Dan Sullivan Situation in Alaska. 1966 Louisiana Analog

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Yes—this refers to the 1966 Democratic primary for Louisiana’s 6th Congressional District, involving longtime incumbent James H. “Jimmy” Morrison (James Hobson Morrison) and a little-known candidate named James E. Morrison of Slidell.



James H. Morrison, a Democrat from Hammond, had represented the district (which included Baton Rouge and surrounding areas) since 1943. He was seeking what would have been his 13th term. He had signed the Southern Manifesto and voted against the Civil Rights Acts of 1957, 1960, and 1964, but in 1965 he supported the Voting Rights Act. That vote, along with his support for some Great Society programs, drew strong conservative opposition in the district.



His main challenger was former state district judge John R. Rarick of St. Francisville, a strong segregationist who portrayed Morrison as an “LBJ rubber stamp” and the “black power” candidate. The race was bitterly fought, with Morrison accusing Rarick of Ku Klux Klan ties (Rarick denied membership while avoiding criticism of the group) and Rarick attacking Morrison’s civil rights vote and ties to the Johnson administration. There were several other Democratic candidates in the first primary (held August 13, 1966), including James A. Edwards, John E. Jumonville, Leslie C. Matheson, and James E. Morrison of Slidell.


James E. Morrison received more than 6,000 votes despite little or no campaigning. Contemporary observers and later accounts noted that this was enough to keep the incumbent just short of a majority—specifically, James H. Morrison fell short of an outright win by 1,880 votes (he received roughly 71,878 votes, or about 49.5%). Many commentators and the incumbent’s side believed a significant number of those votes were intended for the sitting congressman and resulted from name confusion (both were often referred to in connection with “Jimmy” or “James Morrison”). Morrison publicly alleged that the appearance of the other Morrison on the ballot was the result of a conspiracy by Rarick’s supporters to siphon votes.



This forced a runoff on September 24, 1966. In the runoff, Rarick defeated Morrison 51.2% to 48.8%. In the heavily Democratic South of the era, the primary victory was effectively the election; Rarick went on to win the general election easily against Republican Crayton G. Hall.

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