- Louisiana gubernatorial election, 1924
The Louisiana gubernatorial election of 1924 was held in two rounds on
January 15 andFebruary 19 ,1924 . Like most Southern states between Reconstruction and the civil rights era,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 begovernor . The 1924 election sawHenry L. Fuqua defeatHewitt Bouanchaud to becomeGovernor of Louisiana , and saw the beginning of the political rise ofHuey P. Long , who came in a surprisingly strong third.Candidates
Henry L. Fuqua ofBaton Rouge , the manager ofLouisiana State Penitentiary , had the support of former governorsJared Y. Sanders andRuffin G. Pleasant , and of theRegular Democratic Organization , a powerfulNew Orleans -based political machine. He also received funding from the oil industry.Hewitt Bouanchaud , a French-speaking lawyer fromPointe Coupee Parish , was the handpicked candidate of outgoing governorJohn M. Parker .Huey Long , an ambitious young Railroad Commissioner from Winnfield, had announced his intention to run for governor as early as 1922.Campaign
The major emerging issue of the campaign was the
Ku Klux Klan , which had surged in popularity across the state in the early 1920s. Long was reluctant to address the issue; his political support was strongest in Protestant north Louisiana, the heartland of the Klan. A strong condemnation of the Klan would alienate many of these supporters. Long ducked this issue, instead arguing thatStandard Oil and corporate domination was the true threat to Louisiana. Long was not affiliated with the Klan, but his defensiveness cast doubts among some voters. Fuqua favored an antimasking law to combat the Klan, but did not take a strong stance on the issue. Bouanchaud, a Catholic, made a strong denunciation of the Klan his main campaign issue.Without the organized support enjoyed by his two opponents, Long built his campaign around printed circulars and frequent campaign stops in rural areas of the state. He campaigned for increased educational funding, road improvement, and the right of unions to organize. He condemned the concentration of wealth and the domination of large corporations over the state, arguing they needed to pay their fair share of taxes. Long’s opponents called him a radical demagogue with “Bolshevistic tendencies.”
Results
First Democratic Primary - January 15, 1924
sequence
prev=1920 gubernatorial election
list=Louisiana gubernatorial elections
next=1928 gubernatorial electionSources
"Compilation of Primary Election Returns of the Democratic Party, State of Louisiana". 1924.
Williams, T. Harry. "Huey Long". Knopf, 1969.
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