Earl Kemp Long (1895–1960) was the political heir to his brother Huey in Louisiana politics. A country boy who never lost his common touch, he ran for office in every state election between 1933 and 1959. He was the best campaigning politician Louisiana ever produced. In his final term as governor, he suffered a breakdown on live television while addressing members of the legislature. He was kidnapped and committed to mental institutions in Texas and Louisiana. That he engineered his own release gives proof that he was in charge of his faculties. Abandoned by his family and his allies, Long was written off politically. But in 1960, he had other ideas. He was plotting his comeback. In poor health, smoking and drinking, he decided to challenge the incumbent in Louisiana's Eighth Congressional District, Harold McSween. Doctors warned him that the race could cost him his life. But politics was his life, and he vowed to win the election or die trying. He did both. This book tells the story of the last year of Long's life and the campaign that he waged and won by sheer force of will. He won the election (and a sizable bet he placed on it), but he was dead in just over a week. Win the Race or Die Trying captures the essence of Earl Long by chronicling the desperate, death-defying campaign he waged to redefine his legacy.
Walter Greaves Cowan and Jack B. McGuire, veteran authorities on the Louisiana political scene, trace the history of the state's leaders from the French and Spanish colonial eras to the present day. Using a variety of sources, including personal interviews with the recent governors, they describe unforgettable personalities. Such early figures as Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville and Jean Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville set the tone for later colonial governors. They had their troubles, fending off protesting Indians and other French and Spanish leaders vying for power. Following the Louisiana Purchase, American politics took control. The Whigs, Know Nothings, Republicans, and Democrats have all waxed and waned through times of slavery, secession, suffrage, and segregation. The early twentieth century saw the rise of Huey P. Long, who established himself as a virtual dictator. An assassin's bullet ended Long's life in 1935, but his followers managed to hold on to the governorship until 1940. In 1948 his brother, Earl Long, brought the family back into power. Over the years, two governors were impeached but were not removed from office, and two governors were jailed in federal prison. The experiences, decisions, and conflicts of Louisiana governors have reflected and influenced the history of the state, often in dramatic and fascinating ways.
Earl Kemp Long (1895–1960) was the political heir to his brother Huey in Louisiana politics. A country boy who never lost his common touch, he ran for office in every state election between 1933 and 1959. He was the best campaigning politician Louisiana ever produced. In his final term as governor, he suffered a breakdown on live television while addressing members of the legislature. He was kidnapped and committed to mental institutions in Texas and Louisiana. That he engineered his own release gives proof that he was in charge of his faculties. Abandoned by his family and his allies, Long was written off politically. But in 1960, he had other ideas. He was plotting his comeback. In poor health, smoking and drinking, he decided to challenge the incumbent in Louisiana's Eighth Congressional District, Harold McSween. Doctors warned him that the race could cost him his life. But politics was his life, and he vowed to win the election or die trying. He did both. This book tells the story of the last year of Long's life and the campaign that he waged and won by sheer force of will. He won the election (and a sizable bet he placed on it), but he was dead in just over a week. Win the Race or Die Trying captures the essence of Earl Long by chronicling the desperate, death-defying campaign he waged to redefine his legacy.
Walter Greaves Cowan and Jack B. McGuire, veteran authorities on the Louisiana political scene, trace the history of the state's leaders from the French and Spanish colonial eras to the present day. Using a variety of sources, including personal interviews with the recent governors, they describe unforgettable personalities. Such early figures as Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville and Jean Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville set the tone for later colonial governors. They had their troubles, fending off protesting Indians and other French and Spanish leaders vying for power. Following the Louisiana Purchase, American politics took control. The Whigs, Know Nothings, Republicans, and Democrats have all waxed and waned through times of slavery, secession, suffrage, and segregation. The early twentieth century saw the rise of Huey P. Long, who established himself as a virtual dictator. An assassin's bullet ended Long's life in 1935, but his followers managed to hold on to the governorship until 1940. In 1948 his brother, Earl Long, brought the family back into power. Over the years, two governors were impeached but were not removed from office, and two governors were jailed in federal prison. The experiences, decisions, and conflicts of Louisiana governors have reflected and influenced the history of the state, often in dramatic and fascinating ways.
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