Louisiana gubernatorial election, 1959–60

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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.

Jimmie Davis singer and Louisiana governor

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.

Republican Party (United States) Major political party in the United States

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.

Francis Grevemberg American state police superintendent

Francis Carroll Grevemberg, was the superintendent of the Louisiana State Police from 1952 to 1955, best remembered for his fight against organized crime.

Contents

Background

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. In this election, however, a Republican ran, the first since Harrison Bagwell of Baton Rouge in 1952, who had polled 4 percent of the vote against the Democrat Robert F. Kennon. [1] [2]

Southern United States Cultural region of the United States

The southern United States, also known as the American South, Dixie, Dixieland, or simply the South, is a region of the United States of America. It is located between the Atlantic Ocean and the western United States, with the midwestern United States and northeastern United States to its north and the Gulf of Mexico and Mexico to its south.

Louisiana State of the United States of America

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.

Democratic Party (United States) political party in the United States

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.

Candidates

Democrats

Country music, also known as country and western, and hillbilly music, is a genre of popular music that originated in the southern United States in the early 1920s. It takes its roots from genres such as folk music and blues.

Racial segregation in the United States Historical separation of African Americans from American white society

Racial segregation in the United States is the separation of so-called racial groups in aspects of daily life. For most of United States history, segregation maintained the separation of African Americans from whites. The term also applies to the segregation of racial groups from one another, especially the segregation of people of color from whites.

Political machine

A political machine is a political group in which an authoritative boss or small group commands the support of a corps of supporters and businesses, who receive rewards for their efforts. The machine's power is based on the ability of the boss or group to get out the vote for their candidates on election day.


Republicans

Lafayette, Louisiana City in Louisiana, United States

Lafayette is a city in and the parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, located along the Vermilion River in the southwestern part of the state. The city of Lafayette is the fourth-largest in the state, with a population of 127,657 according to 2015 U.S. Census estimates. It is the principal city of the Lafayette, Louisiana Metropolitan Statistical Area, with a 2015 estimated population of 490,488. The larger trade area or Combined Statistical Area of Lafayette-Opelousas-Morgan City CSA was 627,146 in 2015. Its nickname is The Hub City.

Campaign

First Democratic primary

At the beginning of the campaign, incumbent governor Earl Kemp Long announced his intention to run, despite being constitutionally barred from succeeding himself. After the Supreme Court insisted that he would have to resign several months before the election in order to legally run, Long withdrew and instead opted to run for Lieutenant-Governor on the Jimmy Noe ticket. The campaign got off to a slow start, with Davis running a bland campaign calling for "peace and harmony." Morrison campaigned on a platform of economic progress and development, while Noe and Dodd used promises of increased social programs to compete for traditional Long supporters.

Although easily winning the 1956 gubernatorial election, the ticket of Jimmy Noe and Earl Long finished a distant fourth. This is due, in part, because of the significant problems Earl Long experienced during the latter part of his last term in office such as his involuntary commitment to a state mental hospital, his affair with stripper Blaze Starr, and his ambivalence regarding civil rights issues.

Blaze Starr was an American stripper and burlesque star. Her vivacious presence and inventive use of stage props earned her the nickname "The Hottest Blaze in Burlesque". She was also known for her affair with Louisiana Governor Earl Kemp Long. Based on her memoir Blaze Starr! My Life as Told to Huey Perry, the 1989 film Blaze told the story of latter affair starring Paul Newman as Long and Lolita Davidovich as Starr, with Starr herself acting in a cameo role and as a consultant.

Second Democratic primary


Louisiana Democratic gubernatorial primary, 1959-60

Flag of Louisiana (1912-2006).svg

←  1956 December 5, 1959
January 9, 1960		 1963-64  →

  Jimmie Davis 1962.jpg Chep Morrison 1961.jpg
Candidate Jimmie Davis deLesseps Story Morrison
Party Democratic Democratic
Popular vote487,681 414,110
Percentage54.08% 45.92%

After seeing the explosive growth in support enjoyed by the little-known Rainach, who finished in third place after employing racist rhetoric in the primary, Davis adopted a similar tactic in the runoff. After receiving the endorsement of Rainach, Davis began to criticize Morrison for having received a large proportion of African-American votes in the primary. The Davis campaign claimed Morrison was supported by the NAACP – which Davis termed as "a communist Negro organization founded in New York" – and that he would integrate the state and use increased black voter registration to dominate Louisiana politics. The Times-Picayune aided the Davis campaign by emphasizing the high level of support Morrison had received from black voters. Earl Long also endorsed Davis.

