The 1979 Louisiana gubernatorial election was held on December 8, 1979. Incumbent Governor

Edwin Edwards Edwin Washington Edwards (August 7, 1927 – July 12, 2021) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1965 to 1972 and as the 50th governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972–1980, 1984–1988, and 1992–1996 ...

was ineligible to run for a third term, making it the only gubernatorial election in Louisiana between

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

and

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

to not feature Edwards as a candidate. In the race to succeed him,

Dave Treen David Conner Treen Sr. (July 16, 1928 – October 29, 2009) was an American politician and attorney at law (United States), attorney from Louisiana. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Treen served as United State ...

narrowly defeated Louis Lambert to become the first Republican

governor of Louisiana The governor of Louisiana (; ) is the chief executive of the U.S. state government of Louisiana. The governor also serves as the commander in chief of the Louisiana National Guard. Republican Jeff Landry has held the office since January 8, ...

since the

Reconstruction Era The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...

. This was the first gubernatorial election held after the adoption of the

Louisiana primary The two-round system (TRS or 2RS), sometimes called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a single-winner electoral system which aims to elect a member who has support of the majority of voters. The two-round system involves one ...

in 1978. In the primary election held on October 27, Treen and Lambert finished first and second, respectively, to advance against a field of Democratic candidates including Lieutenant Governor

Jimmy Fitzmorris James Edward Fitzmorris Jr. (November 15, 1921 – June 30, 2021) was an American politician who served on the New Orleans City Council from 1954 to 1966 and as Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana from 1972 to 1980. Fitzmorris graduated from Loyol ...

, Secretary of State Paul Hardy, speaker of the Louisiana House E. L. Henry, and state senator Sonny Mouton.

Background

Elections in Louisiana—with the exception of U.S. presidential elections—follow a variation of the open primary system called the

jungle primary A nonpartisan primary, top-two primary, or jungle primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of political party. This distinguishes them from partisan primaries, w ...

or the

nonpartisan blanket primary A nonpartisan primary, top-two primary, or jungle primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of political party. This distinguishes them from partisan primaries, w ...

. Candidates of any and all parties are listed on one ballot; voters need not limit themselves to the candidates of one party. Unless one candidate takes more than 50% of the vote in the first round, a run-off election is then held between the top two candidates, who may in fact be members of the same party.

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

uses this same format for its

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

s. In this election, the first round of voting was held on October 27, 1979. The runoff was held on December 8, 1979.

Primary election

Candidates

Democratic

Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana The lieutenant governor of Louisiana (; ) is the second highest state office in Louisiana. The current lieutenant governor is Billy Nungesser, a Republican. The lieutenant governor is also the commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Cultur ...

* Paul Hardy,

Secretary of State of Louisiana The secretary of state of Louisiana () is one of the elected constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Louisiana and serves as the head of the Louisiana Department of State. The position was created by Article 4, Section 7 of the Louisiana Con ...

* E. L. Henry,

Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives The Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the Louisiana House of Representatives, the lower house of the Louisiana State Legislature. The speaker serves as the leader and head of the Louisiana House. The ...

* Luther Devine "None of the Above" Knox * Louis Lambert, chairman of the

Louisiana Public Service Commission The Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) is an independent regulatory agency which manages public utilities and motor carriers in Louisiana. The Commission is established by Article IV, Section 21 of the 1921 Constitution of the State of ...

* Ken Lewis * Edgar G. "Sonny" Mouton Jr., State Senator from Lafayette

Republican

, U.S. Representative from Metairie

Socialist Workers

* Greg Nelson

Debates

October 18, 1979

Results

On election night, the race for second place was too close to call between Lambert and Fitzmorris. Lambert declared victory the following Wednesday. Fitzmorris filed a lawsuit to contest the election, citing voting irregularities.

Runoff election

Campaign

Following the results of the first round, Henry and Mouton endorsed Treen. Lambert alleged that their endorsements had been secured in exchange for payment of their campaign debts; Henry, Mouton and Treen each denied the charge.

Debates

November 15, 1979

November 29, 1979

Results

References

Sources

State of Louisiana. ''Primary and General Election Returns'', 1979.

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

Gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

Louisiana gubernatorial election Louisiana gubernatorial election {{Louisiana-election-stub