Crossing party lines has happened before in Louisiana - a look at the 1979 governor’s race
Republican Jay Dardenne’s break with party ranks Thursday to endorse Democrat John Bel Edwards for governor brought back a time 36 years ago when the same thing happened.
In 1979, four unsuccessful Democratic candidates for governor jumped onto Republican Dave Treen’s runoff campaign team — snubbing Louis Lambert, the Democratic Party candidate who had made it into the general election.
Back then, Lt. Gov. Jimmy Fitzmorris, Secretary of State Paul Hardy, Louisiana House Speaker E.L. “Bubba” Henry and state Sen. Edgar “Sonny” Mouton incurred the wrath of the state Democratic Party, much as Lt. Gov. Dardenne did among GOP brass on Thursday by favoring the Democrat over Republican David Vitter.
Henry and Mouton ended up being censured by the state Democratic Party, which almost four decades ago dominated Louisiana’s politics like the GOP has for the past decade.
“You’ve got to have standards of loyalty in the party,” longtime Democratic Party Chairman Jesse Bankston chastised at the time.
Read more: http://theadvocate.com/news/acadiana/13898747-123/crossing-party-lines-circa-1979