Jay Stanley Blanchard (born 1946) served one term as a state senator in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, representing District 30 for the Democrats. Born in

Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, Blanchard is a former naval flight officer who received a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in Reading Education from the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

in 1979. In 2000, Blanchard was the token Democratic Senate candidate in the heavily Republican East Mesa district when his opponent House Speaker Republican Jeff Groscost became enmeshed in the "alt fuels" scandal that tarnished the end of Gov. Jane Hull's second term. Blanchard won in a surprising upset, giving Democrats a 15–15 split with Republicans in the Arizona Senate. Two years later, Blanchard ran for Superintendent of Public Instruction, and was defeated by Republican

Tom Horne Thomas Charles Horne (born March 28, 1945) is an American politician, attorney, businessman, and activist who has served as the Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction since 2023 and previously from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Republican P ...

. Prior to becoming a senator, Blanchard was a professor of psychology in education at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

. He has written three education-related books and numerous articles. After leaving politics, Blanchard returned to ASU and is currently serving as a member of the state's School District Redistricting Commission.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blanchard, Jay 1946 births Living people Arizona Democrats Arizona State University faculty Politicians from Des Moines, Iowa Politicians from Mesa, Arizona University of Georgia alumni