1986 United States Senate election in Louisiana

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1986 United States Senate election in Louisiana
Flag of Louisiana (1912-2006).svg
  1980 September 27, 1986 (general election)
November 4, 1986 (runoff)
1992  
  John Breaux.jpg Henson Moore 1977 congressional photo.jpg 3x4.svg
Nominee John Breaux Henson Moore Samuel B. Nunez Jr.
Party Democratic Republican Democratic
General election447,328
37.36%
529,433
44.22%
73,505
6.14%
Runoff723,586
52.82%
646,311
47.18%
Eliminated

1986 United States Senate election in Louisiana results by parish map.svg
1986 United States Senate runoff election in Louisiana results map by parish.svg
Breaux:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Moore:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     80–90%
Nunez:     40–50%
Jumonville:     50–60%

U.S. senator before election

Russell B. Long
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

John Breaux
Democratic

The 1986 United States Senate election in Louisiana was held on November 4, 1986. Democratic nominee John Breaux defeated Republican nominee Henson Moore with 52.82% of the vote.

Contents

Campaign

U.S. Senator Russell B. Long declined to seek another term in the 1986 election. Republican candidate Moore placed first ahead of Democratic candidate Breaux in the primary. [1]

President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H.W. Bush campaigned in the state two and four times respectively. [2]

Two weeks before the election Judge Dickinson R. Debevoise unsealed an internal memo between Kris Wolfe, the regional director for the Republican National Committee, and Lanny Griffith, the RNC's regional director in the south. The memo was about their usage of Ballot Integrity Groups to "eliminate at least 60-80,000 folks from the rolls" as "this could keep the black vote down considerably". The purge targeted precincts that gave Reagan less than 20% of the vote and removed 34,000 black voters from the rolls in Louisiana. [2] [3]

Moore denied involvement with the scheme, but one of his campaign staffers was mentioned in the memo. Breaux accused the Republicans of conducting a Watergate coverup and voter registration rolls increased by 38,054 before the election. Breaux defeated Moore in the election. [4]

Breaux received 89% of the black vote. [5]

Primary election

Primary elections were held on September 27, 1986. [6]

Candidates

Results

1986 United States Senate primary election in Louisiana [6]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Henson Moore 529,433 44.22
Democratic John Breaux 447,328 37.36
Democratic Samuel B. Nunez Jr. 73,5056.14
Democratic J. E. Jumonville Jr. 53,3944.46
Democratic Sherman A. Bernard 52,4794.38
Democratic Eli Williams7,2860.61
Democratic Robert H. Briggs6,9530.58
Independent Frank J. McTopy6,7460.56
Democratic Fred Collins5,3410.45
Democratic John H. Myers4,0840.34
Democratic Ken Lewis3,4150.29
Independent Vincent Giardina2,6400.22
Republican Robert M. Ross2,4930.21
Independent Nels J'Anthony2,1440.18
Total votes1,197,241 100.00

General election

Candidates

Results

1986 United States Senate election in Louisiana [7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic John Breaux 723,586 52.82%
Republican Henson Moore 646,31147.18%
Majority77,275
Turnout 1,369,897
Democratic hold Swing

See also

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References

  1. Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991, p. 74-75.
  2. 1 2 Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991, p. 75.
  3. "G.O.P. Memo Tells of Black Vote Cut". The New York Times . October 25, 1986. Archived from the original on July 23, 2023.
  4. Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991, p. 75-76.
  5. Black & Black 1992, p. 356.
  6. 1 2 "Results for Election Date: 9/27/1986". Voterportal.sos.la.gov. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  7. "Results for Election Date: 11/4/1986". Voterportal.sos.la.gov. Retrieved November 18, 2018.

Works cited