Political party strength in Louisiana
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The following table indicates the party of elected officials in the U.S. state of Louisiana:
- Governor
- Lieutenant Governor
- Secretary of State
- Attorney General
- State Treasurer
- Auditor (until 1960) / Comptroller (1960–74; not an elected office after 1974)
- Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry
- Commissioner of Insurance
- Commissioner of Elections (office abolished; in existence 1960–2004)
The table also indicates the historical party composition in the:
- State Senate
- State House of Representatives
- State delegation to the U.S. Senate
- State delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives
For years in which a presidential election was held, the table indicates which party's nominees received the state's electoral votes.
1803–1903
[edit]
1904–1951
[edit]1952–2003
[edit]2004–present
[edit]- ^ From 1804 to 1812, what would later become the State of Louisiana was known as the Territory of Orleans. The contemporary Louisiana Territory was to the north and did not include modern Louisiana.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Appointed by governor.
- ^ Resigned to become governor.
- ^ Resigned to take a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Louisiana.
- ^ a b As president of the state Senate, acted as governor for unexpired term.
- ^ a b c d e f g Died in office.
- ^ As president of the state Senate, acted as governor until his term as Senate president expired.
- ^ Elected a Democrat, Alexandre Mouton, as a minority-party Speaker.
- ^ Elected a Democrat, Alcée Louis la Branche, as a minority-party Speaker.
- ^ May have been 11W, 6D.
- ^ a b A Whig, Felix Garcia, was elected as Senate President.
- ^ a b With the Constitution of 1845 going into effect, each legislator elected in 1846 only served a one-year term.
- ^ The Lt. Governor, Jean Baptiste Plauché, broke the tie and the Democrats organized the chamber.
- ^ a b With the Constitution of 1852 going into effect, each legislator elected that year only served a one-year term.
- ^ a b c d Of Confederate-held territory in Louisiana.
- ^ a b c d Of Union-held territory in Louisiana.
- ^ Removed from office after the Union took control of Louisiana following the surrender of the Confederacy; moved to Mexico City.
- ^ Resigned to take a seat in the United States Senate, but was denied his seat, Louisiana having not yet been readmitted to the Union.
- ^ a b c d e As lieutenant governor, acted as governor for unexpired term.
- ^ a b c Reconstruction-era governor subordinate to U.S. military rule.
- ^ Removed from office by General Philip Sheridan, who held Wells accountable for the unstable political conditions stemming from the granting of suffrage to Blacks.
- ^ a b Appointed military governor.
- ^ a b Resigned.
- ^ Was removed from office by Governor Warmoth for misfeasance.
- ^ When Louisiana was readmitted to the Union, Baker and General Winfield Scott Hancock, who had appointed him, were removed from power in the state.
- ^ Impeached but never convicted; however, Warmoth was still removed from office with 35 days remaining in his term. All charges were later expunged.
- ^ a b The State Returning Board declared McEnery the winner over William Pitt Kellogg in 1872, but a second election board was formed that declared Kellogg the winner. Both men were sworn into office on the same day by opposing legislatures. After armed skirmishes erupted, President Ulysses S. Grant stepped in, declaring Kellogg the winner on September 20, 1873.
- ^ a b Due to the opposing election boards, two separate and competing legislatures were sworn in: one Democratic, and one Republican
- ^ a b To resolve the conflict with the two competing legislatures in what was known as the Wheeler Compromise, control of the Senate was given to the Republicans and control of the House was given to the Democrats.
- ^ Packard was the Radical Republican candidate for governor in 1876. In a disputed outcome, both Packard and his Democratic opponent, Francis T. Nicholls, were inaugurated. Nicholls had led in the balloting by eight thousand votes, but the Republican-controlled State Returning Board cited fraud and declared Packard the victor. Former governor P. B. S. Pinchback, however, refused to support fellow Republican Packard, and instead endorsed Nicholls.
- ^ Won the 1876 election over Stephen B. Packard, but the Republican-controlled State Returning Board declared Packard the winner. Nicholls took office anyway and assembled a government that was eventually recognized by the federal government as the proper state government.
- ^ a b Starting with this election, senators and representatives were all elected at the same time to 4-year terms.
- ^ As lieutenant governor, acted as governor for unexpired term and was later elected in his own right.
