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|religion=[[Southern Baptist]]

|religion=[[Southern Baptist]]

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'''Gerald E. Long''' (born July 9, 1944), is a rare [[Republican Party |Republican]] in the [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] [[Huey Long|Long]] political dynast in [[Louisiana]]. Specifically, he is a third cousin of the late [[Governor]]s [[Huey Long|Huey Pierce Long, Jr.]], and [[Earl Long|Earl Kemp Long]].

'''Gerald E. Long''' (born July 9, 1944), is a rare [[Republican Party |Republican]] convert in the [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] [[Huey Long|Long]] political dynasty in [[Louisiana]]. Specifically, he is a third cousin of the late [[Governor]]s [[Huey Long|Huey Pierce Long, Jr.]], and [[Earl Long|Earl Kemp Long]].

Long was elected on October 20, 2007, to fill the seat in the Louisiana State Senate for District 31, which includes Grant and [[Natchitoches, Louisiana|Natchitoches]] parishes and parts of Rapides, Red River, Sabine, and Winn parishes. Long and former state Representative [[Rick Nowlin]] are the first two Republicans since [[Reconstruction]] to represent Natchitoches Parish in the Louisiana legislature. Nowlin was subsequently defeated in a revised districting plan in 2011 but rebounded the next year as the first elected president of Natchitoches Parish, a post he no longer holds.

Long was elected on October 20, 2007, to fill the seat in the Louisiana State Senate for District 31, which includes Grant and [[Natchitoches, Louisiana|Natchitoches]] parishes and parts of Rapides, Red River, Sabine, and Winn parishes. Long and former state Representative [[Rick Nowlin]] are the first two Republicans since [[Reconstruction]] to represent Natchitoches Parish in the Louisiana legislature. Nowlin was subsequently defeated in a revised districting plan in 2011 but rebounded the next year as the first elected president of Natchitoches Parish, a post he no longer holds.