James Kenneth Ard (born December 18, 1963) is an American politician who served as the 88th lieutenant governor of South Carolina from January 12, 2011 to March 9, 2012.
Ard was a rising star within the South Carolina Republican Party before ethics investigations caused his political career to collapse.
[3] Following the Ethics Commission investigation, a state grand jury indicted Ard on "seven counts of ethics violations over his mishandling of money during that 2010 race, including converting campaign funds for tickets to the SEC championship football game in Atlanta, buying clothes and a flat-screen TV and having a confidant dole out $100 bills from a paper bag.
[3] Five months after pleading guilty and resigning as lieutenant governor, Ard became a talk radio show host on WFRK (95.3 FM) in Florence, South Carolina.
[4] The Post & Courier described Ard as "a libertarian-leaning conservative with a mix of other strains of thought who's not afraid to say whatever comes to his mind" and that his show gained local popularity.