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| religion =[[Roman Catholicism]]
| religion =[[Roman Catholicism]]
| party = [[Democratic Party|Democrat]]
| party = [[Democratic Party|Democrat]]
| alma_mater =[[Academy of the Sacred Heart, Grand Coteau]]<br>
| alma_mater =Academy of the Sacred Heart, Grand Coteau<br>
[[Louisiana State University]]
[[Louisiana State University]]
| footnotes=
| footnotes=
Miss Grace ran for governor in 1951, fifty-two years before Louisiana elected its first ever female governor, Democrat [[Kathleen Blanco]] in 2003. Miss Grace ran eighth among nine primary candidates—Louisiana voters would not then seriously consider a woman as governor, but she made headlines in her race.<ref name=lmg/>
Miss Grace ran for governor in 1951, fifty-two years before Louisiana elected its first ever female governor, Democrat [[Kathleen Blanco]] in 2003. Miss Grace ran eighth among nine primary candidates—Louisiana voters would not then seriously consider a woman as governor, but she made headlines in her race.<ref name=lmg/>
==Miss Grace targets Hale Boggs==
==Miss Grace targets opponent Hale Boggs==
Miss Grace accused a gubernatorial rival, Congressman Thomas Hale Boggs, Sr. (1914–1972) of [[New Orleans]] of either being a communist or having been a communist in his youth. At the instigation of Leander Henry Perez, Sr., the political boss of Plaquemines Parish (not to to be confused with Miss Grace's hometown of Plaquemine), Miss Grace sued Boggs in an unsuccessful effort to force him from the race. She charged that his ties to the "red menace" or "sympathy" with communism rendered him ineligible to be governor under the provisions of the then Louisiana Constitution of 1921, since superseded in 1974.<ref name=boulard/>
Miss Grace accused a gubernatorial rival, Congressman Thomas Hale Boggs, Sr. (1914–1972) of [[New Orleans]] of either being a communist or having been a communist in his youth. At the instigation of Leander Henry Perez, Sr., the political boss of Plaquemines Parish (not to to be confused with Miss Grace's hometown of Plaquemine), Miss Grace sued Boggs in an unsuccessful effort to force him from the race. She charged that his ties to the "red menace" or "sympathy" with communism rendered him ineligible to be governor under the provisions of the then Louisiana Constitution of 1921, since superseded in 1974.<ref name=boulard/>
Boggs still maintained a nominal segregationist position himself and voted against passage of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]], as did all eight Louisiana U.S. House members and both [[U.S. Senator]], [[Allen J. Ellender]] and [[Russell Long]], as well.
Boggs still maintained a nominal segregationist position himself and voted against passage of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]], as did all eight Louisiana U.S. House members and both [[U.S. Senator]], [[Allen J. Ellender]] and [[Russell Long]], as well.
[[Bill Dodd|William J. "Bill" Dodd, another gubernatorial candidate in 1952, claimed in his memoirs entitled ''Peapatch Politics: The Earl Long Era in Louisiana Politics'' that Perez "used Miss Grace to accuse Hale Boggs of having been a communist and of still being a communist sympathizer. A suit was filed to keep Boggs off the ballot. The suit plus a month or two of daily negative publicity killed Boggs and Miss Grace before they got started good."<ref name=bdodd>[[Bill Dodd|William J. "Bill" Dodd]], ''Peapatch Politics: The Earl Long Era in Louisiana Politics'' (Baton Rouge: Claitor's Publishing, 1991).</ref>
[[Bill Dodd|William J. "Bill" Dodd]], another gubernatorial candidate in 1952, recalled in his memoirs entitled ''Peapatch Politics: The Earl Long Era in Louisiana Politics'' that Perez "used Miss Grace to accuse Hale Boggs of having been a communist and of still being a communist sympathizer. A suit was filed to keep Boggs off the ballot. The suit plus a month or two of daily negative publicity killed Boggs and Miss Grace before they got started good."<ref name=bdodd>[[Bill Dodd|William J. "Bill" Dodd]], ''Peapatch Politics: The Earl Long Era in Louisiana Politics'' (Baton Rouge: Claitor's Publishing, 1991).</ref>
Soon Perez ditched Miss Grace as his gubernatorial preference and endorsed another losing candidate, [[James M. McLemore]], a landowner, stockman, and auction-barn operator in [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]]. McLemore was the first candidate for governor in the twentieth century to base a campaign primarily on racial matters, speaking out particularly against miscegenation. He also ran again for governor in 1956, when Earl Long won his third and last term in the office..
Soon Perez ditched Miss Grace as his gubernatorial preference and endorsed another losing candidate, [[James M. McLemore]], a landowner, stockman, and auction-barn operator in [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]]. McLemore was the first candidate for governor in the twentieth century to base a campaign primarily on racial matters, speaking out particularly against miscegenation. He also ran again for governor in 1956, when Earl Long won his third and last term in the office..