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In his last Senate term, Blair was also elected on a nonpartisan ballot as a delegate to the 1973 Louisiana Constitutional Convention, which drafted the state's current framework of government, as approved by voters in the spring of 1974.​

In his last Senate term, Blair was also elected on a nonpartisan ballot as a delegate to the 1973 Louisiana Constitutional Convention, which drafted the state's current framework of government, as approved by voters in the spring of 1974.​

 

==The election of 1971==​

==The election of 1971==​

In the 1971 closed [[primary]], the last held for Louisiana legislative races, Blair was forced into a second primary by [[Floyd Smith]], a Pineville City Councilman and former mayor. The third-placed candidate, [[Arnold Jack Rosenthal]], elected in 1973 as the last of Alexandria's finance and utilities commissioners, backed Smith in the runoff election, but Blair, defeated Smith by some two thousand votes. It was something of a Long v. anti-Long battle in that Smith was a native of Winnfield and his mother was a Long. There was no [[Republican Party|Republican]] opposition in the [[general election]] held on February 1, 1972; so Blair secured his fourth and final term in the new single-member Senate District 29.​

In the 1971 closed [[primary]], the last held for Louisiana legislative races, Blair was forced into a second primary by [[Floyd Smith]], a Pineville City Councilman and former mayor. The third-placed candidate, [[Arnold Jack Rosenthal]], elected in 1973 as the last of Alexandria's finance and utilities commissioners, backed Smith in the runoff election, but Blair, defeated Smith by some two thousand votes. It was something of a Long v. anti-Long battle in that Smith was a native of Winnfield and his mother was a Long. There was no [[Republican Party|Republican]] opposition in the [[general election]] held on February 1, 1972; so Blair secured his fourth and final term in the new single-member Senate District 29.​

 

==Defeat in 1975==​

==Defeat in 1975==​

After a total of eighteen years in both legislative chambers, Blair was unseated in the 1975 nonpartisan blanket primary, the first held in Louisiana, by then state Representative and later Alexandria Mayor Edward Gordon "Ned" Randolph, Jr. (1942-2016) Thereafter, Blair failed in comeback attempts for his former Senate seat in 1979, 1983, 1987, and 1995. While Randolph unseated Blair, in the same election, then Democrat [[Jock Scott]] won Randolph's House seat. Randolph and Scott purported to be "new" politicians not molded to failures of the past. It was the same kind of environment which a year later enabled former [[Georgia]] [[Jimmy Carter]] to win the presidency. Randolph and Scott comanaged Carter's Rapides Parish campaign in 1976.​

After a total of eighteen years in both legislative chambers, Blair was unseated in the 1975 nonpartisan blanket primary, the first held in Louisiana, by then state Representative and later Alexandria Mayor Edward Gordon "Ned" Randolph, Jr. (1942-2016) Thereafter, Blair failed in comeback attempts for his former Senate seat in 1979, 1983, 1987, and 1995. While Randolph unseated Blair, in the same election, then Democrat [[Jock Scott]] won Randolph's House seat. Randolph and Scott purported to be "new" politicians not molded to failures of the past. It was the same kind of environment which a year later enabled former [[Georgia]] [[Jimmy Carter]] to win the presidency. Randolph and Scott comanaged Carter's Rapides Parish campaign in 1976.​

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Blair was never reconciled to the election of Randolph, who was a Bolton High School classmate of Blair's two older children.  He tried to dislodge Randolph in the 1979 primary and failed. In 1983, Blair attempted again. In a surprise of sorts, Randolph was unseated, not by Blair, but by Pineville businessman [[Joe McPherson]], later of Woodworth in south Rapides Parish. Randolph led in the initial balloting with 13,501 votes (38.4 percent) to McPherson's 11,032 ballots (31.4 percent). Blair received 6,096 votes (17.4 percent), and Alexandria Mayor [[John K. Snyder]], in fourth place, received 4,496 votes (12.8 percent).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 22, 1983.</ref> In the runoff contest —officially the Louisiana [[general election]]— McPherson prevailed, 16,360 votes (53.9 percent) to Randolph's 13,973 (46.1 percent).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 19, 1983.</ref>​

