Buddy Leach facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Buddy Leach
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| Chair of the Louisiana Democratic Party | |
| In office January 31, 2010 – April 28, 2012 |
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| Preceded by | Chris Whittington |
| Succeeded by | Karen Carter Peterson |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana's 4th district |
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| In office January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1981 |
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| Preceded by | Joe D. Waggonner |
| Succeeded by | Buddy Roemer |
| Member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from the Allen, Beauregard, and Vernon parishes | |
| In office 1968–1979 |
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| Preceded by | Bert A. Adams |
| Succeeded by | William H. West |
| In office 1984–1988 |
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| Preceded by | William H. West |
| Succeeded by | John R. Smith |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Anthony Claude Leach Jr.
March 30, 1934 Leesville, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Died | August 6, 2022 (aged 88) Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Louisiana State University (BA, JD) |
| Occupation | Businessman; attorney |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1956–1959 |
Anthony Claude Leach Jr. (born March 30, 1934 – died August 6, 2022), known as Buddy Leach, was an American politician from Louisiana. He was also a businessman, a lawyer, and served in the military. Buddy Leach was a member of the Democratic Party.
He served as a U.S. Representative for Louisiana. He was also a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives. Later, he led the Louisiana Democratic Party as its chairman. In 2003, he ran for governor of Louisiana but did not win.
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Early Life and Education
Buddy Leach was born in Leesville. This town is in Vernon Parish in western Louisiana. He finished high school in Leesville. In 1951, he started college at Louisiana State University. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree there.
In 1954, Buddy Leach was diagnosed with polio. This disease caused him to be temporarily paralyzed. Luckily, he recovered from it.
After college, he joined the United States Army. He served from 1956 to 1959. Later, he went back to school for law. In 1963, he earned his law degree from the Louisiana State University Law Center. This law school is in Baton Rouge.
In 1964, he became a lawyer. He started his own law practice in Leesville.
Business Career
After his father passed away, Buddy Leach took over the family's plumbing business. He made sure all the employees found new jobs before he sold the business.
Later, he became a top leader for two land and oil companies. These companies were Sweet Lake Land and Oil Company and North American Land Company. They were located in Lake Charles. This city is in Calcasieu Parish in southwestern Louisiana.
Serving in Government
Buddy Leach joined the Democratic Party. In Louisiana, this party was mostly made up of conservative white members during the mid-1900s.
In 1968, Leach was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives. This is part of Louisiana's state government. He served for several terms.
In 1979, he decided to run for a bigger role. He ran for U.S. Representative for Louisiana's 4th congressional district. He won this election. However, in 1980, he lost his seat to another Democrat, Buddy Roemer. Roemer later became a Republican.
In 1983, Leach ran again for his old state legislative seat. He won against the person who held the seat at the time. In his last term as a state lawmaker, he worked on the House Ways and Means Committee. He suggested a tax on foreign oil that was processed in Louisiana.
Running for Governor
In 2003, Buddy Leach decided to run for governor of Louisiana. Many people were running for this position. He wanted to change how the state government worked. He talked about "scrubbing the budget" to find ways to save money.
Since he had polio as a child, health care in Louisiana was very important to him. Many young voters liked his campaign's message. He had teams of volunteers in cities like Shreveport, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans.
Other candidates in the race included Kathleen Blanco, who was the lieutenant governor. Richard Ieyoub, the state attorney general, also ran. The Republicans had Bobby Jindal as their candidate.
Buddy Leach finished in fourth place in the primary election. Kathleen Blanco and Bobby Jindal were the top two. Kathleen Blanco later won the main election against Bobby Jindal.
Leading the Democratic Party
In 2010, Buddy Leach was chosen to be the chairman of the Louisiana Democratic Party. This meant he was the leader of the party in the state.
During his time as chairman, the party found it hard to find candidates for statewide elections. This was different from when Leach first started in politics. Back then, Louisiana was mostly a Democratic state.
In 2011, the party could not find a strong candidate to run against Governor Bobby Jindal. For the first time in a long time, Republicans won control of both parts of the state legislature. On April 28, 2012, Buddy Leach lost his bid to be reelected as party chairman. Karen Carter Peterson became the new leader.
Family Life
Buddy Leach had a younger sister named Carolyn Leach Huntoon. She was the director of the Johnson Space Center from 1994 to 1996. She also worked for the U.S. Department of Energy from 1999 to 2001.
Buddy Leach's oldest daughter, Mary Leach Werner, also became involved in politics. She ran for the Louisiana Public Service Commission in 2016 but did not win.
Death
Buddy Leach passed away from heart failure in Baton Rouge on August 6, 2022. He was 88 years old.
