1979 Louisiana lieutenant gubernatorial election

1979 Louisiana lieutenant gubernatorial election

←  1975 27 October 1979 (first round) 8 December 1979 (runoff) 1983  →

Candidate Robert Louis Freeman Sr. Jim Donelon Jesse Monroe Knowles Party Democratic Democratic Democratic First round 546,837 43.00% 328,907 25.86% 283,256 22.27% Runoff 679,032 51.66% 635,466 48.34% Eliminated

Lieutenant Governor before election Jimmy Fitzmorris Democratic Elected Lieutenant Governor Robert Louis Freeman Sr. Democratic

The 1979 Louisiana lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on 8 December 1979 in order to elect the lieutenant governor of Louisiana. Democratic candidate and incumbent member of the Louisiana House of Representatives Robert Louis Freeman Sr. defeated fellow Democratic candidate Jim Donelon in the Runoff election.

Background

This was the first lieutenant gubernatorial election held after the adoption of the Louisiana primary in 1978. ^[1] Elections in Louisiana—with the exception of U.S. presidential elections—follow a variation of the open primary system called the jungle primary or the nonpartisan blanket primary. Candidates of any and all parties are listed on one ballot; voters need not limit themselves to the candidates of one party. Unless one candidate takes more than 50% of the vote in the first round, a run-off election is then held between the top two candidates, who may in fact be members of the same party. Texas uses this same format for its special elections. In this election, the first round of voting was held on 27 October 1979. The runoff was held on 8 December 1979. ^[2]

Primary election

On election day, 27 October 1979, Democratic candidates Robert Louis Freeman Sr. and Jim Donelon received the most votes and thus advanced to a runoff election on 8 December. ^[3]

Results

Louisiana lieutenant gubernatorial primary election, 1979

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Robert Louis Freeman Sr.	546,837	43.00
	Democratic	Jim Donelon	328,907	25.86
	Democratic	Jesse Monroe Knowles	283,256	22.27
	Republican	R. C. Kiger II	46,847	3.68
	Democratic	William Bowen	35,964	2.83
	Democratic	Clyde Vidrine	20,444	1.61
	Democratic	Lawrence Heaslip	9,581	0.75
Total votes			1,271,836	100.00

Runoff election

On election day, 8 December 1979, Democratic candidate Robert Louis Freeman Sr. defeated fellow Democratic candidate Jim Donelon by a margin of 43,566 votes, thereby retaining Democratic control over the office of lieutenant governor. Freeman was sworn in as the 47th Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana on 10 March 1980. ^[4]

Results

Louisiana lieutenant gubernatorial runoff election, 1979

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Robert Louis Freeman Sr.	679,032	51.66
	Democratic	Jim Donelon	635,466	48.34
Total votes			1,314,498	100.00
	Democratic hold

References

1. Wayne, Stephen (2008). Parties and Elections in America: The Electoral Process Fifth Edition. Rowman & Littlefield.
2. "New Count Gives G.O.P. Victory In Louisiana's Race for Governor". The New York Times. 1979-12-12. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 8 July 2025.
3. "LA Lt. Governor - Initial Election". ourcampaigns.com. 19 February 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
4. "LA Lt. Governor - Runoff". ourcampaigns.com. 19 February 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2025.