The 1944 Louisiana gubernatorial election was held in two rounds on January 18 and February 29, 1944. Like most Southern states between the Reconstruction Era and the Civil Rights Movement, Louisiana's Republican Party was virtually nonexistent in terms of electoral support. This meant that the two Democratic Party primaries held on these dates were the real contest over who would be governor. The 1944 election saw the reformer ‘anti-Long’ faction retain power for another four years under Jimmie Davis.
Louisiana's constitution did not allow incumbent governor Sam Jones to succeed himself in a consecutive term. Instead, the reformer forces endorsed Jimmie Davis, a country singer from Shreveport 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 brother Earl had ambitions to return as governor, and began to prepare for a campaign. But Long failed to gain the support of New Orleans mayor Robert Maestri, whose Old Regular machine was seen as an essential component of any victorious Longite candidate. Instead, Maestri threw his support behind Lewis L. Morgan, an elderly politician from Covington whose unexciting campaign found little resonance with voters. Long had to satisfy himself with running for Lieutenant Governor on Morgan's ticket.
Other candidates included Jimmy Morrison of Hammond, Dudley J. LeBlanc of Vermilion Parish, Vincent Moseley, State Senator Ernest S. Clements of Oberlin, the seat of Allen Parish, and Shreveport Mayor Sam Caldwell. Coming amid the grim mood of wartime, the 1944 campaign was widely seen as one of the quietest in years.
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