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Elections in Louisiana |
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The Louisiana gubernatorial election of 1940 was held in two rounds on January 16 and February 20, 1940. 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. This meant that the two Democratic Party primaries held on these dates were the real contest over who would be governor. The election resulted in the defeat of Earl K. Long and the election of Sam H. Jones as governor of Louisiana on a reform platform.
Louisiana is a state in the Deep South region of the South Central United States. It is the 31st most extensive and the 25th most populous of the 50 United States. Louisiana is bordered by the state of Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, Mississippi to the east, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. A large part of its eastern boundary is demarcated by the Mississippi River. Louisiana is the only U.S. state with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are equivalent to counties. The state's capital is Baton Rouge, and its largest city is New Orleans.
The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP, is one of the two major political parties in the United States; the other is its historic rival, the Democratic Party.
The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Democratic Party was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party.
Richard Webster Leche was an American attorney, judge, and politician, elected as the 44th Governor of the U.S. state of Louisiana. He served from 1936 until 1939, when he resigned. Convicted on federal charges of misuse of federal funds, Leche was the first Louisiana chief executive to be imprisoned.
Huey Pierce Long Jr., nicknamed "The Kingfish", was an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and was a member of the United States Senate from 1932 until his assassination in 1935. As the political leader of Louisiana, he commanded wide networks of supporters and was willing to take forceful action. He established the long-term political prominence of the Long family.
New Orleans is a consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of Louisiana. With an estimated population of 393,292 in 2017, it is the most populous city in Louisiana. A major port, New Orleans is considered an economic and commercial hub for the broader Gulf Coast region of the United States.
The focus of the campaign was the ongoing 'Louisiana Scandals' which implicated former governor Richard W. Leche – and by extension Earl K. Long – in widespread corruption. Jones's main campaign focus was a moralistic crusade against corruption, and the state's newspapers featured him in overwhelmingly positive coverage. Behind the scenes, though, Jones enlisted the aid of veteran politicos who were themselves implicated in questionable dealings. He refused to criticize Huey Long, saying that "I am not running against a dead man. I am running against a gang of rascals as live as any gang that ever lived, and I'm running to clean out every one of them." Jones also promised to expand some of the Long programs, including teacher salary increases and a new old-age pension.
Earl Long made use of the Louisiana Progress newspaper he had inherited from his brother, as well as state publications like the Louisiana Conservation Review. He also made extensive speaking tours throughout the state's rural areas, making colorful attacks on the big-city newspapers and calling Jones a tool of corporate interests.
Jones got most of his funding from wealthy 'good-government' supporters, while Long's funding came from state employee deductions, oil and gas companies, and contributions from organized crime.
Organized crime is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals who intend to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist groups, are politically motivated. Sometimes criminal organizations force people to do business with them, such as when a gang extorts money from shopkeepers for "protection". Gangs may become disciplined enough to be considered organized. A criminal organization or gang can also be referred to as a mafia, mob, or crime syndicate; the network, subculture and community of criminals may be referred to as the underworld. European sociologists define the mafia as a type of organized crime group that specializes in the supply of extra-legal protection and quasi law enforcement. Gambetta's classic work on the Sicilian Mafia generates an economic study of the mafia, which exerts great influence on studies of the Russian Mafia, the Chinese Mafia, Hong Kong Triads and the Japanese Yakuza.
After the first round of voting, Noe endorsed Jones after the two struck a deal in which the 'good-government' Jones promised Noe half of the state's patronage appointments in exchange for his support. Long called a special session of the legislature to pass several spending increases for social programs and some reform bills in an effort to influence runoff voters. But Long refused to include a pay raise for teachers, alienating a large voting bloc in the process.
First Democratic Party Primary, January 16
Candidate | Votes received | Percent |
---|---|---|
Earl K. Long | 226,385 | 40.88% |
Sam H. Jones | 154,936 | 27.98% |
James A. Noe | 116,564 | 21.05% |
James H. Morrison | 48,243 | 8.71% |
Vincent Moseley | 7,595 | 1.37% |
Second Democratic Party Primary, February 20
Candidate | Votes received | Percent |
---|---|---|
Sam H. Jones | 284,437 | 51.73% |
Earl K. Long | 265,403 | 48.27% |
Despite Long's promises of increased social programs, voters were still outraged over the recent corruption scandals and were unwilling to believe Earl Long's claims that he had had nothing to do with the scandals. Jones's victory ended twelve years of Longite governors in Louisiana.
Earl Kemp Long was an American politician and the 45th Governor of Louisiana, serving three nonconsecutive terms. Long, known as "Uncle Earl", connected with voters through his folksy demeanor and colorful oratory. He departed from other southern politicians of his time by promoting a progressive agenda, including expanding school-lunch programs, teacher pay, public-works projects, and minority voting rights.
James Houston Davis was an American singer and songwriter of both sacred and popular songs, as well as a politician and former governor of Louisiana. A politician as well as a songwriter, Davis was elected for two nonconsecutive terms from 1944–48 and from 1960–64 as the governor of his native Louisiana. He ran both campaigns as a controversial advocate for impoverished and rural white Louisianians.
