4,128 bytes added
, 22:27, October 5, 2017
{{Infobox officeholder
| name=Earl Kemp Long
| image =
| office=45th [[Governor]] of [[Louisiana]]
| term_start=June 26, 1939
| term_end=May 14, 1940
| predecessor=Richard Webster Leche
| successor=Sam Houston Jones
| term_start2=May 11, 1948
| term_end2=May 13, 1952
| predecessor2=[[Jimmie Davis]]
| successor2=[[Robert F. Kennon]]
| term_start3=May 8, 1956
| term_end3=May 10, 1960
| predecessor3=Robert F. Kennon
| successor3=Jimmie H. Davis
| office4=38th Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana
| term_start4=May 12, 1936
| term_end4=June 26, 1939
| predecessor4=James Albert Noe, Sr.
| successor4=Isaac Coleman Lindsey
| birth_date=August 26, 1895
| birth_place=Winnfield, Louisiana.
| death_date=September 5, 1960 (aged 65)
| death_place=[[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]]
| resting_place=Earl K. Long Memorial Park in Winnfield
| party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]
| spouse=Blanche Beulah Revere Long (married 1932-1960, his death)
| children=No children
| relations=[[Huey Long]] (brother)<br>
Congressman George S. Long (brother)<br>
[[Russell Long]] (nephew)<br>
Public Service Commissioner John Smoker Hunt, III (nephew)
| alma_mater=[[Louisiana State University]]<br>Loyola University New Orleans College of Law
|occupation=[[Lawyer]]
|religion=[[Southern Baptist]]
}}
'''Earl Kemp Long''' (August 26, 1895 – September 5, 1960) was a flamboyant [[politician]] from his native [[Louisiana]] who called himself the "Last of the Red Hot Poppas of Politics," a reference to his determined push to win elections with no stone left unturned. He was the younger brother of [[Huey Long|Huey Pierce Long, Jr.]], and the uncle of [[U.S. Senator]] [[Russell Long]].
The year after his brother's assassination in [[Baton Rouge]], Long served as lieutenant governor from 1936 to 1939, when he succeeded to the [[governor]]ship upon the resignation of the scandal plagued Richard Webster Leche of [[New Orleans]]. He was defeated in the 1940 Democratic runoff primary election for a full term by Sam Houston Jones, a fellow [[lawyer]] from Lake Charles. In 1944, Long again ran for lieutenant governor but lost the nomination to [[Jimmie Davis]]' chosen candidate, J. Emil Verrett of Iberia Parish. In 1948, Long rebounded to defeat Sam Jones a second time, as both sought comebacks for governor, and the margin was decisive. In 1956, Long returned to the governorship with a large victory over [[Mayor]] deLessep Story Morrison, Sr., of New Orleans and several other contenders.
In 1959, Long again ran for lieutenant governor on a ticket with former short-term Governor James Albert Noe, Sr., of [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]] but lost out to fellow Democrat Clarence C. "Taddy" Aycock (1915-1987), a [[conservative]] from Franklin in St. Mary Parish. Jimmie Davis, meanwhile, reclaimed a second nonconsecutive term as governor from 1960 to 1964. Later in the summer of 1960, Long ran for Louisiana's 8th congressional district seat, since disbanded. He won a tight victory over fellow Democrat Harold Barnett McSween (1926-2002). When Long died of heart failure in [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]] on election night after knowing of his victory, the Democratic Party named McSween as the party's nominee in the general election held on November 8, 1960.
Long is interred at Earl K. Long Memorial Park in Winnfield. He was estranged from his wife, Blanche Revere Long, at the time of his death, and she is not buried in Winnfield. In 1963, Blanche Long was a prime mover behind the successful gubernatorial candidacy that year of [[John J. McKeithen]], a public service commissioner from Caldwell Parish and a long-term ally of the Longs. McKeithn defeated former Mayor Morrison and former Governor Kennon for the party nomination and then turned aside a stronger-than-usual [[Republican Party|Republican]] bid for governor waged by [[Charlton Lyons]], a [[Shreveport]] oilman.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Earl}}
[[Category:Louisiana People]]
[[Category:Louisiana Governors]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:Lawyers]]
[[Category:Democrats]]
[[Category:Democratic Governors]]
[[Category:Liberals]]
[[Category:Baptists]]