Speedy Oteria Long (June 16, 1928 – October 5, 2006) was an American politician who served in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

for Louisiana's 8th congressional district from January 3, 1965, until January 3, 1973. He was a member of the

Long family The Long family is a family of politicians from the United States. Many have characterized it as a political dynasty. After Huey Long's 1935 assassination, a family dynasty emerged: his brother Earl Long, Earl was elected lieutenant-governor in 1 ...

, a cousin of

Huey Long Huey Pierce Long Jr. (August 30, 1893September 10, 1935), nicknamed "The Kingfish", was an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and as a United States senator from 1932 until his assassination i ...

, Earl K. Long, Russell Long, and Gillis William Long."Long, Speedy Oteria"
United States House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives

Life and career

Speedy Oteria Long was born in Tullos, Louisiana, in La Salle Parish on June 16, 1928. He was given the name Speedy because he was born prematurely. He attended public schools in LaSalle and Winn Parish, graduating in 1945 from Winnfield High School. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

from April 1946 to February 1948. Long attended college at Northeast Junior College in

Monroe, Louisiana Monroe is the ninth-largest city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and is the parish seat and largest city of Ouachita Parish. With a 2020 census-tabulated population of 47,702, it is the principal city of the Monroe metropolitan statistical ...

, graduating in 1950, and then at

Northwestern State College Northwestern State University of Louisiana (NSULA) is a public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Johnson and Alexandria. It is a part of the U ...

Natchitoches, Louisiana Natchitoches ( ; , ), officially the City of Natchitoches, is a small city in, and the parish seat of, Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. At the 2020 United States census, the city's population was ...

, from which he graduated in 1951. He was recalled to active duty in the Navy from September 1951 to December 1952, then graduated from Louisiana State University Law School in

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

in February 1959. Long was admitted to the Louisiana bar in 1959 and began the practice of law in

Jena, Louisiana Jena () is a town in, and the parish seat of, La Salle Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 4,155 at the 2020 census. History The site where Jena stands today began to attract settlers in 1802. The Hemphills family entered a c ...

. Long was elected to the

Louisiana State Senate The Louisiana State Senate (; ) is the upper house of Louisiana’s legislature. Senators serve four-year terms and participate in various committees. Composition The Louisiana State Senate has 39 members elected from single-member districts ...

and served from May 1956 to May 1964, after which he ran in the primary to be the Democratic nominee for election to

representing Louisiana's 8th congressional district. His opponent in the primary was the incumbent, his cousin Gillis Long. Both of the Longs were segregationists but Gillis Long was less outspoken in his views than Speedy Long was, and Gillis had also, according to Speedy, aided the passage of the

Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...

by voting to increase the size of the House Rules Committee from 12 to 15 members, thus diluting the South's influence on the committee. Speedy used the slogan "Vote Against the Man Who Voted Against the South" in the campaign against Gillis. A state senator from

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

described the difference between the two Longs: Speedy was "a redneck" with a regional focus, while Gillis was "a cosmopolitan". In the primary, Speedy Long easily beat Gillis Long. Speedy's campaign in the general election was limited to a single 150-second television appearance. Although the Republican presidential candidate,

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...

, carried the district, Democrat Speedy Long won election handily, becoming the sixth member of the

to serve in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

. Long served in Congress from 1965 to 1973. In

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, ...

, he ran for Governor of Louisiana, but placed eighth in the Democratic primary, winning just 5 percent of the vote and losing to

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 ...

. Long declined to seek re-election later that year, and his cousin Gillis again ran, winning the district and being re-elected six times. Instead, in 1972, Speedy Long successfully ran to be District Attorney of the 28th Judicial District, which included

Caldwell Caldwell may refer to: People * Caldwell (surname) * Caldwell (given name) * Caldwell First Nation, a federally recognized First Nation in southern Ontario, Canada Places Great Britain * Caldwell, Derbyshire, a hamlet * Caldwell, Ea ...

and LaSalle parishes. He re-elected unopposed in 1978. He declined to seek another term in 1984, and instead ran for Governor in

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

. Long finished in a distant sixth place, winning just 1.2 percent of the vote. After his loss in the 1987 gubernatorial election, Long returned to the practice of law. In 1994, he was appointed as a District Judge in the 28th Judicial District, serving until a successor was elected later that year. In 1995, Long ran for LaSalle Parish Sheriff, but placed fourth in the primary and did not advance to the runoff election. Long was inducted into the Louisiana Political Hall of Fame in 1996. He died died on October 5, 2006, in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Speedy Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana People from LaSalle Parish, Louisiana Northwestern State University alumni Democratic Party Louisiana state senators District attorneys in Louisiana 20th-century American lawyers

Speedy Speedy refers to something or someone moving at high speed. Speedy may refer to: People * Speedy (nickname), a list of people * Speedy Long (1928–2006), American lawyer and politician * Speedy Mashilo (born 1965), South African politician * ...

1928 births 2006 deaths American segregationists 20th-century members of the Louisiana State Legislature 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives