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McPherson was first elected to the Senate in 1983, when he resided in [[Pineville, Louisiana|Pineville]]. He unseated incumbent fellow Democrat Edward Gordon "Ned" Randolph, Jr., who subsequently served from 1986 to 2006 as the [[mayor]] of Alexandria. Randolph's defeat came in the same election cycle that [[Edwin Edwards]] staged his [[Governor|gubernatorial]] comeback for a third nonconsecutive term against incumbent Republican [[David C. Treen]].

McPherson was first elected to the Senate in 1983, when he resided in [[Pineville, Louisiana|Pineville]]. He unseated incumbent fellow Democrat Edward Gordon "Ned" Randolph, Jr., who subsequently served from 1986 to 2006 as the [[mayor]] of Alexandria. Randolph's defeat came in the same election cycle that [[Edwin Edwards]] staged his [[Governor|gubernatorial]] comeback for a third nonconsecutive term against incumbent Republican [[David C. Treen]].

   

   

In 1987, McPherson defeated [[Jock Scott]], a Democrat-turned-[[Republican Party|Republican]] and an outgoing member of the Louisiana House of Representatives who sought to move up to the Senate, and former Senator Cecil Ray Blair of Lecompte in south Rapides Parish who was seeking a comeback, having been defeated for the seat in 1975 by Ned Randolph. [5] McPherson won again on November 16, 1991, over the Republican Robert W. Bates,  23,428 votes (56.8 percent) to 17,819 (43.2 percent). [6] Three other Democratic candidates, including state Representative Charles R. Herring, then of Alexandria, and singer Jay Chevalier, had been eliminated in the primary election held a month earlier on October 19. [7]  

In 1987, McPherson defeated [[Jock Scott]], a Democrat-turned-[[Republican Party|Republican]] and an outgoing member of the Louisiana House of Representatives who sought to move up to the Senate, and former Senator [[Cecil R. Blair]] of Lecompte in south Rapides Parish who was seeking a comeback, having been defeated for the seat in 1975 by Ned Randolph. [5] McPherson won again on November 16, 1991, over the Republican Robert W. Bates,  23,428 votes (56.8 percent) to 17,819 (43.2 percent). [6] Three other Democratic candidates, including state Representative Charles R. Herring, then of Alexandria, and singer Jay Chevalier, had been eliminated in the primary election held a month earlier on October 19. [7]  

McPherson did not seek a fourth consecutive term in 1995. Voters chose the [[conservative]] Democrat [[B. G. Dyess]], an ordained [[Southern Baptist]] minister who had been the Rapides Parish registrar of voters from 1964 to 1988. When Dyess did not seek a second term in 1999, McPherson returned to claim the seat once again, having defeated the Republican state Representative Randy Wiggins of Pineville. [8]  

McPherson did not seek a fourth consecutive term in 1995. Voters chose the [[conservative]] Democrat [[B. G. Dyess]], an ordained [[Southern Baptist]] minister who had been the Rapides Parish registrar of voters from 1964 to 1988. When Dyess did not seek a second term in 1999, McPherson returned to claim the seat once again, having defeated the Republican state Representative Randy Wiggins of Pineville. [8]  

McPherson was reelected in 2003 and 2007 by wide margins in each election over his fellow Democrat Jerry M. Guillory, who had also run in the 1999 McPherson-Wiggins race.[9] McPherson was ineligible to seek a fourth consecutive Senate term in the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 22, 2011. In all, he served a total of six full terms in the Senate and was succeeded by the [[African-American]] outgoing state Representative Rick Gallot of Lincoln Parish. who polled just over 50 percent of the vote in the primary. After the 2010 census, District 29 was reconfigured to include the black communities in seven parishes: Bienville, Grant, Jackson, Natchitoches, Rapides, and Winn.[10]  

McPherson was reelected in 2003 and 2007 by wide margins in each election over his fellow Democrat Jerry M. Guillory, who had also run in the 1999 McPherson-Wiggins race.[9] McPherson was ineligible to seek a fourth consecutive Senate term in the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 22, 2011. In all, he served a total of six full terms in the Senate and was succeeded by the [[African-American]] outgoing state Representative Rick Gallot of Lincoln Parish. who polled just over 50 percent of the vote in the primary. After the 2010 census, District 29 was reconfigured to include the black communities in seven parishes: Bienville, Grant, Jackson, Natchitoches, Rapides, and Winn.[10]

==Other campaigns==

==Other campaigns==