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==His chosen successor, "Buddy" Leach==

==His chosen successor, "Buddy" Leach==

Several candidates ran for the seat that Waggonner vacated, including two state representatives, [[Buddy Leach|Claude "Buddy" Leach, Jr.]], of [[Leesville, Louisiana|Leesville]] in [[Vernon Parish, Louisiana|Vernon Parish]] and [[Loy F. Weaver]] of [[Homer, Louisiana|Homer]] in [[Claiborne Parish, Louisiana|Claiborne Parish]]. [[Buddy Roemer|Charles E. "Buddy" Roemer, III]], son of Governor Edwin Edwards's commissioner of administration, entered the race, as did a lone Republican, Jimmy Wilson, a former state legislator and former mayor of [[Vivian, Louisiana|Vivian]] in north [[Caddo Parish, Louisiana|Caddo Parish]], who had recently switched parties. Waggonner endorsed Leach, who ultimately defeated Wilson in the general election by a margin of 266 disputed votes. However, Leach was unable to cement his hold on the district and was unseated in the [[United States House elections, 1980|1980]] [[general election]] after a single term by Roemer. That 1980 House election was sometimes called the "battle of the Buddys" waged between the wealthy Democrats Leach and Roemer. Waggonner's seat remained Democratic for nine years after his retirement, when a Democrat-turned-Republican, [[Jim McCrery|James Otis McCrery, Jr.]], then of Leesville but a Shreveport native, won it in another special election held on March 8, 1988. (McCrery retired in January 2009 and was succeeded by the Republican [[John C. Fleming]], a [[physician]] from [[Minden, Louisiana|Minden]] in [[Webster Parish, Louisiana|Webster Parish]].)

Several candidates ran for the seat that Waggonner vacated, including two state representatives, Claude "Buddy" Leach, Jr., then of Leesville]] in Vernon Parish and [[Loy F. Weaver]] of Homer in Claiborne Parish.

 

[[Buddy Roemer|Charles E. "Buddy" Roemer, III]], son of Governor [[Edwin Edwards]]' commissioner of administration, entered the race, as did a lone Republican, [[Jimmy Wilson]], a former state legislator and former mayor of Vivian in northernmost Caddo Parish, who had recently switched parties. Waggonner endorsed Leach, who ultimately defeated Wilson in the general election by a margin of 266 disputed votes. However, Leach was unable to cement his hold on the district and was unseated in the 1980 [[general election]] after a single term by Buddy Roemer. That 1980 House election was sometimes called the "battle of the Buddys" waged between the wealthy Democrats Leach and Roemer. Waggonner's seat remained Democratic for nine years after his retirement, when a Democrat-turned-Moderate Republican, James Otis "Jim" McCrery, III, then of Leesville but a Shreveport native, won it in another special election held on March 8, 1988. (McCrery retired in January 2009 and was succeeded by the Republican [[John Fleming]], a [[physician]] from Minden. When Fleming stepped down in 2017, the seat went to still another Republican, [[Mike Johnson]] of Benton in Waggonner's Bossier Parish.

 

 

In 1976, Waggonner was arrested for soliciting an undercover police decoy in [[Washington, D.C.]], for purposes of [[prostitution]]. He was released because at that time lawmakers enjoyed immunity from prosecution for [[misdemeanor]] offenses. After the Waggonner case, the law was changed to allow congressional members to face misdemeanor charges with the exception of parking violations.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ppIIbWkftv4C&pg=PA194&lpg=PA194&dq=Joe+D.+Waggonner+arrest&source=bl&ots=WgR2ondm8i&sig=bD9XbjT4DrFQF3ut8Yby-bzeNco&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Y8VCT7aBNISq2QWg6qjdBg&sqi=2&ved=0CEcQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=Joe%20D.%20Waggonner%20arrest&f=false|author=Jeffrey M. Eliot et al|title=The Congressional-Presidential Political Dictionary|date=1984|page= 194|publisher=Google Books||accessdate=June 28, 2020}}</ref>

When Waggonner did not run again in 1978, Nixon's successor, [[Gerald Ford]], another Moderate Republican, came into the 4th congressional district to support a Republican candidate, [[Jimmy Wilson]] of Vivian in Caddo Parish. Waggonner chided Ford for making the appearance for Wilson and instead strongly supported Democrat Claude "Buddy" Leach of Leesville in Vernon Parish, who won the seat for one term.  In 1980, Leach was unseated by [[Buddy Roemer]] of [[Bossier City]], then a Democrat. The 4th district has been represented since 21017 by the Republican [[Mike Johnson]] of Benton in Bossier Parish.

When Waggonner did not run again in 1978, Nixon's successor, [[Gerald Ford]], another Moderate Republican, came into the 4th congressional district to support a Republican candidate, [[Jimmy Wilson]] of Vivian in Caddo Parish. Waggonner chided Ford for making the appearance for Wilson and instead strongly supported Democrat Claude "Buddy" Leach of Leesville in Vernon Parish, who won the seat for one term.  In 1980, Leach was unseated by [[Buddy Roemer]] of [[Bossier City]], then a Democrat. The 4th district has been represented since 21017 by the Republican [[Mike Johnson]] of Benton in Bossier Parish.