Changes

As senator, Jones served on the Joint Legislative Committee on [[Racial segregation|Segregation]], under chairman [[William Rainach]] of neighboring Claiborne Parish. Like Rainach, Jones opposed desegregation at the height of the [[civil rights]] movement. He was a favorite of [[organized labor]] and supported voting by eighteen-year-olds, an issue not much discussed at the time, some fifteen years before the ratification of the [[26th Amendment]] to the [[United States Constitution]].<ref>''Minden Press,'' January 9, 1956.</ref> Unlike Rainach, Jones was noncommittal on the recurring issue of [[right-to-work]] legislation, having urged in 1958 a state constitutional amendment on the matter to gauge voter support. "It is a very controversial issue and ought to be decided by the people. We should get the [right-to-work] thing settled once and for all."<ref>"Legislators Ask Right-to-Work Vote," ''Minden Press,'' February 24, 1958, p. 1.</ref> Jones campaigned for reelection in 1959 by noting that he had obtained twenty-three road contracts for Bossier and Webster parishes in the administration of [[Governor]] [[Earl Long|Earl Kemp Long]] during a period of three and one-half years.<ref>''Minden Press,'' August 17, 1959, p. 1.</ref>​

As senator, Jones served on the Joint Legislative Committee on [[Racial segregation|Segregation]], under chairman [[William Rainach]] of neighboring Claiborne Parish. Like Rainach, Jones opposed desegregation at the height of the [[civil rights]] movement. He was a favorite of [[organized labor]] and supported voting by eighteen-year-olds, an issue not much discussed at the time, some fifteen years before the ratification of the [[26th Amendment]] to the [[United States Constitution]].<ref>''Minden Press,'' January 9, 1956.</ref> Unlike Rainach, Jones was noncommittal on the recurring issue of [[right-to-work]] legislation, having urged in 1958 a state constitutional amendment on the matter to gauge voter support. "It is a very controversial issue and ought to be decided by the people. We should get the [right-to-work] thing settled once and for all."<ref>"Legislators Ask Right-to-Work Vote," ''Minden Press,'' February 24, 1958, p. 1.</ref> Jones campaigned for reelection in 1959 by noting that he had obtained twenty-three road contracts for Bossier and Webster parishes in the administration of [[Governor]] [[Earl Long|Earl Kemp Long]] during a period of three and one-half years.<ref>''Minden Press,'' August 17, 1959, p. 1.</ref>​

The [[conservative]] Harold Montgomery returned to challenge Jones in the primary held on December 7, 1959. Montgomery led, 7,929 (46.6 percent) to 6,542 (38.5 percent), but two other candidates polled a critical 2,536 votes (14.9 percent). In the Democratic runoff election on January 9, 1960, Montgomery easily defeated Jones, 11,116 (66.5 percent) to 5,611 (33.5 percent) and won sixty-eight of the seventy precincts in what is now a revised District 36. In this same election, [[Jimmie Davis]] defeated fellow Democrat deLesseps Story "Chep" Morrison, Sr. (1912-1964) to win the [[governor|gubernatorial]] nomination. The Senate results finished Jones’s political career.<ref>''Minden Press,'' December 9, 1959, and January 11, 1960, p. 1.</ref>​

The [[conservative]] Harold Montgomery returned to challenge Jones in the primary held on December 7, 1959. Montgomery led, 7,929 (46.6 percent) to 6,542 (38.5 percent), but two other candidates polled a critical 2,536 votes (14.9 percent). In the Democratic runoff election on January 9, 1960, Montgomery easily defeated Jones, 11,116 (66.5 percent) to 5,611 (33.5 percent) and won sixty-eight of the seventy precincts in what is now a revised District 36. In this same election, [[Jimmie Davis]] defeated fellow Democrat [[Chep Morrison|deLesseps Story "Chep" Morrison, Sr.]] to win the [[governor|gubernatorial]] nomination. The Senate results finished Jones’s political career.<ref>''Minden Press,'' December 9, 1959, and January 11, 1960, p. 1.</ref>​

Jones announced that he would oppose Montgomery again in the primary held on December 7, 1963, but he withdrew from the contest before the balloting began.<ref name=mph/> Jones called himself an [[Independent]] and endorsed unpledged electors for the 1964 presidential campaign, a position originally held by Montgomery too.<ref>''Minden Press,'' December 9, 1963, p. 1.</ref> However, the nomination in 1964 of [[Barry Goldwater]] by the Republican Party ended the free-elector movement.

Jones announced that he would oppose Montgomery again in the primary held on December 7, 1963, but he withdrew from the contest before the balloting began.<ref name=mph/> Jones called himself an [[Independent]] and endorsed unpledged electors for the 1964 presidential campaign, a position originally held by Montgomery too.<ref>''Minden Press,'' December 9, 1963, p. 1.</ref> However, the nomination in 1964 of [[Barry Goldwater]] by the Republican Party ended the free-elector movement.