1964 Louisiana gubernatorial election

The 1964 Louisiana gubernatorial election was held on March 3, 1964. Democrat John McKeithen won a highly-competitive primary and dispatched Republican Charlton Lyons in the general election, though Lyons made a historically good showing for a Louisiana Republican up to this point.

1964 Louisiana gubernatorial election

March 3, 1964

Nominee John McKeithen Charlton Lyons Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 469,589 297,753 Percentage 60.72% 37.50%

Parish results McKeithen:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Lyons:      50–60%      70–80%

Governor before election Jimmie Davis Democratic Elected Governor John McKeithen Democratic

The two Democratic Party primaries were held on December 7, 1963, and January 11. McKeithen defeated former mayor of New Orleans Chep Morrison in a runoff. This was Morrison's third failed run for governor.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Shelby M. Jackson, State Superintendent of Education
• Robert F. Kennon of Minden, former governor from 1952 to 1956
• Claude Kirkpatrick, State Public Works Director
• Hugh Lasseigne, Baton Rouge salesman
• Gillis William Long, U.S. Representative from Alexandria
• John McKeithen, Public Service Commissioner
• Louis J. Michot, State Representative from Lafayette
• Chep Morrison, candidate for governor in 1956 and 1960, former mayor of New Orleans, and former ambassador to the Organization of American States
• Wilford Thompson, resident of Zachary
• Addison Roswell Thompson, Ku Klux Klan wizard and perennial candidate

Withdrew

• Frank Voelker Jr., Lake Providence attorney and chairman of the Louisiana State Sovereignty Commission

Campaign

In the early days of the campaign, the conventional wisdom of political analysts was that the race would be a three-way contest between Morrison, Kennon, and Gillis Long.

As the campaign progressed, however, John McKeithen's standing in the polls rose rapidly. McKeithen, who had been a floor leader for the Longite faction in 1948, was endorsed by Earl Long's widow, Blanche Revere Long, who served as his campaign manager. He would later appoint her to a key department in his administration.

Gillis Long was endorsed by Senator Russell B. Long and was vying with McKeithen for the support of the Longite faction.

Kennon had the support of some business and industrial interests, as well as some segregationist voters.

Some observers theorized that the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which occurred just days before the primary election, may have had a significant impact on the results. The assassination weakened Kennon's prospects because Kennon had in a televised address been highly critical of certain policies of both President Kennedy and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy describing the Kennedy brothers as "young, misguided men." McKeithen had also criticized the Kennedys, describing both Gillis Long and Chep Morrison as "the Washington candidates." While it did not play as prominent role as in the 1959–60 campaign, race was an important issue in the primary. Jackson was the vocal segregationist among the five candidates, and Kennon discussed "state sovereignty", which some saw as a code word for segregation.

Results

Just as in his previous two gubernatorial elections, Morrison found the bulk of his support in New Orleans and South Louisiana. McKeithen's strong support in North Louisiana earned him a place in the runoff. Gillis Long did well in South Louisiana, but the presence of so many strong North Louisiana candidates denied him a significant base of support in that region.

The fifth-place candidate, Shelby Jackson, ran as a vocal segregationist. He drew conservative and segregationist votes from Kennon and therefore worked to deny Kennon the second spot in the runoff against Morrison. Even if half of Jackson's votes had otherwise gone to Kennon, then Kennon, and not McKeithen, would have faced the runoff with Morrison. Jackson's supporters were also believed in many cases to have been previous backers of the 1959 segregationist gubernatorial hopeful, William M. Rainach of Claiborne Parish.

1964 Democratic gubernatorial primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	deLesseps Morrison	299,702	33.06%
	Democratic	John McKeithen	157,304	17.35%
	Democratic	Gillis William Long	137,778	15.20%
	Democratic	Robert F. Kennon	127,870	14.11%
	Democratic	Shelby M. Jackson	103,949	11.47%
	Democratic	Louis J. Michot	37,463	4.13%
	Democratic	Claude Kirkpatrick	28,578	3.15%
	Democratic	Wilford Thompson	6,454	0.71%
	Democratic	Hugh Lasseigne	4,034	0.45%
	Democratic	Addison Roswell Thompson	3,343	0.37%
Total votes			906,475	100.00%

Run-off

Campaign

In the runoff, McKeithen echoed the racist tactics of former governor Jimmie Davis in the 1960 campaign, charging that Morrison was supported by an NAACP bloc vote. Portraying himself as a Southerner threatened by outside interests, asking the people of the state "Won't you help me?" He likewise borrowed Earl Long's criticisms of Morrison as a toupee-wearing city slicker out of touch with rural voters.

Results

McKeithen won 44 of 64 parishes, including every North Louisiana parish. Avoyelles was the most northerly parish to support Morrison. McKeithen's geographic support was strikingly similar to Jimmie Davis' in the 1960 runoff; he won every Davis parish except one.

In the race for lieutenant governor, C. C. Aycock, the incumbent, ran successfully as an "Independent" Democrat, meaning that he was allied with no gubernatorial candidate.

1964 Democratic gubernatorial runoff

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John McKeithen	492,905	52.21%
	Democratic	deLesseps Morrison	451,161	47.79%
Total votes			944,066	100.00%

General election

Results

McKeithen overcame the conservative Republican Charlton Lyons, a Shreveport oilman, in the first seriously contested Louisiana gubernatorial general election since Reconstruction. Lyons, who had been a Democrat since 1915, announced his party switch in a newspaper op-ed. He said he was "unalterably opposed to compulsory integration, and to other provisions of the Civil Rights plank of the 1960 Democratic Platform," and that it was "clear, I believe, that if the Democratic Program were carried into effect, the United States would become a Totalitarian Nation."

McKeithen defeated Lyons, 469,589 (60.7 percent) to 297,753 (37.5 percent); another 1.8 percent went to the States Rights Party nominee. McKeithen seemed bitter that he had to face a strong Republican candidate after struggling through two hard-fought Democratic primaries.

No Republican ran for lieutenant governor against Aycock.

Candidate	Party	Votes received	Percent
John McKeithen	Democrat	469,589	60.72%
Charlton Lyons	Republican	297,753	37.50%
Thomas S. Williams	States' Rights Party of Louisiana	6048	1.78%
Total		773,390

Analysis

From Reconstruction until the 1964 election, Louisiana's Republican Party had been virtually nonexistent in terms of electoral support. This meant that the two Democratic Party primaries were generally the real contest over who would be governor. In this election, however, the Republican made an unprecedented strong showing in the general election, winning 37.5% of the vote.

Sources

• Louisiana Secretary of State. Primary Election Returns, 1960, 1964
• Howard, Perry H. Political Tendencies in Louisiana. LSU Press, 1971.
• Jeansonne, Glenn. "DeLesseps Morrison: Why He Couldn't Become Governor of Louisiana." Louisiana History 14, 1973.
• Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, executive director Edward J. Steimel. Voter's Guide to the 1963–1964 Elections