Fast Eddie: A Louisiana Love Story

"Senator Ellender was a good man and a fantastic senator for this great state. Without his leadership and legislative skills, it is unlikely that Louisiana would be where it is today. He was a man of consensus and a man of action. He made sure to support the interests of the people of this state even when the tides of the nation were shifting. Till the end he was a Senator who cared most about the people of his state."
-Governor Edwin W. Edwards remarks at the funeral of Senator Allen J. Ellender, May 19, 1973.
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It must have been just hours after the passing of Louisiana's great Cajun Senator Allen J. Ellender. Elaine Edwards couldn't believe that her husband was already talking about the future of the Senate seat. But lo and behold the great Governor Edwards could not bear to allow a great political oppurtunity slip by.

It had been common knowledge for quite some time that the Senator had been in bad health. But nonetheless he had decided to run just one last time. His chief opposition had come from State Senator J. Bennet Johnston, a reform minded moderate. Ellender had long been an untouchable force in Louisiana politics. He had a strong base of support among poorer voters, especially the Cajun population in the south of the state. But Johnston, seeing Ellender's age as a weakness, decided to take on the old stalwart. Attacking him for his "out of touch" voting record, Johnston did his best to make the Senator's age an issue without being upfront about it. Most of Ellender's campaigning was done by surrogates around the state, though he lacked the support of one major figure. Governor Edwin Edwards, a foreward thinking populist, had been on fairly good standing with Johnston since their showdown for the governor's office just a year earlier. The two had gotten along quite well, and even though Ellender and Edwards shared Cajun roots, the Governor would have preffered to see Johnston prevail.

Despite Johnston's tough challenge, Ellender narrowly squeeked out a victory. Riding a wave of support from the south of the state, the feeble Ellender would prevail by a margin of 45%-41%, with the rest of the vote going to minor candidates. In the general election, Ellender would easily prevail over Republican Nominee Ben Toledano. However just a few months after being sworn in (and preserving his status as President Pro Tem of the Senate), Ellender would pass away. It would be up to Governor Edwards to find a replacement until the next election in 1978. Ultimately there were two choices for the Governor. The obvious one would be Johnston. After all, he had narrowly lost the primary, and was a rising political star in the state. But this wasn't what Edwards had in mind. Johnston was young, and could conceivably remain there for a very long time. The second choice, while far less noble, would be the politically smart one. Therefore, when the Governor announced that his wife, Elaine Edwards, would fill the vacany, it may have surprised outsiders. But for anyone who knew Edwin Washington Edwards, it was no surprise at all.

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Governor Edwards and the new Senator from Louisiana celebrating at the Governor's Mansion​
 
Edwin Edwards, another corrupt; albeit charming, rogue who belongs in federal prison rather than in office. Nonetheless, will Elaine try to become the first female POTUS? How will this affect the Nixon presidency? Presumably Watergate still occurs on schedule, and OTL continues for a few years. I'm definitely subscribing. :cool:
 
1974-A Year of Decisions

Senator Elaine Edwards certainly didn't have the most outstanding record in the United States Senate. Despite surving for a full year in office, she did very little to make herself stand out. Embracing the role of understudy to the more experienced Russell Long, Edwards focused her efforts on the State of Lousiana. She shyed away from national issues of interest, such as Watergate and Southeast Asia. She would never once speak on the Senate floor and spent much of her time in committee jotting down notes. Senator Fritz Hollings of South Carolina would remark that "It appears as though Russ has gotten a new staffer, only she gets to vote too."
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Louisiana's Silent Senator
Therefore it was no surprise when, in Janaury of 1974, Elaine Edwards announced that she would not be seeking a full term in the Senate. She would return to life as the First Lady of Louisiana and, presumably, resume her quite life back in Baton Rouge. However quite was never in the cards for her husband, Governor Edwin Edwards. Edwards saw his wife as mearly a caretaker for the seat. He had biggger plans for it, and himself. After all, he was a very popular governor.

Edwards first term as Governor had seen Louisiana suffer dearly durring the oil crisis of 1973. Prices were high and long lines for gass were common place. The economy was going through it's worst period since the Great Depression, and folks in Louisiana were hard hit. Nonetheless, Edwards was a popular incumbent who had worked to balance the budget while increasing spending for education and health services. He had built up a solid base of cajun and black voters who both saw him as a strong voice for their concerns. In short, Edwards looked to be a shoe in for reelection in 1975.

But for the Governor there were far bigger fish to fry. His wife's retirement meant that he had an oppurtunity to return to Washington, this time as arguably the most famous member of the Louisiana delegation. He simply couldn't resist, and in February would declare his candidacy for the United States Senate:
"Louisiana deserves two strong voices for it's people. For years Senator Russell Long has provided it, and now I believe that it is time for another. I am ready and I am willing to be the man who this state needs. I am ready to take on the monied interests, to take on the elites. I will be no slave to the Democratic Party, and I will always put the interests of the people of Louisiana, not Wall Street, first!"

But Edwards would not be without challengers. Former Governor John McKeithen (a Democrat) and Congressman David Treen (a Republican) would challenge Edwards from the right, while Congressman Gillis Long would attack him from the left. While alll of the candidates held large war chests and name recognition, it was Edwards who held the trump card. His large base of support in the south of the State gave him somewhat of a firewall. If he were unnable to clear the needed 50% to win in the jungle primary, then he was still likely to advance to the second round due to his numerically strong base. Long and McKeithen both haled from the north of the state, while Treen represented a very conservative district that included part of the New Orleans suburbs and Cajun Country.

The Edwards campaign would focus it's efforts intially on turnout. Campaigning heavily in his old congressional district and in New Orleans, edwards attempted to ensure that "the folks who voted for me once will go ahead and do it a second time!" The Governor would tour everything from crawfish plantations and Francophone old-folks homes in Lafayette to poor schools and soup kitchens in New Orleans. It became very clear that he wasn't taking victory for granted. The other candidates also stepped up their efforts, but it became clear that the issues and campaign were being defined by Edwards. Long was unnable to let his more liberal message resonate, as most poor voters were already on board with Edwards. Treen and McKeithen fought over the conservative vote, with McKeithen touting his record as Governor and Treen his party alliegance: "No one can claim that I won't be a true-blue conservative in Congress."
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Edwards campaigning in Cajun Country

When election day rolled around, it was not a question of if Edwards would finish in first, but rather a question of if he would secure enough votes to avoid a nasty runoff campaign. It was sure to be close. Edwards exuded confidence, touting that "no one wants to run against me one-on-one. Then they'll have to actually talk about the issues!" But apparently the voters weren't entirely convinced, and Edwards would only secure 47% of the vote. 23% would go to Treen, gould enough for a showdown in the runoff. 19% would go towards McKeithen, whose long political career in Louisiana was finally at an end. Long would only receive 8% of the vote, mostly from his congressional district, whille the remaining 3% was divided among the other candidates.

In the runoff, the Edwards-Treen matchup would become deeply personal. Despite promising to "defeat David Treen on the issues that matter most to the folks of this state", Edwards would go about a campaign of ridicule. Making fun of Treen's perceived lack of intelligence, Edwards would claim that "it takes Congressman Treen an hour and a half to watch 60 Minutes." This was only one example of a blisteringly negative campaign that caught Treen completely off guard. The voters ate it up, seeing Edwards not only as a good governor but as somewhat of a "joker king" who "laughed at the same jolks we laugh at, and wasn't above getting down and dirty." Treen stoud little chance at defetating the Edwards, and when the votes were finally counted, Edwards won with 58% of the vote.
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Edwards celebrating his convincing victory
 
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