Morrison responded in kind, extolling his record of support for segregation as mayor of New Orleans and questioning Davis's own segregationist credentials. He also boasted that he had been sued by the NAACP more times than other Louisiana official. Though he was a supporter of segregation, Morrison depended on black votes and could not afford to alienate potential supporters by using the overtly racist rhetoric of his opponent. He remained on the defensive throughout the runoff campaign. The political liabilities of being an urbanite, a Catholic, and a perceived integrationist cost Morrison any support he might have expected in conservative, Protestant, segregationist northern Louisiana.

All of the Davis ticket mates for lesser constitutional officers were nominated in the runoff election and won in the general election as well. None of the Morrison-endorsed candidates was nominated.

General election

In 1959–1960, former State Police Superintendent Francis Grevemberg rejected cries of "It can't be done" and switched parties to run for governor as a Republican. He faced Jimmie Davis in the general election. Grevemberg called for abolition of useless positions in state government and industrial recruitment efforts. His candidacy offered the state something that it had not seen before, a contested general election for governor. "Never before have the voters in this state been given such an opportunity for self-expression", opined Alexandria Daily Town Talk , "It is a rare opportunity for us to take part in an advanced course in government and politics."

Democrats were sufficiently confident of overwhelming victories to restrict their general election activities to a few party harmony speeches. Davis had stopped campaigning after he defeated Mayor Morrison and did not return to active campaign status until a few weeks prior to the general election.

Grevemberg was outraged at newspaper editorials against him. "My main purpose for entering this race was toward a two-party system ... I hope I have convinced a sizeable number of people we do need two parties." Grevemberg was particularly hostile toward the Times-Picayune (New Orleans), which called him a "turncoat" after he left the Democratic party, adding: "I risked my life and those of my family in attempts to rid this state of racketeers ... These newspapers have lived up to the reputation given them by Huey Long that they were yellow journals."

Results

First Democratic party primary, December 5, 1959

CandidateVotes receivedPercent
deLesseps Story Morrison 278,95633.11%
Jimmie Davis 213,55125.34%
William M. Rainach 143,09516.98%
James A. Noe 97,65411.59%
William J. "Bill" Dodd 85,43610.14%
Mack Stewart, Jr. 6,3830.76%
Allen LaCombe 4,9170.58%
Addison Roswell Thompson 4,2000.50%
Holt Allen 4,1060.49%
John Krey, Jr. 2,5870.31%
Gale Berry 1,7240.20%

Second Democratic party primary, January 9, 1960

CandidateVotes receivedPercent
Jimmie Davis 487,68154.08%
deLesseps Morrison 414,11045.92%

General election, April 19, 1960

CandidatePartyVotes receivedPercent
Jimmie Davis Democrat 407,90781.52%
Francis Grevemberg Republican 86,13517.00%
Kent Courtney States' Rights Party 12,5152.48%

Grevemberg scored his highest percent, 39.9 in Terrebonne Parish, and his second-best showing was the 27.2 percent in his native Lafayette Parish. In several parishes, Grevemberg polled less than 2 percent of the ballots.

Significance of the election

In a time of growing support for the civil rights movement, the 1959–60 election was the first since the advent of Jim Crow in which race became the central issue of a Louisiana campaign. This election also marked the definitive end of the Long era in Louisiana politics. For the first time since 1928, no candidate backed by Huey or Earl Long made the runoff; Noe finished a distant fourth.

Preceded by
1956 gubernatorial election 		Louisiana gubernatorial elections Succeeded by
1963–64 gubernatorial election

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References

  1. ↑ Milburn E. Calhoun (2008). Louisiana Almanac, 2008-2009. Pelican Publishing Company. p. 511. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
  2. ↑ Michael J. Dubin. 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.
  3. ↑ Minden Press, September 28, 1959, p. 1

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