- Louisiana gubernatorial election, 1948
The Louisiana gubernatorial election of 1948 was held in two rounds on January 20 and February 24, 1948. Like most Southern statesbetween Reconstruction and the civil rights era,
Louisiana 's
Republican Party was virtually nonexistent in terms of electoralsupport. This meant that the two Democratic Party primaries held on these dates were the real contest over who would begovernor . The1948 election saw the defeat of Louisiana's reformer ‘anti-Long’ faction and theelection ofEarl K. Long to his first full term as governor.Under Louisiana's constitution, incumbent governor
Jimmie Davis could not succeed himself in a consecutive term. Instead, Louisiana's reformer and anti-Long faction supportedSam H. Jones , who had been governor from 1940 to 1944. Jones was endorsed by outgoing Governor Davis and high-profile Louisiana politicians, such as SenatorJohn H. Overton and New Orleans mayordeLesseps S. Morrison , Sr., who controlled the city's powerful Crescent City Democratic Association. Jones's reform campaign was weakened by reminders of unethical deals and heavy-handed political tactics in his previous term, and by the electorate’s lack of enthusiasm after eight years of reform governors.Sam Jones's main opponent was
Earl K. Long , briefly governor in1939-1940 and the inheritor of his brother Huey's Longite politicalfaction. Funded by politicians, oil and gas money, and contributionsfrom organized crime in theNew Orleans area, Long ran a theatrical and entertaining campaign, making stump speeches that were a mix of politicalharangue and humorous anecdotes. His platform called for the elimination of Jones's civil service, the doubling of state spending on programs like pensions, school lunches, charity hospitals and asylums, new trade schools, pay increases for teachers, an increased homestead tax exemption, and bonuses for veterans of World War Two. Through payoffs and promises of support, Long managed to gain the backing of powerful former enemies, State SenatorDudley LeBlanc , former Governor Jimmie Noe, and CongressmanF. Edward Hebert .Other candidates in the 1948 election included
Robert F. Kennon ,a judge from Minden who ran third in the balloting, mostly from supporters in north Louisiana and from some reformers disillusioned with Jones; and Jimmy Morrison, (no relation to Mayor Morrison) the Sixth District Congressman from Hammond who was supported by former New Orleans mayorRobert Maestri and his Old Regular political machine and finished in fourth place. Morrison served in Congress until his defeat by John R. Rarick in the 1966 Democratic primary runoff.In the runoff, the Old Regulars threw their support behind Long. Now that his longtime enemies were supporting Jones's opponent, New Orleans mayor deLesseps Morrison stepped up his campaigning for Jones. This election began a feud between governor Long and the mayor of New Orleans that would last for over a decade.
Results of first primary
Jimmy Morrison was able to carry East Baton Rouge and several parishes in vicinity of his home region. Kennon won
Shreveport ’sCaddo Parish and attracted some support in the rest of northern Louisiana. Support fromdeLesseps Morrison ’s machine allowed Jones to win inNew Orleans , and respectable support from sections of the rest of the state sent him into the runoff round with Long. But Long’s victories in most parishes in both northern and southern parts of the state gave him a commanding lead going into the second round.Results of second primary
The runoff election saw Long elected to the governor’s office with an overwhelming majority. Of Louisiana’s 64 parishes, only East Baton Rouge and West Feliciana went for Jones. Jones even lost his home base of
Calcasieu Parish . He did not seek the governorship again.Once in office, Earl Long moved to place President
Harry S. Truman on the Louisiana ballot in 1948. The Democrats ran an elector slate in the state committeed to then South Carolina GovernorStrom Thurmond . Had Long not intervened, Truman would not have been on the Louisiana ballot. Thurmond, as the official Democratic nominee, won Louisiana's ten electoral votes.sequence
prev=1944 gubernatorial election
list=Louisiana gubernatorial elections
next=1952 gubernatorial electionSources
Michael L. Kurtz and Morgan D. Peoples. "Earl K. Long: The Saga of Uncle Earl and Louisiana Politics", 1990.
Louisiana Secretary of State. "Compilation of Primary Election Results of the Democratic Party of the State of Louisiana", 1948.
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