Blair was never reconciled to the election of Randolph, who was a Bolton High School classmate of Blair's two older children.  He tried to dislodge Randolph in the 1979 primary and failed. In 1983, Blair attempted again. In a surprise of sorts, Randolph was unseated, not by Blair, but by Pineville businessman [[Joe McPherson]], later of Woodworth in south Rapides Parish. Randolph led in the initial balloting with 13,501 votes (38.4 percent) to McPherson's 11,032 ballots (31.4 percent). Blair received 6,096 votes (17.4 percent), and Alexandria Mayor [[John K. Snyder]], in fourth place, received 4,496 votes (12.8 percent).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 22, 1983.</ref> In the runoff contest —officially the Louisiana [[general election]]— McPherson prevailed, 16,360 votes (53.9 percent) to Randolph's 13,973 (46.1 percent).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 19, 1983.</ref>​

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Blair was active in community affairs, having been a former president of the AlexandriaPineville [[Chamber of Commerce]] and Kiwanis International. In the late 1950s, while he was returning from church with his family when the Blairs resided in the Paradise community, he once saved from [[drowning]] two young men that he saw floundering in the Red River from an overturned boat.​<ref name=statement/>

Blair was active in community affairs, having been a former president of the AlexandriaPineville [[Chamber of Commerce]] and Kiwanis International. In the late 1950s, while he was returning from church with his family when the Blairs resided in the Paradise community, he once saved from [[drowning]] two young men that he saw floundering in the Red River from an overturned boat.​<ref name=statement/>

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Blair, who had smoked [[cigar]]s since he was a teenager, died of [[heart]] failure at [[St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital]] in [[Houston, Texas|Houston]]. He had undergone [[open-heart surgery]] for a valve replacement. While he appeared to have recovered from the surgery itself, his systems shut down thereafter. Politicos from throughout central Louisiana attended the funeral, including legendary attorney Camille F. Gravel, Jr., Rapides Parish [[Sheriff]] William Earl Hilton, then Alexandria Mayor Randolph, who had ended Blair's Senate career, and [[District Attorney]] [[Jam Downs|James Crawford "Jam" Downs]], the son of Blair's old rival, C. H. "Sammy" Downs.<ref name=bannister>Steve Bannister, "Farewell: Cecil Blair Was an Original," ''Alexandria Town Talk,'' July 11, 2001,  1.</ref>​​

Blair, who had smoked [[cigar]]s since he was a teenager, died of [[heart]] failure at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in [[Houston, Texas|Houston]]. He had undergone open-heart surgery for a valve replacement. While he appeared to have recovered from the surgery itself, his systems shut down thereafter. Politicos from throughout central Louisiana attended the funeral, including legendary attorney Camille F. Gravel, Jr., Rapides Parish [[Sheriff]] William Earl Hilton, then Alexandria Mayor Randolph, who had ended Blair's Senate career, and [[District Attorney]] [[Jam Downs|James Crawford "Jam" Downs]], the son of Blair's old rival, C. H. "Sammy" Downs.<ref name=bannister>Steve Bannister, "Farewell: Cecil Blair Was an Original," ''Alexandria Town Talk,'' July 11, 2001,  1.</ref>​​

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The Reverend Larry Taylor, pastor of Blair's Emmanuel Baptist Church, said that the first time he met Blair he thought that he had seen "a figure who had stepped out of the pages of southern literature." Taylor lamented that "Even someone with a heart as big as Cecil R. Blair's couldn't keep going forever. Cecil had a big heart that finally gave out."​<ref name=bannister/>

The Reverend Larry Taylor, pastor of Blair's Emmanuel Baptist Church, said that the first time he met Blair he thought that he had seen "a figure who had stepped out of the pages of southern literature." Taylor lamented that "Even someone with a heart as big as Cecil R. Blair's couldn't keep going forever. Cecil had a big heart that finally gave out."​<ref name=bannister/>