1972 Louisiana gubernatorial election
February 1, 1972
 
Nominee Edwin Edwards David Treen
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 641,146 480,424
Percentage 57.2% 42.8%
Parish results
Edwards:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Treen:      50–60%      60–70%
Governor before election

John McKeithen
Democratic

 Elected Governor

Edwin Edwards
Democratic

The 1972 Louisiana gubernatorial election was held on February 1, 1972. Edwin Edwards defeated Republican candidate David Treen to become Governor of Louisiana.

Party primaries were held on November 6, 1971, and a run-off was held for the Democratic nomination on December 18, 1971. These were the last closed primaries for Governor of Louisiana before the state adopted its current primary election system.

This was also the last gubernatorial election not to take place in an off-year, as all elections starting from 1975 would take place 1 year before a presidential election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Campaign

Early in the campaign, conventional wisdom of many political analysts predicted that the race's top candidates would be Gillis Long, Jimmie Davis, and C.C. "Taddy" Aycock.[1] However, the two candidates to make the runoff, Edwin Edwards and J. Bennett Johnston, were relative newcomers to the Louisiana political scene, despite Edwards' Congressional tenure.[2]

Cousins Gillis and Speedy Long both ran in a rematch of their 1964 primary race for Congress when Speedy unseated Gillis. Ironically, Gillis reclaimed that House seat the next year when Speedy retired after Edwards and the Louisiana Legislature redistricted him into the same district as longtime incumbent Otto Passman.

Results

1971 Democratic gubernatorial primary
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Edwin Edwards 276,397 23.54%
Democratic J. Bennett Johnston 208,830 17.79%
Democratic Gillis William Long 164,276 13.99%
Democratic Jimmie H. Davis 138,756 11.82%
Democratic John G. Schwegmann 92,072 7.84%
Democratic Taddy Aycock 88,465 7.54%
Democratic Samuel Bell Sr. 72,486 6.17%
Democratic Speedy Long 61,359 5.23%
Democratic Frank T. Salter Jr. 32,203 2.74%
Democratic James Moore 9,408 0.80%
Democratic Warren J. "Puggy" Moity 8,965 0.76%
Democratic David L. Chandler 7,244 0.62%
Democratic Huey P. Coleman 4,833 0.41%
Democratic Harold Lee Bethune II 3,032 0.26%
Democratic Wilford L. Thompson Sr. 2,535 0.21%
Democratic Addison Roswell Thompson 1,924 0.16%
Democratic Jimmy Strain 1,258 0.11%
Total votes 1,182,043 100.00%

Run-off

1971 Democratic gubernatorial run-off
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Edwin Edwards 584,262 50.19% Increase26.65
Democratic J. Bennett Johnston 579,774 49.81% Increase32.02
Total votes 1,164,036 100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

  • Robert Max Ross
  • Dave Treen, a Congressman who eventually served as Louisiana Governor from 1980-1984 (when he was defeated in 1983 for re-election by Edwin W. Edwards, who was making a return to the governorship after having been term-limited from running for re-election in 1979).

Results

1971 Republican gubernatorial primary
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dave Treen 9,732 92.06%
Republican Robert Max Ross 839 7.94%
Total votes 10,571 100.00%

General election

Results

1972 Louisiana gubernatorial election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Edwin Edwards 641,146 57.2% Decrease42.8
Republican Dave Treen 480,424 42.8% N/A
Total votes 1,121,570 100.00%
Preceded by
1967 gubernatorial election		 Louisiana gubernatorial elections Succeeded by
1975 gubernatorial election

Sources

Louisiana Secretary of State. Primary Election Returns, 1971

References

  1. ↑ "2 New Faces Top Primary In Louisiana". Toledo Blade. November 8, 1971. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
  2. ↑ "New Faces Winning In Louisiana". Miami News. November 8, 1971. Retrieved June 28, 2012.


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