1968 Louisiana gubernatorial election

The 1968 Louisiana gubernatorial election was held on February 4, 1968. Incumbent Democrat Governor John McKeithen was re-elected to a second term in office. This was the first election in which the Governor was eligible for re-election to a second consecutive term, following a 1966 constitutional referendum. The 1967 primary election resulted in the overwhelming re-nomination of John McKeithen to his second consecutive term as governor, the result of a constitutional amendment approved by voters in 1966, which allows Louisiana governors to serve two back-to-back terms.[1]

1967 Louisiana Democratic gubernatorial primary

November 4, 1967

Candidate John McKeithen John Rarick Party Democratic Democratic Popular vote 836,304 179,846 Percentage 80.64% 17.34%

Governor before election John McKeithen Democratic Elected Governor John McKeithen Democratic

On November 4, 1967, McKeithen won the Democratic primary with 80.64% of the vote. At this time the Louisiana Republican Party rarely fielded candidates (though they had in 1964), so the Democratic nomination was tantamount to victory. McKeithen won the November general election without an opponent.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Frank Ahern
• Cy D. F. Courtney
• John McKeithen, incumbent Governor
• John Rarick, U.S. Representative from St. Francisville
• Addison Roswell Thompson, candidate for Governor in 1960 and 1964

Results

1967 Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John McKeithen (incumbent)	836,304	80.64%
	Democratic	John Rarick	179,846	17.34%
	Democratic	Cy D. F. Courtney	8,698	0.84%
	Democratic	Frank Joseph Ahern	7,152	0.69%
	Democratic	Addison Roswell Thompson	5,102	0.49%
Total votes			1,037,102	100.00%

General election

This is the most recent time to date that there was no Republican running in the contest for governor.

Sources

Louisiana Secretary of State. Primary Election Returns, 1967

References

1. "Louisiana Governors 1877–present". Archived from the original on 2012-08-27. Retrieved 2 July 2012.