Porter Hardy Jr. (June 1, 1903 – April 19, 1995) was a farmer, businessman and

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

politician who represented

Virginia's 2nd congressional district Virginia's second congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It currently encompasses all of Accomack, Northampton, and York Counties; all of the independent cities of Virginia Beach and Willia ...

in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

for more than two decades, including supporting the Byrd Organization during Massive Resistance.

Early and family life

Born in

Bon Air, Virginia Bon Air is a census-designated place (CDP) in Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States. The population was 16,366 at the 2010 census. The community is considered a suburb of the independent city of Richmond in the Richmond-Petersburg regi ...

, Hardy attended public schools and

Randolph-Macon Academy Randolph-Macon Academy (R-MA) is a coeducational private boarding school with an elite Air Force JROTC component. R-MA serves students in grades 6-12 and maintains 100% college acceptance rate every year with each class averaging over $14 million ...

Bedford, Virginia Bedford is an incorporated town and former independent city located within Bedford County in the U.S. state of Virginia. It serves as the county seat of Bedford County. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,657. It is part of the Lynchbur ...

. He graduated from Boykins High School in 1918, and from Randolph-Macon College,

Ashland, Virginia Ashland is a town in Hanover County, Virginia, United States, located north of Richmond along Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 7,225, up from 6,619 at the 2000 census. Ashland is named after the Le ...

, in 1922, then attended the Graduate School of Business Administration at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1923 and 1924.

Career

Hardy worked as an accountant and warehouse manager in New York City and Norfolk, Virginia from 1924 to 1927. He then became a wholesaler of electrical equipment in

Salisbury, Maryland Salisbury () is a city in and the county seat of Wicomico County, Maryland, United States, and the largest city in the state's Eastern Shore region. The population was 33,050 at the 2020 census. Salisbury is the principal city of the Salisbury ...

from 1927 to 1932, before moving to

Churchland, Virginia Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval Me ...

, in 1932, to farm. Although the Byrd Organization controlled much of the state, the Congressional District that included the cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth and Suffolk and Norfolk, Nansemond, Suffolk, Isle of Hardy and Princess Anne Counties had elected five different congressmen in the previous decade, a national record that Hardy ended. He won election to the Eightieth and ten succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1969) before announcing his retirement after 22 years. Hardy investigated waste in federal operations as chairman of the House Armed Services Sub-committee.Alf J. and Ramona H. Mapp, Portsmouth: a pictorial history (Norfolk: The Donning Company ISMN 0-898650744-x) p. 187 As did other Byrd Organization members, Hardy signed the 1956 Southern Manifesto that opposed the desegregation of public schools ordered by the Supreme Court in ''

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segrega ...

''. After his legislative retirement as the Byrd Organization collapsed, Hardy continued to serve as a director of Dominion Bankshares Corporation and other Virginia financial institutions. He died April 19, 1995, and was interred at Eastern Shore Chapel Cemetery, in

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

Electoral history

*1946; Hardy was elected to Congress defeating Republican Sidney H. Kelsey, winning 65.66% of the vote. *1948; Hardy was re-elected defeating Republican Walter E. Hoffman, Independent Jerry O. Gilliam, and Socialist Sidney Moore, winning 61.15% of the vote. *1950; Hardy was re-elected unopposed. *1952; Hardy was re-elected unopposed. *1954; Hardy was re-elected defeating Republican George V. Credle, winning 74.45% of the vote. *1956; Hardy was re-elected defeating Republican William R. Burns, winning 76.43% of the vote. *1958; Hardy was re-elected unopposed. *1960; Hardy was re-elected defeating Republican Louis B. Fine, winning 75.94% of the vote. *1962; Hardy was re-elected defeating Republican Fine, winning 74.96% of the vote. *1964; Hardy was re-elected defeating Republican Wayne Lustig and Independent H. Grady Speers, winning 68.73% of the vote. *1966; Hardy was re-elected unopposed.

References

Sources

1903 births 1995 deaths People from Bon Air, Virginia Randolph–Macon College alumni Harvard Business School alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia 20th-century American politicians {{Virginia-Representative-stub