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1986 United States Senate election in Louisiana

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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.

1986 United States Senate election in Louisiana
← 1980 September 27, 1986 (general election)
November 4, 1986 (runoff)		 1992 →
 
Nominee John Breaux Henson Moore Samuel B. Nunez Jr.
Party Democratic Republican Democratic
General election 447,328
37.36% 		529,433
44.22% 		73,505
6.14%
Runoff 723,586
52.82% 		646,311
47.18% 		Eliminated
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

Campaign

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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

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

Candidates

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Results

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1986 United States Senate primary election in Louisiana[6]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Henson Moore 529,433 44.22
Democratic John Breaux 447,328 37.36
Democratic Samuel B. Nunez Jr. 73,505 6.14
Democratic J. E. Jumonville Jr. 53,394 4.46
Democratic Sherman A. Bernard 52,479 4.38
Democratic Eli Williams 7,286 0.61
Democratic Robert H. Briggs 6,953 0.58
Independent Frank J. McTopy 6,746 0.56
Democratic Fred Collins 5,341 0.45
Democratic John H. Myers 4,084 0.34
Democratic Ken Lewis 3,415 0.29
Independent Vincent Giardina 2,640 0.22
Republican Robert M. Ross 2,493 0.21
Independent Nels J'Anthony 2,144 0.18
Total votes 1,197,241 100.00

General election

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Candidates

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  • John Breaux, Democratic
  • Henson Moore, Republican

Results

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1986 United States Senate election in Louisiana[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic John Breaux 723,586 52.82%
Republican Henson Moore 646,311 47.18%
Majority 77,275
Turnout 1,369,897
Democratic hold Swing

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991, p. 74-75.
  2. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "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

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