Omari J. Hardy (born November 28, 1989) is an American politician and former member of the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

from the 88th district. He assumed office on November 3, 2020, and left in January 2022 following a congressional election defeat.

Early life and education

Hardy was born in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

Career

Hardy previously worked as an educator, and served as a member of the

Lake Worth Beach, Florida Lake Worth Beach, previously named Lake Worth, is a city in east-central Palm Beach County, Florida, United States, located about north of Miami. The city's name is derived from the body of water along its eastern border known as the Lake Worth ...

City Commission. In March 2020, a YouTube video of an emergency commission meeting, in which Hardy sparred with then Lake Worth Beach Mayor Pam Triolo, went viral. Prior to his election to the

in November 2020, Hardy resigned from the commission to remain on the general election ballot. During debate in the House Chambers, Hardy drew statewide attention when he stated that Republican Representative Michelle Salzman called Republican Representative Webster Barnaby a "token black republican."

2022 congressional special election

In April 2021, Hardy announced his candidacy for

Florida's 20th congressional district Florida's 20th congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in Southeast Florida. It is currently held by Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who was elected in a January 2022 special election, following the death of Alcee Hasting ...

in a special election to succeed

Alcee Hastings Alcee Lamar Hastings ( ; September 5, 1936 – April 6, 2021) was an American politician and judge from the state of Florida. Hastings was nominated to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida by President Jimmy Cart ...

, who had passed away earlier that month after a multi-year battle with pancreatic cancer. Hardy ran on a progressive platform, pledging support for

Medicare for All Single-payer healthcare is a type of universal healthcare in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system (hence "single-payer"). Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from p ...

and the

Green New Deal Green New Deal (GND) proposals call for public policy to address climate change along with achieving other social aims like job creation and reducing economic inequality. The name refers back to the New Deal, a set of social and economic refo ...

. Hardy declared his support for the boycott, divestment and sanctions of Israel, stating "...You have to speak the truth. You have to be clear about the difference between right and wrong" and indicated support for Palestinians. The centrist pro-Israel group

Democratic Majority for Israel The Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI) is a centrist or left-leaning American advocacy group that supports pro-Israel policies among the United States Democratic Party's political leaders. DMFI was founded in January 2019 in reaction to pol ...

released campaign ads accusing Hardy of antisemitism because of his support for

Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's obligations ...

and his opposition to funding for the

Iron Dome Iron Dome ( he, כִּפַּת בַּרְזֶל, Kippat Barzel) is a mobile all-weather air defense system developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries. The system is designed to intercept and destroy short- ...

, an Israeli air defense system. Hardy was defeated, garnering just under 6% of the vote.

References

External links

Florida House of Representatives - Omari HardyCampaign website
Living people 1989 births People from Fort Lauderdale, Florida University of Miami alumni Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives People from Lake Worth Beach, Florida 21st-century American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians African-American state legislators in Florida 20th-century African-American people Candidates in the 2021 United States elections {{Florida-politician-stub