Elbert Lee Guillory (born June 24, 1944)[1] is an American politician who is a former member of the Louisiana State Senate.

[5] His Catholic father, Ozema Ledee (28 February 1903 - 4 January 2005),[6] was an entrepreneur and an adventurer who flew his own plane, a rarity for a black man in the 1950s.

[12] In accepting the award, Guillory compared himself to 19th-century abolitionist Frederick Douglass, a Republican who had supported Abraham Lincoln.

[13] Guillory's conservative political philosophy was indicated in his pre-2007 membership in the Republican Party, according to the Daily Kos,[14] Guillory explained his 2013 party switch in a 4-minute 17-second video widely circulated in state and national media outlets, including the radio programs of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Moon Griffon as well as by Neil Cavuto on Fox News.

[15] Soon after re-joining the Republican Party, Guillory founded the Free at Last PAC, a political action committee dedicated to electing black conservatives to office.

[16] The Baton Rouge Advocate in an editorial asserted that Guillory's switch to the Republicans "favors the GOP's efforts to broaden its base".

[17] Within days of Guillory's change of parties, Jim Shannon of KLTV-TV speculated that Guillory would become a candidate for lieutenant governor in the 2015 state elections, when Jay Dardenne stepped down to run unsuccessfully against Democrat John Bel Edwards and fellow Republican U.S.

[22] Guillory was eliminated after placing 5th in the jungle primary held on November 8, 2016, with 7% of the vote, thus not making the runoff election.