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Line 64: − + − − Baker ran for elections commissioner, basing his campaign on abolishing the "useless" office, which then had a salary of $37,400 per year, and returning its duties to the secretary of state, where they had been before Earl Long punished Martin, who had continued to be reelected secretary of state until his retirement in 1976.<ref>''[[Shreveport Journal]]'', October 11, 1969, p. 9D.</ref> − − Ironically, what Baker was proposing would have worked to the advantage of Baker's former rival, state Senator Jim Brown, who would be elected secretary of state in the same 1979 election. When Baker offered his proposal to abolish the very office for which he was seeking election, he began to make headway. He won a student mock poll at Louisiana State University at Alexandria and several other colleges as well as the endorsements of "good government" groups and most of the state's newspapers. ''The New Orleans Times-Picayune'' did not "endorse" Baker, however, but "recommended" his idea of abolishing the office. + +
→Challenging Jerry Fowler
==Challenging Jerry Fowler==
==Challenging Jerry Fowler==
In 1979, Baker announced that he would challenge the Democrat Jerry Fowler] then a [[Natchitoches, Louisiana|Natchitoches]] businessman, in the race for elections commissioner. Fowler (1940-2009) was seeking to succeed his ailing father, Douglas Fowle (1906-1980), the former Red River Parish clerk of court and one-time [[mayor]] of Coushatta. Fowler had been appointed to the post by [[Governor]] [[Earl Long|Earl Kemp Long]], after Long had quarreled with Secretary of State Wade O. Martin, Jr., by procuring legislative consent to remove the elections office from the domain of the secretary of state. Douglas Fowler was then elected to his first full term in 1960 and then reelected with minimal opposition in 1964, 1968, 1972, and 1976. (The primaries for the three latter elections were actually held late in 1967, 1971, and 1975.) To Louisiana voters, the name "Fowler" became synonymous with the management of elections – the two won a total of ten consecutive elections.
In 1979, Baker announced that he would challenge the Democrat Jerry Fowler] then a [[Natchitoches, Louisiana|Natchitoches]] businessman, in the race for elections commissioner. Fowler (1940-2009) was seeking to succeed his ailing father, Douglas Fowler (1906-1980), the former Red River Parish clerk of court and one-time [[mayor]] of Coushatta. Fowler had been appointed to the post by [[Governor]] [[Earl Long|Earl Kemp Long]], after Long had quarreled with Secretary of State Wade O. Martin, Jr., by procuring legislative consent to remove the elections office from the domain of the secretary of state. Douglas Fowler was then elected to his first full term in 1960 and then reelected with minimal opposition in 1964, 1968, 1972, and 1976. (The primaries for the three latter elections were actually held late in 1967, 1971, and 1975.) To Louisiana voters, the name "Fowler" became synonymous with the management of elections – the two won a total of ten consecutive elections.
Baker ran for elections commissioner, basing his campaign on abolishing the "useless" office, which then had a salary of $37,400 per year, and returning its duties to the secretary of state, where they had been before Earl Long punished Martin, who had continued to be reelected secretary of state until his retirement in 1976.<ref>''[[Shreveport Journal]]'', October 11, 1969, p. 9D.</ref> Ironically, what Baker was proposing would have worked to the advantage of Baker's former rival, state Senator Jim Brown, who would be elected secretary of state in the same 1979 election. When Baker offered his proposal to abolish the very office for which he was seeking election, he began to make headway. He won a student mock poll at Louisiana State University at Alexandria and several other colleges as well as the endorsements of "good government" groups and most of the state's newspapers. ''The New Orleans Times-Picayune'' did not "endorse" Baker, however, but "recommended" his idea of abolishing the office.
Baker polled 175,017 votes in the nonpartisan blanket primary, just enough to enter the 1979 general election against Jerry Fowler, who had been a former professional [[football]] player and a former educator. Baker and Republican gubernatorial candidate [[David C. Treen]], then of Jefferson Parish, were the first Louisiana Republicans to win statewide general election slots since the implementation of the nonpartisan blanket primary law in 1975.<ref>''The Alexandria Town Talk'', November 10, 1979, p. 3D.</ref> (The law did not take effect for congressional elections until 1978, and it ended for those elections in 2008 but was reinstated in 2010.)
Baker polled 175,017 votes in the nonpartisan blanket primary, just enough to enter the 1979 general election against Jerry Fowler, who had been a former professional [[football]] player and a former educator. Baker and Republican gubernatorial candidate [[David C. Treen]], then of Jefferson Parish, were the first Louisiana Republicans to win statewide general election slots since the implementation of the nonpartisan blanket primary law in 1975.<ref>''The Alexandria Town Talk'', November 10, 1979, p. 3D.</ref> (The law did not take effect for congressional elections until 1978, and it ended for those elections in 2008 but was reinstated in 2010.)