The 1972 Louisiana gubernatorial election was held on February 1, 1972.

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

defeated Republican candidate

David Treen David Conner Treen Sr. (July 16, 1928 – October 29, 2009) was an American politician and attorney from Louisiana. A member of the Republican Party, Treen served as U.S. Representative for Louisiana's 3rd congressional district from 1973 to 1 ...

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.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Taddy Aycock Clarence C. "Taddy" Aycock (January 13, 1915 – January 6, 1987), a conservative Democrat from Franklin in St. Mary Parish, was the only three-term lieutenant governor in 20th century Louisiana history. He served from 1960 to 1972. Aycock ...

, Lieutenant Governor * Samuel Bell Sr. * Harold Lee Bethune II * David L. Chandler * Huey P. Coleman * Jimmie Davis, former Governor from 1944 to 1948 and 1960 to 1964 *

, U.S. Representative from

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...

* J. Bennett Johnston, State Representative from Shreveport *

Gillis Long Gillis William Long (May 4, 1923 – January 20, 1985) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a U.S. representative from Louisiana. He was a member of the Long family and was the nephew of former governors Huey Long and Earl Long ...

, former U.S. Representative from

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

Speedy Long Speedy Oteria Long (June 16, 1928 – October 5, 2006) was an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives for Louisiana's 8th congressional district from January 3, 1965, until January 3, 1973. He was a member of ...

, U.S. Representative from LaSalle Parish * Warren J. "Puggy" Moity * James Moore * Frank T. Salter Jr. * John G. Schwegman *

Jimmy Strain Jimmy Strain (August 28, 1926 – December 30, 1973) was an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives. Life and career Strain attended LSU Health Sciences Center Shreveport and Johns Hop ...

, pediatrician and State Representative from Shreveport *

Addison Roswell Thompson Addison may refer to: Places Canada * Addison, Ontario United States * Addison, Alabama *Addison, Illinois *Addison Street in Chicago, Illinois which runs by Wrigley Field * Addison, Kentucky *Addison, Maine *Addison, Michigan *Addison, New York ...

, perennial candidate and white supremacist

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. 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. 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 Otto Ernest Passman (June 27, 1900 – August 13, 1988) was an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives for Louisiana's 5th congressional district from 1947 until 1977. As a congressman, Passman chaired the Hous ...

Results

Run-off

Republican primary

Candidates

*Robert Max Ross *

Dave Treen David Conner Treen Sr. (July 16, 1928 – October 29, 2009) was an American politician and attorney from Louisiana. A member of the Republican Party, Treen served as U.S. Representative for Louisiana's 3rd congressional district from 1973 to ...

, perennial candidate for U.S. Representative from Metairie

Results

General election

Results

Sources

Louisiana Secretary of State. ''Primary Election Returns'', 1971

References

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

Gubernatorial A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...

February 1972 events in the United States {{Louisiana-stub