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→Political life
In the 1952 U.S. House election, Reese polled a third of the vote against Representative Hébert; he ran with [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] at the top of the Republican ticket. In 1954, a mid-term election year, Reese again challenged Hébert but polled only one-sixth of the votes cast, with no presidential contest on the ballot.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, General election returns, November 4, 1952 and November 2, 1954.</ref>
In the 1952 U.S. House election, Reese polled a third of the vote against Representative Hébert; he ran with [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] at the top of the Republican ticket. In 1954, a mid-term election year, Reese again challenged Hébert but polled only one-sixth of the votes cast, with no presidential contest on the ballot.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, General election returns, November 4, 1952 and November 2, 1954.</ref>
In 1959, Reese, as the Louisiana Republican national committeeman, and LeRoy Charles Smallenberger (1912-2002), an attorney in [[Shreveport]] who was elected the state party chairman in 1960, became involved in an intra-party feud with Thomas Eaton "Tom" Stagg, Jr. (1923-2015), another Shreveport lawyer and subsequent judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, and Charles Thomas Beaird (1922-2006), the later publisher of the defunct ''[[Shreveport Journal]]'' and a then Republican member of the Caddo Parish Police Jury. Stagg and Beaird objected when Reese endorsed, with Smallenberger in agreement, a slate of candidates for party position on both the state and parish committees. Stagg argued that Reese had attempted to assemble a group of "yes-men" and had hence "earned the enmity of a large number of fair-minded Republicans".<ref>"GOP Faction Fight Erupts Over Primary: 4th District Head Charges Attempt to Pack Committee", ''The Shreveport Times'', December 2, 1959, p. 1.</ref> Reese, however, defended his endorsements, most of whom won their primary races, on the premise that he as a statewide party leader was obligated to recommend suitable candidates to the rank-and-file.<ref>"Endorsements Defended by GOP Leader: Reese answers attack by Stagg as Faction Fight", ''The Shreveport Times'', December 3, 1959, pp. 1, 4.</ref> At the time, Reese appointed Smallenberger as the "assistant national committeeman for North Louisiana".<ref>"Attorney Here Appointed to GOP Position", ''The Shreveport Times'', December 2, 1959, p. 4-A.</ref>
In 1959, Reese, as the Louisiana Republican national committeeman, and [[LeRoy Smallenberger]], a [[Shreveport]] attorney who was elected the state party chairman in 1960, became involved in an intra-party feud with Thomas Eaton "Tom" Stagg, Jr. (1923-2015), another Shreveport lawyer and subsequent judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, and Charles Thomas Beaird (1922-2006), the later publisher of the defunct ''[[Shreveport Journal]]'' and a then Republican member of the Caddo Parish Police Jury. Stagg and Beaird objected when Reese endorsed, with Smallenberger in agreement, a slate of candidates for party position on both the state and parish committees. Stagg argued that Reese had attempted to assemble a group of "yes-men" and had hence "earned the enmity of a large number of fair-minded Republicans".<ref>"GOP Faction Fight Erupts Over Primary: 4th District Head Charges Attempt to Pack Committee", ''The Shreveport Times'', December 2, 1959, p. 1.</ref> Reese, however, defended his endorsements, most of whom won their primary races, on the premise that he as a statewide party leader was obligated to recommend suitable candidates to the rank-and-file.<ref>"Endorsements Defended by GOP Leader: Reese answers attack by Stagg as Faction Fight", ''The Shreveport Times'', December 3, 1959, pp. 1, 4.</ref> At the time, Reese appointed Smallenberger as the "assistant national committeeman for North Louisiana".<ref>"Attorney Here Appointed to GOP Position", ''The Shreveport Times'', December 2, 1959, p. 4-A.</ref>
Along with his senatorial campaign manager Richard Lowrie Hagy (1921-1992), also of New Orleans,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Hagy&GSfn=Richard&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=20&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=8014723&df=all&|title=Richard Lowrie Hagy|publisher=findagrave.com|accessdate=January 6, 2015}}</ref> Reese and Tom Stagg were among the Louisiana delegation to the 1960 [[Republican National Convention]] in [[Chicago]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/reese.html|title=George W. Reese Jr.|publisher=The Political Graveyard|accessdate=January 6, 2015}}</ref> Smallenberger and Harrison Bagwell, the Baton Rouge lawyer who was the Republican gubernatorial nominee in 1952 against [[Robert F. Kennon]], were alternate delegates to the Chicago conclave.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/parties/R/1960/LA.html|title=Louisiana delegation to the 1960 Republican National Convention|publisher=The Political Graveyard|accessdate=January 6, 2015}}</ref> The party nominated Vice President [[Richard M. Nixon]] to run in the presidential election against U.S. Senator [[John F. Kennedy]], who subsequently handily won all of Louisiana's then ten [[electoral vote]]s.
Along with his senatorial campaign manager Richard Lowrie Hagy (1921-1992), also of New Orleans,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Hagy&GSfn=Richard&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=20&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=8014723&df=all&|title=Richard Lowrie Hagy|publisher=findagrave.com|accessdate=January 6, 2015}}</ref> Reese and Tom Stagg were among the Louisiana delegation to the 1960 [[Republican National Convention]] in [[Chicago]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/reese.html|title=George W. Reese Jr.|publisher=The Political Graveyard|accessdate=January 6, 2015}}</ref> Smallenberger and Harrison Bagwell, the Baton Rouge lawyer who was the Republican gubernatorial nominee in 1952 against [[Robert F. Kennon]], were alternate delegates to the Chicago conclave.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/parties/R/1960/LA.html|title=Louisiana delegation to the 1960 Republican National Convention|publisher=The Political Graveyard|accessdate=January 6, 2015}}</ref> The party nominated Vice President [[Richard M. Nixon]] to run in the presidential election against U.S. Senator [[John F. Kennedy]], who subsequently handily won all of Louisiana's then ten [[electoral vote]]s.