In the spring of 1998, Hardcastle won the Republican nomination for House District 68, 65-35 percent over Waco Tabor. He then narrowly won the 1998
general election when he unseated by 257 votes the incumbent
Democrat Charles Adkins Finnell of
Holliday in
Archer County, which was then within District 68. Hardcastle polled 14,854 votes (50.4 percent) to Finnell's 14,597 (49.6 percent). Representative Hardcastle was the chairman of the Agriculture and Livestock Committee in the 2003, 2005, and 2011 legislative sessions. He was a member of the Border and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee in 2007 and in his last regular session in 2011. In 2001,
Phyllis Schlafly's
Eagle Forum rated Hardcastle 73 percent
conservative, compared to 100 percent for subsequent
Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives Tom Craddick of
Midland, among the higher evaluations of Texas lawmakers. Representative Hardcastle voted in 2007 to allow an individual to use deadly force in
self-defense. He opposed a pay increase for public school employees. Hardcastle voted to require photo identification for voting or the presentation of two non-photo ID cards to verify a person's identity. He voted with the House majority to reduce the fee for a
marriage license from $60 to $30. He voted for
casino gambling on
Indian reservations; the measure died in the House on a 66–66 vote. In 2009, Hardcastle voted against House-approved legislation to require retail fish dealers to post warning signs regarding high levels of
mercury in fresh and frozen fish. Hardcastle voted in 2009 to establish a state-funded law school in
Dallas. Physically unable to seek reelection in 2012, Hardcastle has
multiple sclerosis and has undergone adult
stem cell surgery for his condition. On April 18, 2012, Hardcastle was honored at a retirement party attended by many of his legislative colleagues held at the
Red River Valley Museum in Vernon. == References ==