| | In the winter of 1971-1972, Baker ran for the state Senate against the 31-year-old Democratic nominee, [[James H. "Jim" Brown]], a graduate of [[Tulane University]] Law School in [[New Orleans]] and the father of [[television]] journalist Campbell Brown. At the time Brown was a politically ambitious lawyer in Ferriday in Concordia Parish, located along the [[Mississippi River]] across from Natchez, Mississippi. Besides Franklin and Concordia, the district included Catahoula and Tensas parishes. The outgoing senator was Jess Carr "Sonny" Gilbert (1922-2014) of Sicily Island in Catahoula Parish. Gilbert ran successfully for the state House that year; after he left the legislature, he switched to Republican affiliation. | | In the winter of 1971-1972, Baker ran for the state Senate against the 31-year-old Democratic nominee, [[James H. "Jim" Brown]], a graduate of [[Tulane University]] Law School in [[New Orleans]] and the father of [[television]] journalist Campbell Brown. At the time Brown was a politically ambitious lawyer in Ferriday in Concordia Parish, located along the [[Mississippi River]] across from Natchez, Mississippi. Besides Franklin and Concordia, the district included Catahoula and Tensas parishes. The outgoing senator was Jess Carr "Sonny" Gilbert (1922-2014) of Sicily Island in Catahoula Parish. Gilbert ran successfully for the state House that year; after he left the legislature, he switched to Republican affiliation. |
| − | Brown was an easy winner in the [[general election]], 17,151 votes (64.1 percent) to Baker's 9,587 (35.9 percent). Baker had been the first Republican ever to contest the 32nd District seat. With the boundaries altered, the district for the first time elected a Republican state senator on November 17, 2007, when GOP businessman Neil Riser of Columbia in Caldwell Parish, defeated the Democratic candidate, [[Bryant Hammett]], an engineer from Ferriday.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/static/#/2007-11-17/resultsRace/Legislative|title=Election Returns|date=November 17, 2007|publisher=voterportal.sos.la.gov|accessdate=May 11, 2016}}</ref> The Senate seat was vacated by the term-limited Democrat [[Noble Ellington]] of Winnsboro, who instead returned to the Louisiana House for one more term after an absence of twelve years. | + | Brown was an easy winner in the [[general election]], 17,151 votes (64.1 percent) to Baker's 9,587 (35.9 percent). Baker had been the first Republican ever to contest the 32nd District seat. With the boundaries altered, the district for the first time elected a Republican state senator on November 17, 2007, when GOP businessman [[Neil Riser]] of Columbia in Caldwell Parish, defeated the Democratic candidate, [[Bryant Hammett]], an engineer from Ferriday.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/static/#/2007-11-17/resultsRace/Legislative|title=Election Returns|date=November 17, 2007|publisher=voterportal.sos.la.gov|accessdate=May 11, 2016}}</ref> The Senate seat was vacated by the term-limited Democrat [[Noble Ellington]] of Winnsboro, who instead returned to the Louisiana House for one more term after an absence of twelve years. |