1. Buddy Leach served as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives and as chairman of the Louisiana Democratic Party.
21 Facts About Buddy Leach
1. 2.
In 2003, Leach was an unsuccessful candidate for governor of Louisiana in an election won by Kathleen Blanco.
3.
Buddy Leach was born in Leesville in Vernon Parish in western Louisiana.
4.
In that same year, Buddy Leach entered Louisiana State University, from which he earned his Bachelor of Science.
5.
Buddy Leach suffered from temporary paralysis but eventually recovered from the disease.
6.
Buddy Leach returned to higher education for law school and, in 1963, he obtained his Juris Doctor from the Louisiana State University Law Center in Baton Rouge.
7.
Buddy Leach sold the business after finding new jobs for all of the employees.
8.
Buddy Leach later became president and CEO of Sweet Lake Land and Oil Company and North American Land Company in Lake Charles in Calcasieu Parish in southwestern Louisiana.
9.
Buddy Leach joined the Democratic Party, which through the mid-20th century was dominated in Louisiana by conservative white members.
10.
In 1968, Buddy Leach was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives.
11.
Buddy Leach's election was marred by the disclosure that he purchased hundreds of votes with moon pies and RC Colas but the majority in the House of Representatives certified him as a member anyway.
12.
In 1983, Buddy Leach sought to regain his former state legislative seat.
13.
In 2003, Buddy Leach launched his gubernatorial campaign, seeking a runoff berth in a crowded field.
14.
Buddy Leach campaigned on changing the operations of state government.
15.
Buddy Leach had teams of volunteers set up in Shreveport, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans.
16.
Buddy Leach came in fourth place in the blanket primary behind Kathleen Blanco, Bobby Jindal, the top two finishers, and Richard Ieyoub.
17.
In 2010, Buddy Leach was elected chairman of the Louisiana Democratic Party in a special election.
18.
Buddy Leach's younger sister, Carolyn Buddy Leach Huntoon, served as director of the Johnson Space Center from 1994 to 1996, and was an assistant secretary in the US Department of Energy from 1999 to 2001.
19.
Buddy Leach was an unsuccessful candidate for the Louisiana Public Service Commission in 2016 for the seat held by the late Clyde C Holloway, a former US representative from Louisiana's 8th congressional district, since disbanded.
20.
Buddy Leach was defeated by Mike Francis of Lafayette, a former Louisiana Republican Party state chairman.
21.
Buddy Leach died from heart failure in Baton Rouge on August 6,2022, aged 88.