1972 Louisiana gubernatorial election

1972 Louisiana gubernatorial election

←  1968 February 1, 1972 1975  →

Nominee Edwin Edwards David Treen Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 641,146 480,424 Percentage 57.17% 42.83%

Parish results Edwards:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Treen:      50–60%     60–70%

Governor before election John McKeithen Democratic Elected Governor Edwin Edwards Democratic

The 1972 Louisiana gubernatorial election was held on February 1, 1972. Edwin Edwards defeated Republican candidate David Treen to become Governor of Louisiana.

Edwards's victory was the first time a Roman Catholic had been elected to the state's governorship since Francis T. Nicholls left office in 1892. ^[1]

Party primaries were held on November 6, 1971, and a run-off was held for the Democratic nomination on December 18, 1971. These were the last closed primaries for Governor of Louisiana before the state adopted its current primary election system.

This was also the last gubernatorial election not to take place in an off-year, as all elections starting from 1975 would take place one year before a presidential election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Taddy Aycock, Lieutenant Governor
• Samuel Bell Sr.
• Harold Lee Bethune II
• David L. Chandler
• Huey P. Coleman
• Jimmie Davis, former Governor from 1944 to 1948 and 1960 to 1964
• Edwin Edwards, U.S. Representative from Crowley
• J. Bennett Johnston, State Senator from Shreveport
• Gillis Long, former U.S. Representative from Alexandria
• Speedy Long, U.S. Representative from LaSalle Parish
• Warren J. "Puggy" Moity
• James Moore
• Frank T. Salter Jr.
• John G. Schwegman, grocery store magnate and State Senator from Metairie
• Jimmy Strain, pediatrician and State Representative from Shreveport
• Addison Roswell Thompson, perennial candidate and white supremacist

Campaign

Early in the campaign, conventional wisdom of many political analysts predicted that the race's top candidates would be Gillis Long, Jimmie Davis, and C.C. "Taddy" Aycock. ^[2] However, the two candidates to make the runoff, Edwin Edwards and J. Bennett Johnston, were relative newcomers to the Louisiana political scene, despite Edwards' Congressional tenure. ^[3]

Cousins Gillis and Speedy Long both ran in a rematch of their 1964 primary race for Congress when Speedy unseated Gillis. Ironically, Gillis reclaimed that House seat the next year when Speedy retired after Edwards and the Louisiana Legislature redistricted him into the same district as longtime incumbent Otto Passman.

Results

1971 Democratic gubernatorial primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Edwin Edwards	276,397	23.54%
	Democratic	J. Bennett Johnston	208,830	17.79%
	Democratic	Gillis William Long	164,276	13.99%
	Democratic	Jimmie H. Davis	138,756	11.82%
	Democratic	John G. Schwegmann	92,072	7.84%
	Democratic	Taddy Aycock	88,465	7.54%
	Democratic	Samuel Bell Sr.	72,486	6.17%
	Democratic	Speedy Long	61,359	5.23%
	Democratic	Frank T. Salter Jr.	32,203	2.74%
	Democratic	James Moore	9,408	0.80%
	Democratic	Warren J. "Puggy" Moity	8,965	0.76%
	Democratic	David L. Chandler	7,244	0.62%
	Democratic	Huey P. Coleman	4,833	0.41%
	Democratic	Harold Lee Bethune II	3,032	0.26%
	Democratic	Wilford L. Thompson Sr.	2,535	0.21%
	Democratic	Addison Roswell Thompson	1,924	0.16%
	Democratic	Jimmy Strain	1,258	0.11%
Total votes			1,182,043	100.00%

Run-off

1971 Democratic gubernatorial run-off

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Edwin Edwards	584,262	50.19%	26.65
	Democratic	J. Bennett Johnston	579,774	49.81%	32.02
Total votes			1,164,036	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

• Robert Max Ross
• Dave Treen, a Congressman who eventually served as Louisiana Governor from 1980 to 1984 (when he was defeated in 1983 for re-election by Edwin W. Edwards, who was making a return to the governorship after having been term-limited from running for re-election in 1979).

Campaign

The GOP primary with only two candidates and a lopsided victory for Treen led the New York Times to characterize it as "the most concentrated Republican campaign for state office in recent history." ^[1]

Results

1971 Republican gubernatorial primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dave Treen	9,732	92.06%
	Republican	Robert Max Ross	839	7.94%
Total votes			10,571	100.00%

General election

Campaign

Edwards and Treen both "jabbed consistently at corruption and in efficiency in government and promised to shore up the state's financial condition." ^[1]

Treen had never previously been elected to public office, and Edwards focused on his experience in contrast to Treen's lack of it. Treen argued that Edwards couldn't be a true reform candidate due to his experience. ^[1]

If Treen had been elected, he would have been the first Republican occupant of the Louisiana governorship since 1877. ^[1]

Results

1972 Louisiana gubernatorial election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Edwin Edwards	641,146	57.2%	42.8
	Republican	Dave Treen	480,424	42.8%	N/A
Total votes			1,121,570	100.00%

Sources

Louisiana Secretary of State. Primary Election Returns, 1971

References

1. "Democrat Is Winner in Election For Governorship of Louisiana". New York Times. February 2, 1972. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
2. "2 New Faces Top Primary In Louisiana". Toledo Blade. November 8, 1971. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
3. "New Faces Winning In Louisiana". Miami News. November 8, 1971. Retrieved June 28, 2012.