1952 Louisiana gubernatorial election

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1952 Louisiana Democratic gubernatorial primary
Flag of Louisiana (1912-2006).svg
  1948 February 19, 1952 1956  
  Robert F. Kennon portrait.jpg 3x4.svg
Candidate Robert F. Kennon Carlos Spaht
Party Democratic Democratic
Alliance Independent Longite
Popular vote482,302302,743
Percentage61.44%38.56%

Louisiana Governor Election Results by Parish, 1952.svg
Parish results
Kennon:     50-60%     60-70%     70-80%     >90%
Spaht:     50-60%     60-70%

Governor before election

Earl K. Long
Democratic

Elected Governor

Robert F. Kennon
Democratic

The 1952 Louisiana gubernatorial election was held in two rounds on January 15 and February 19, 1952. Like most Southern states between the Reconstruction Era and the Civil Rights Movement, Louisiana's Republican Party was virtually nonexistent in terms of electoral support.

Contents

This meant that the two Democratic Party primary elections held on these dates were the real contest over who would be governor of Louisiana. The 1952 election saw the defeat of Long candidate Carlos Spaht, and the election of Robert F. Kennon as governor.

In the low-turnout general election held on April 22, 1952, Kennon defeated Harrison Bagwell, a Baton Rouge lawyer and only the second Louisiana Republican gubernatorial nominee since Reconstruction. Kennon received 118,723 votes (96 percent) to Bagwell's 4,958 votes (4 percent). [1]

Results

First Democratic Party Primary, January 15

CandidateVotes receivedPercent
Carlos Spaht 173,98722.84%
Robert F. Kennon 163,43421.46%
Hale Boggs 142,54218.71%
James M. McLemore 116,40515.28%
William J. "Bill" Dodd 90,92511.94%
Dudley J. LeBlanc 62,9068.26%
Kermit Parker 5,4700.72%
Lucille May Grace 4,8320.63%
Cliff Liles 1,2330.16%
Total761,734

Second Democratic Party Primary, February 19

CandidateVotes receivedPercent
Robert F. Kennon 482,30261.44%
Carlos Spaht 302,74338.56%
Total785,045
Preceded by
1948 gubernatorial election
Louisiana gubernatorial elections Succeeded by
1956 gubernatorial election

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References

  1. Michael J. Dubin (17 March 2014). United States Gubernatorial Elections, 1932-1952: The Official Results by State and County. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company. pp. 103–104. ISBN   978-0-7864-7034-1 . Retrieved January 6, 2015.

Sources

Louisiana Secretary of State. Democratic Primary Election Returns, 1952.