James Allison Hayes

A Representative from Louisiana; born in Lafayette, La., December 21, 1946; attended public schools; B.S., University of Southwestern Louisiana, Lafayette, 1967; J.D., Tulane University Law School, New Orleans, 1970; sergeant, Louisiana Air National Guard, 1968-1974; admitted to the Louisiana State bar in 1970 and commenced practice in New Orleans; real estate developer; assistant district attorney; commissioner, Financial Institutions for the State of Louisiana, 1984-1985; elected as a Democrat to the One Hundredth and to the four succeeding Congresses and served from January 3, 1987, to December 1, 1995, when he changed his party affiliation to Republican; continued serving as a Republican in the One Hundred Fourth Congress until January 2, 1997; was not a candidate in 1996 for reelection to the United States House of Representatives, but was an unsuccessful candidate for nomination to the United States Senate.