[1] On November 2, 2010, Dardenne was elected lieutenant governor when he defeated Caroline Fayard, a young Democrat originally from Denham Springs in Livingston Parish.

His younger brother, Richard James Dardenne (1956-2018), was a basketball and track coach who spent his last years in Fort Worth, Texas.

[6] Dardenne is Jewish[7] and a graduate of Baton Rouge High School and Louisiana State University, from which he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in journalism.

Dardenne is active in social and civic endeavors in his native Baton Rouge and through non-profit organizations throughout Louisiana.

He continued to push unsuccessfully for reforms in the administration of Foster's successor, Democrat Kathleen Babineaux Blanco.

He worked for the creation of a single State Board of Ethics, spearheading reform of the river pilots' system, and reducing government waste as the chairman of the Louisiana Senate Finance Committee.

These exceptions have been included since 1977 in response to women's rights advocates, while abortion opponents argue that they punish the unborn for the crimes of the fathers.

He said that his New Orleans Democratic voter base had been decimated because of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, as tens of thousands of people had to evacuate the city before and after the destructive storm and flooding.

According to Louisiana Political Report, his withdrawal may have been premature in light of the national Democratic sweep in the 2006 midterm elections.

[16] Dardenne, Francis, and two minor Republican candidates together received 54 percent of the vote in the city of New Orleans, the power base for the state Democratic Party, reflecting changed demographics.

Although the region and many citizens were still struggling with disruption due to Hurricane Katrina, he opposed establishing satellite voting areas throughout the state and elsewhere for the evacuees.

On February 12, 2010, Dardenne announced his intention to run for Lieutenant Governor[20] in the special election held on October 2.

Leading a multi-candidate field with 28% of the ballots cast, Dardenne advanced to face Democrat Caroline Fayard, a previously political unknown who enjoyed the backing of former U.S. President Bill Clinton and trailed with 24% of the vote.

[28] Stephanie Grace offered an explanation for Dardenne's emphasis on national political themes as an accommodation to the Tea Party movement in the backdrop of their having worked to defeat Hunt Downer, a veteran officeholder upset by a newcomer, Jeff Landry, in Louisiana's 3rd congressional district's 2010 Republican primary.

[31] In 2012, Dardenne complained of the lack of funds needed for tourism advertising, a main prerogative of the lieutenant governor's office in Louisiana.

On June 15, 2012, Governor Jindal used his line item veto to strip $2 million for tourism advertising from Dardenne's office budget.