Charlie Hardy

Charlie Hardy (born 1939) is an American former Catholic priest, educator, writer, and speaker. He has run for office as a Republican and Democrat in several elections in the state of Wyoming. His 2014 senate campaign is the subject of the 2017 documentary film Charlie vs. Goliath.

Early life and education Hardy was born in 1939 in Cheyenne, Wyoming. His parents were immigrants from Austria. He has four sisters.

Hardy received a BA in Philosophy from St. Thomas Seminary in Denver, Colorado. He then received a MA in Religious Education from St. Thomas Seminary. He received a MA in Education Administration from the University of Wyoming. He received a BA in Sacred Theology from the Catholic University of America.

Work Hardy was a Catholic priest for 29 years in parishes in Cheyenne, Laramie, Rock Springs, and Casper. He was superintendent of Wyoming Catholic schools.

From 1982 to 1993, Hardy was a missionary in South America, living for eight years in a cardboard-and-tin shack on the outskirts of Caracas.

In 1994, Hardy left the priesthood to marry Susana Gonzalez. From the marriage, he has a stepson. They divorced six years later. He wrote about uprisings in Venezuela in 1989.

After leaving Venezuela, Hardy had many different jobs, including drug testing those on board over 200 oil tankers, cargo ships, and platforms in the Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean.

In 2011, he returned to living in Wyoming. In 2012, he started working as a substitute teacher for junior high and high schools in Cheyenne.

Hardy has traveled over a million miles on Wyoming highways, all 50 of the United States and over 30 countries.

Political career

Hardy first had the idea to run for office after completing a 10-day retreat in which he took a vow of silence, only talking for an hour per day with a priest.

2012 In 2012, Hardy decided to run as an independent in the election for Wyoming's at-large congressional district. To get on the ballot, he needed 3,746 signatures, so he and 100 volunteers went door to door gathering signatures. The effort feel short by a few hundred signatures.

Hardy raised approximately $50,000, mostly from people he knew. Enzi raised more than $3 million.

After his loss, Hardy stated that he believed that campaign finance reform in the form of federal funding for elections could have helped him win.

2016 In 2016, Hardy ran as Democrat for Wyoming's at-large congressional district. He was defeated by Ryan Greene in the Democratic primary on August 16, 2016. Liz Cheney won the Republican primary and won the seat.

2018 In 2018, Hardy switched parties from Democrat to Republican in order to run in the Senate primary against John Barrasso. He changed parties after becoming pessimistic that a Democrat could win in heavily Republican state like Wyoming. He called himself "Eisenhower Republican", referring to President Eisenhower, who warned against spending too much on the military industrial complex in his farewell address.

During his campaign, Hardy advocated for universal health coverage and a major increase in the federal minimum wage.

In a Q&A with Casper Star-Tribune, Hardy described healthcare costs, college debt, the difficulty of receiving a living wage from a 40-hour workweek, getting "big money out of politics", and focussing on peace building rather than further continuing the military-industrial complex as the most pressing issues for Wyoming and the United States. Hardy endorsed David Dodson in his bid against incumbent, John Barrasso.

Charlie vs. Goliath Hardy's 2014 Senate campaign is the subject of the 2017 documentary film Charlie vs. Goliath. The film follows Hardy and his team of four volunteers as their campaign tour makes its way around Wyoming, from the Tetons to Casper.

The film premiered at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in February 2017. It also screened at the Sun Valley Film Festival.

The film had its broadcast premiere on the PBS program America ReFramed on October 30, 2018.

Personal life Hardy has jogged 3 miles a day for over 30 years. He credits his good health to running.