32 Facts About Chuck Hardwick

Charles Leighton Hardwick was an American Republican Party politician and business leader who served as Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly and was a candidate for Governor of New Jersey.

Chuck Hardwick's mother died of heart failure at age 44, when Hardwick was five years old.

Chuck Hardwick was graduated from Florida State University with BS and MBA degrees in 1964.

Chuck Hardwick attended college on a scholarship provided by Wonder Bread.

Chuck Hardwick joined Pfizer Inc in 1966 and held a number of positions in government and public affairs and in marketing before becoming vice president of government and public affairs in 1997.

Chuck Hardwick was appointed senior vice president of government relations and public affairs of Pfizer Inc in March 2001 and previously served as its vice president.

Chuck Hardwick was a senior vice president of worldwide government and public affairs of Pfizer.

Chuck Hardwick retired in 2005 after 39 years with Pfizer.

Chuck Hardwick was a member of the Pfizer Leadership Team, the company's most senior management committee.

Chuck Hardwick spent three months in Vietnam working on the eradication of trachoma, a treatable disease that leads to blindness if untreated.

Chuck Hardwick entered politics in 1974 as a candidate for Fourth Ward Councilman in Westfield, New Jersey.

Chuck Hardwick ran for Union County Freeholder in 1976 against incumbent Democrats Harold Seymour, Thomas Long and Everett Lattimore, but lost.

The good news for Chuck Hardwick was that two years after losing a Council race, he carried Westfield by 4,300 votes.

In 1977, when Assemblyman Frank X McDermott gave up his seat to run for the State Senate, Hardwick became a candidate for the New Jersey General Assembly.

Chuck Hardwick was re-elected in 1979,1981,1983,1985, and 1987.

Chuck Hardwick did not seek re-election in 1989 but instead ran in the Republican gubernatorial primary.

Chuck Hardwick was not a candidate for re-election to an eighth term in 1991.

In 1985, when Minority Leader Dean Gallo resigned to take a seat in the US House of Representatives, Chuck Hardwick was elected Minority Leader.

Chuck Hardwick was assumed to be the next Assembly Speaker and scheduled a vote for the post on the Thursday after Election Day.

Chuck Hardwick became the first Republican Speaker since Kean held the job in 1973.

Chuck Hardwick wrote op-eds often that were published in The New York Times and elsewhere.

Chuck Hardwick was elected President of the Republican State Legislators Association a national organization of the GOP.

Chuck Hardwick was on the executive board of the American Legislative Exchange Council.

Chuck Hardwick picked a public fight with New York Governor Mario Cuomo, attacking New York's income tax on New Jerseyans who commute to New York.

Chuck Hardwick had spent 25 years as a commuter, and his issue had appeared to strike a chord among many GOP primary voters.

Chuck Hardwick received endorsements from some police officer groups and attempted to attract unaffiliated voters of those groups into the Republican primary.

Chuck Hardwick said he is counting heavily on the Right to Life organization, the National Rifle Association and police officers' groups that have endorsed him to bring independent voters to the polls to register as Republicans and vote for him.

Courter won the primary by 27,013 votes over Edwards, 112,326 to 85,313, with Chuck Hardwick finishing third with 85,313 votes.

Chuck Hardwick served on the Boards of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, New Jersey After 3, Inc and the Academic Alliance Foundation.

Chuck Hardwick managed his first campaign for the State Assembly.

Chuck Hardwick spent his final years in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Chuck Hardwick died from complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Florida, on February 19,2025, at the age of 83.