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 Parish results Davis: 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% Morgan: 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The1944 Louisiana gubernatorial election was held in two rounds on January 18 and February 29, 1944. Like mostSouthern states between theReconstruction Era and theCivil Rights Movement, Louisiana'sRepublican Party was virtually nonexistent in terms of electoral support. This meant that the twoDemocratic Party primaries held on these dates were the real contest over who would begovernor. The 1944 election saw the reformer ‘anti-Long’ faction retain power for another four years underJimmie Davis.
Louisiana's constitution did not allow incumbent governorSam Jones to succeed himself in a consecutive term. Instead, the reformer forces endorsedJimmie Davis, a country singer fromShreveport who was then serving as Public Service Commissioner. Davis campaigned on a theme of "Peace and Harmony", and punctuated his campaign stops with performances of "You Are My Sunshine."
Louisiana's Longite faction desired a return to power after being defeated in 1940.Huey Long's brotherEarl had ambitions to return as governor, and began to prepare for a campaign. But Long failed to gain the support of New Orleans mayorRobert Maestri, whoseOld Regular machine was seen as an essential component of any victorious Longite candidate. Instead, Maestri threw his support behindLewis L. Morgan, an elderly politician fromCovington whose unexciting campaign found little resonance with voters. Long had to satisfy himself with running for Lieutenant Governor on Morgan's ticket.
Other candidates includedJimmy Morrison,Dudley J. LeBlanc, andSam Caldwell. Coming amid the grim mood of wartime, the 1944 campaign was widely seen as one of the quietest in years.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jimmie Davis | 167,434 | 34.93% | |
| Democratic | Lewis L. Morgan | 131,682 | 27.47% | |
| Democratic | James H. Morrison | 76,081 | 15.87% | |
| Democratic | Dudley J. LeBlanc | 40,392 | 8.43% | |
| Democratic | Sam Caldwell | 34,335 | 7.16% | |
| Democratic | Ernest Clements | 20,404 | 4.26% | |
| Democratic | Vincent Moseley | 7,385 | 1.54% | |
| Democratic | Lee Lanier | 1,641 | 0.34% | |
| Total votes | 479,354 | 100.00% | ||
LeBlanc and Morrison each won a handful of parishes in their respective bases in south Louisiana. Morgan did poorly in much of the state aside from the Long stronghold ofWinn Parish and the surrounding area, but the number of votes turned out for him by theOld Regulars in New Orleans propelled him into the runoff. But Davis's popularity in north Louisiana and throughout the state's rural parishes gave him a strong lead.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jimmie H. Davis | 251,228 | 53.55% |  18.62 | |
| Democratic | Lewis L. Morgan | 217,915 | 46.45% | 18.98 | |
| Total votes | 469,243 | 100.00% | |||
In the runoff, Morgan maintained much of his support, but the candidates split the vote of candidates defeated in the first primary. Davis therefore maintained his margin from the primary, winning with a comfortable majority.
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