Gerald Lyman Kenneth Smith was an American clergyman and far-right political organizer, who became a leader of the Share Our Wealth movement during the Great Depression and later founded the Christian Nationalist Crusade. He founded the America First Party in 1944, for which he was a presidential candidate in the election that year.
Sam Houston Jones was the 46th Governor of Louisiana for the term from 1940 to 1944. He defeated the renowned Earl Kemp Long in the 1940 Democratic runoff primary election. Eight years later, Long then in a reversal of 1940 defeated Jones in the 1948 party primary.
James Albert Noe Sr. of Monroe served for three and a half months as the 43rd Governor of Louisiana after the death of Oscar K. Allen on January 28, 1936.
The Louisiana gubernatorial election of 1944 was held in two rounds on January 18 and February 29, 1944. 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. This meant that the two Democratic Party primaries held on these dates were the real contest over who would be governor. The 1944 election saw the reformer ‘anti-Long’ faction retain power for another four years under Jimmie Davis.
Robert Sidney Maestri was mayor of New Orleans from 1936 to 1946 and a key ally of Huey P. Long, Jr., and Earl Kemp Long.
William Joseph "Bill" Dodd held five important positions in Louisiana government in the mid-20th century, including the offices of state representative, lieutenant governor, state auditor, president and member of the State Board of Education, and state education superintendent, but he never achieved his ultimate goal: the state's powerful Napoleonic-style governorship. Twice Dodd failed to win the pivotal Democratic gubernatorial nomination: 1952 and 1959. To his critics, he was a Long "hatchet man". To his admirers, he never let his defeats sour his optimistic spirit, his patriotism, or his devotion to his adopted home state.
The Louisiana gubernatorial election of 1956 was held on January 17, 1956. The 1956 election saw the election of Earl K. Long to his second full term as Governor of Louisiana. He received over 50% of the vote, defeating his opponents so soundly that no runoff vote was needed.
The Louisiana gubernatorial election of 1959–60 was held in two rounds on December 5, 1959, and January 9, 1960. After an election which featured some of the most racially charged campaign rhetoric in Louisiana political history, Jimmie Davis was elected to his second nonconsecutive term as governor after defeating the Republican candidate, Francis Grevemberg, in the general election.
The Politics of Louisiana are known for its entrenched corruption and populism. The State has toggled between Democratic and Republican control since the civil war, and has reliably supported populist candidates of all stripes, including Huey Long, Earl Long, David Duke, and George Wallace. Other distinct features of Louisiana's politics include its calcified aristocracy, use of the Napoleonic Code, history of white supremacy, and the divide between Catholics in the south and Evangelical Protestants in the north.
Wade Omer Martin Jr. was the Democratic Secretary of State of Louisiana under five governors, having served from 1944 to 1976. Though originally part of the Long faction, Martin quarreled with Governor Earl Kemp Long during Long's third term in office, and Long relieved Martin of nearly all of his powers as secretary of state.
Otto Ernest Passman was a conservative Democratic congressman from Monroe in northeastern Louisiana, who served from 1947 to 1977. He is primarily remembered for his detailed knowledge and mostly opposition to foreign aid. He was unseated in the 1976 primary election by the more moderate challenger, Jerry Huckaby of Ringgold, a town in Bienville Parish.
The Louisiana gubernatorial election of 1924 was held in two rounds on January 15 and February 19, 1924. 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. This meant that the two Democratic Party primaries held on these dates were the real contest over who would be governor. The 1924 election saw Henry L. Fuqua defeat Hewitt Bouanchaud to become Governor of Louisiana, and saw the beginning of the political rise of Huey P. Long, who came in a surprisingly strong third.
The Louisiana gubernatorial election of 1936 was held on January 21, 1936. 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. This meant that the Democratic Party primary held on this date was the real contest over who would be governor. The election resulted in the victory of Richard W. Leche of New Orleans as governor. Leche was supported by the Longite faction of the party and Cleveland Dear of Alexandria by the anti-Longs' "Home Rule" ticket. State Representative Mason Spencer of Tallulah dropped out of the race and endorsed Dear, but the ballots had already been printed, and he received nearly two thousand votes.
Jesse Homer Bankston Sr. was a politician within the Democratic Party of Louisiana, a businessman, and, at his death at the age of 103, a member of the board of Louisiana Public Broadcasting.
The Louisiana gubernatorial election of 1948 was held in two rounds on January 20 and February 24, 1948. 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. This meant that the two Democratic Party primaries held on these dates were the real contest over who would be governor. The 1948 election saw the defeat of Louisiana's reformer "anti-Long" faction and the election of Earl Kemp Long to his first full term as governor.
Joseph T. Cawthorn, known as Joe T. Cawthorn, was an attorney, businessman, and a Democratic politician from Mansfield in DeSoto Parish in northwestern Louisiana. He was affiliated with the Long faction of state politics.
Malcolm Emmett Lafargue was a United States Attorney from Shreveport, Louisiana. He was known for his prosecution in 1939 as an Assistant US Attorney of several figures in the corruption scandals known as the "Louisiana Hayride." He achieved several convictions, including of Governor Richard W. Leche, and many of these officials were sentenced to prison. This ushered in a period of political reform in the state.
The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.
Preceded by 1936 gubernatorial election | Louisiana gubernatorial elections | Succeeded by 1944 gubernatorial election |