- ^ a b Due to a state constitutional amendment, elections to the legislature were moved up to April every fourth year.
- ^ Elected to the United States Senate but refused the seat, choosing to remain governor.
- ^ Impeached on charges of bribery and corruption, but not convicted.
- ^ Resigned to take an elected seat in the United States Senate; was elected to the Senate in 1930, but did not take office until 1932, preferring to remain in office as governor.
- ^ Governor Huey Long was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1930 but delayed taking office until 1932 so his Lieutenant Governor, Paul N. Cyr, would not take over as Governor.
- ^ Paul N. Cyr was lieutenant governor under Long and stated that he would succeed Long when Long left for the Senate, but Long demanded Cyr forfeit his office. King, as president of the state Senate, was elevated to lieutenant governor and later governor.
- ^ Resigned due to a fraud scandal; was later convicted of mail fraud and served five years in prison. He was pardoned by President Harry S. Truman in 1953.
- ^ First governor elected to consecutive terms after the 1921 constitution was amended in 1966 to allow governors to serve two consecutive terms.
- ^ Morley Hudson and Taylor O'Hearn were the first Republicans elected to the Legislature in the 20th century.[1]
- ^ Roderick Miller was elected in a special election.[2]
- ^ Edward Clark Gaudin was elected in a special election.[2]
- ^ A.C. Clemons switched parties from Democratic to Republican, becoming the first Republican in the State Senate in the 20th century.
- ^ James Sutterfield was elected in a special election from Orleans Parish, becoming the first Republican to do so in the 20th century.[2]
- ^ Edwards Barham became the first Republican elected to the State Senate in the 20th century.[3]
- ^ A.J. McNamara and Lane A. Carson switched parties from Democratic to Republican.
- ^ Michael F. Thompson switched parties from Democratic to Republican.
- ^ Ed Scogin switched parties from Democratic to Republican just before the start of the new session.
- ^ Ken Hollis was elected as a Republican, and Ken Osterberger switched parties after the election from Democratic to Republican.
- ^ Switched parties in 1989.
- ^ Elected as a Democrat in 1987 but switched parties to Republican in 1991.
- ^ Resigned May 3, 2010 to become Mayor of New Orleans.
- ^ Acting Commissioner from 2000 to 2003. Resigned February 15, 2006.
- ^ Acting Secretary of State through his entire tenure.
- ^ Kennedy switched parties from Democratic to Republican on August 27, 2007.
- ^ Republican Rep. Bobby Jindal resigned in 2008 to become Governor of Louisiana and Richard Baker resigned in early 2008 to become a lobbyist. Republican Steve Scalise and Democrat Don Cazayoux won special elections in May to succeed them, respectively.
- ^ Michael L. Jackson switched parties from Democratic to Independent after the 2008 legislative session before a run for the United States House of Representatives.
- ^ Appointed Lieutenant Governor on May 12, 2010 as a Democrat, Angelle switched parties and became a Republican on October 26. His term as Lieutenant Governor ended on November 22, 2010.
- ^ Switched parties from Democratic to Republican on February 11, 2011.
- ^ A combination of special elections and party switches flipped the chamber to Republican control prior to the legislative session.
- ^ Six Democratic representatives switched parties in the lead-up to the 2011 legislative session, giving the Republicans the majority in the chamber. One Republican representative switched to Independent.
- ^ Acting Treasurer from January 9, 2018 to November 18, 2017.
- ^ Acting Secretary of State from May 9 to May 23, 2018. Confirmed Secretary of State from then onward.
- ^ a b Malinda White switched parties from Democratic to Independent on July 1, 2021, then switched from Independent to Republican on June 14, 2022.
- ^ Francis C. Thompson and Jeremy LaCombe switched parties from Democratic to Republican on March 16, 2023 and April 10, 2023, respectively. Mandie Landry switched parties from Independent to Democratic on March 29, 2023.
References
[edit]- ^ David R. Poynter Legislative Research Library (September 15, 2011). Membership in the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812–2012 (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 4, 2013. Retrieved July 8, 2013 – via legis.la.gov.
- ^ a b c "Membership in the Louisiana House of Representatives 1812 - 2028" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-10-06.
- ^ "SLS 15RS-38". Archived from the original on October 6, 2015.