting is a state-run, viewer-supported state network of Public Broadcasting Service non-commercial educational Public television member stations serving the state of Louisiana outside Greater New Orleans. The stations are operated by the Louisiana Educational Television...
and in an October 22 forum sponsored by the Baton Rouge League of Women Voters
League of Women Voters
The League of Women Voters is an American political organization founded in 1920 by Carrie Chapman Catt during the last meeting of the National American Woman Suffrage Association approximately six months before the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution gave women the right to vote...
.
On October 4, Southeastern Louisiana University
Southeastern Louisiana University
Southeastern Louisiana University is a state-funded public university in Hammond, Louisiana, United States. It was founded in 1925 by Linus A. Sims, the principal of Hammond High School, as Hammond Junior College, located in a wing of the high school building. Sims succeeded in getting the campus...
political scientist Michael Kurt Corbello summarized the runoff election between veteran officeholder Dardenne and political newcomer Fayard as "a very interesting, competitive race."
Political columnist John Maginnis
John Maginnis (Louisiana political writer)
John Maginnis is a writer of columns and commentaries on current political events in Louisiana. His column, always about the latest political event in Louisiana, appears in newspapers and other sources around the state. His web site is read by political analysts nationwide as a barometer of...
joked that
- 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.
The runoff campaign soon turned controversial as Dardenne described Fayard as a supporter of U.S. President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Barack Hussein 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. For further information about the 2010 election, please see Louisiana state elections, 2010#Lieutenant Governor.
2011 reelection
The 2011 regular election for a four-year term as lieutenant governor was similarly raucous, as Dardenne was challenged by fellow Republican William Harold "Billy" NungesserBilly Nungesser
William Harold "Billy" Nungesser is the President of Plaquemines Parish in suburban New Orleans, Louisiana. A Republican, Nungesser was re-elected in the 2010 general election, defeating two other candidates with more than 71% of the vote. His second term began on January 1, 2011...
, president of Plaquemines Parish and the son of the late former Republican Party state chairman William A. "Billy" Nungesser. In a low-turnout race, Dardenne defeated Nungesser, 504,228 votes (53.1 percent) to 444,750 ballots (46.9 percent).
.
Election history
Louisiana State Senate, District 15, 1987Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 24, 1987
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Larry S. Bankston | Democrat | 15,401 (46%) | Runoff |
| John L. "Jay" Dardenne, Jr. | Republican | 10,313 (31%) | Runoff |
| Johnny H. Dykes | Democratic | 3,790 (11%) | Defeated |
| "Chuck" Hall | Republican | 2,046 (6%) | Defeated |
| Others | n.a. | 2,063 (6%) | Defeated |
Second Ballot, November 8, 1987
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Larry S. Bankston | Democratic | 12,619 (51%) | Elected |
| John L. "Jay" Dardenne, Jr. | Republican | 12,332 (49%) | Defeated |
East Baton Rouge Metropolitan Council, District 12, 1988
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 1, 1988
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| John L. "Jay" Dardenne, Jr. | Republican | 5,596 (62%) | Winner |
| Craig S. Watson | Democratic | 2,175 (24%) | Defeated |
| "Pam" Atiyeh | Republican | 1,005 (11%) | Defeated |
| Mike Kolakowski | Democratic | 285 (3%) | Defeated |
Louisiana State Senate, District 16, 1991
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 19, 1991
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Lynda Imes | Republican | 21,679 (48%) | Runoff |
| John L. "Jay" Dardenne, Jr. | Republican | 18,642 (42%) | Runoff |
| Francis Pellegrin | Republican | 2,098 (5%) | Defeated |
| Others | n.a. | 2,391 (5%) | Defeated |
Second Ballot, November 16, 1991
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| John L. "Jay" Dardenne, Jr. | Republican | 26,120 (52%) | Elected |
| Lynda Imes | Republican | 23,934 (48%) | Defeated |
Louisiana State Senate, District 16, 1995
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| John L. "Jay" Dardenne, Jr. | Republican | – | Unopposed |
Louisiana State Senate, District 16, 1999
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| John L. "Jay" Dardenne, Jr. | Republican | – | Unopposed |
Louisiana State Senate, District 16, 2003
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 4, 2003
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Jay Dardenne | Republican | 34,679 (78%) | Elected |
| Chris Warner | Republican | 9,758 (22%) | Defeated |
Secretary of State of Louisiana, 2006
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, September 30, 2006
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| "Jay" Dardenne | Republican | 191,562 (30%) | Runoff |
| Francis C. Heitmeier | Democratic | 179,153 (28%) | Runoff |
| "Mike" Francis | Republican | 168,185 (26%) | Defeated |
| Mary Chehardy | Republican | 56,225 (9%) | Defeated |
| Others | n.a. | 48,802 (13%) | Defeated |
Second Ballot, November 7, 2006
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| "Jay" Dardenne | Republican | – | Elected |
| Francis C. Heitmeier | Democratic | – | Withdrawn |
Secretary of State of Louisiana, 2007
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 20, 2007
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| "Jay" Dardenne | Republican | 757,821 (63%) | Elected |
| "R." Rick Wooley | Democratic | 374,199 (31%) | Defeated |
| Scott Lewis | Independent | 64,723 (5%) | Defeated |
Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, 2010
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 2, 2010
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| "Jay" Dardenne | Republican | 180,944 (28%) | Runoff |
| Caroline Fayard Caroline Fayard Cathryn Caroline Fayard , daughter of Cynthia Felder Fayard and Calvin Clifford Fayard, Jr., of Springfield, Louisiana, is a Democrat who sought the office of lieutenant governor of Louisiana in the 2010 elections.... |
Democratic | 159,507 (24%) | Runoff |
| "Sammy" Kershaw Sammy Kershaw Samuel Paul "Sammy" Kershaw is an American country music artist. A third cousin of Cajun fiddler Doug Kershaw and ex-husband of Lorrie Morgan, he has been active in country music since 1991. He has released ten studio albums, with three RIAA platinum certifications and two gold certifications... |
Republican | 126,166 (19%) | Defeated |
| Kevin Davis | Republican | 51,542 (8%) | Defeated |
| James "Jim" Crowley | Democrat | 51,461 (8%) | Defeated |
| Others | n.a. | 85,496 (13%) | Defeated |
Second Ballot, November 7, 2010
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| "Jay" Dardenne | Republican | 719,271 (57%) | Elected |
| Caroline Fayard | Democratic | 540,649 (43%) | Defeated |
Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, 2010
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 22, 2011
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| John L. "Jay" Dardenne, Jr. | Republican | 504,228 (53%) | Elected |
| Billy Nungesser Billy Nungesser William Harold "Billy" Nungesser is the President of Plaquemines Parish in suburban New Orleans, Louisiana. A Republican, Nungesser was re-elected in the 2010 general election, defeating two other candidates with more than 71% of the vote. His second term began on January 1, 2011... |
Republican | 444,750 (47%) | Defeated |
All election results taken from the Louisiana Secretary of State website.