Kit Francis Clardy (June 17, 1892 – September 5, 1961) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. He was also known as Michigan's McCarthy, referring to his affinity for the controversial anti-communist U.S. SenatorJoseph McCarthy.
In May 1954 he conducted another HUAC hearing in Flint, Michigan, in which he reportedly "not only abused the witnesses but incited violence against them." Recalling how in 1937 college youths had thrown union organizers for the UAW-CIO into the Red Cedar River. He said, "I was proud of those kids. They should also have tossed into the river the then Governor, the late Frank Murphy." Reportedly, "Clardy's conduct of the hearing contributed to the lynch spirit which swept the city. A number of workers were dragged from their jobs in automobile plants by lynch gangs and beaten; hostile witnesses were evicted from their homes; their families had to go into hiding to escape the fury of mob hoodlums; the office of the lawyer for the witnesses was smeared with red paint."[3]
Clardy was defeated in the general election by Hayworth in 1954. In 1956, Clardy lost the Republican primary to Charles E. Chamberlain, who went on to defeat Hayworth in the general election.
