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|term_start2=January 2, 1953
|term_start2=January 2, 1953
|term_end2=June 12, 1953
|term_end2=June 12, 1953
|preceded2=Lester Vetter
|preceded2=[[Lester Vetter]]
|succeeded2=Hendrix M. "Mutt" Fowler (brother)
|succeeded2=Hendrix M. "Mutt" Fowler (brother)
|office3=Red River Parish Clerk of Court
|office3=Red River Parish Clerk of Court
In 1952, Fowler ran unsuccessfully for state auditor on the intra-party [[Governor|gubernatorial]] ticket headed by [[U.S. Representative]] [[Hale Boggs]] of New Orleans.<ref>''Minden Press,'' December 28, 1951, p. 1.</ref> The incumbent L. B. Baynard in turn lost the runoff election to [[Allison Kolb]], the choice of the successful candidate for governor, [[Robert F. Kennon]] of [[Minden, Louisiana|Minden]].
In 1952, Fowler ran unsuccessfully for state auditor on the intra-party [[Governor|gubernatorial]] ticket headed by [[U.S. Representative]] [[Hale Boggs]] of New Orleans.<ref>''Minden Press,'' December 28, 1951, p. 1.</ref> The incumbent L. B. Baynard in turn lost the runoff election to [[Allison Kolb]], the choice of the successful candidate for governor, [[Robert F. Kennon]] of [[Minden, Louisiana|Minden]].
In 1956, Fowler, a particular favorite of Earl Long's wife, Blanche Revere Long, ran again for state auditor but was defeated in the primary by [[Bill Dodd]], who had served as lieutenant governor under Earl Long from 1948 to 1952. Also in that race was the incumbent [[Allison Kolb]], who in 1967 defected to the [[Republican Party]] and ran unsuccessfully for state treasurer on February 6, 1968. The Long faction was divided over whether to back Fowler or Dodd for auditor.
In 1956, Fowler, a particular favorite of Earl Long's wife, Blanche Beulah Revere Long (1902-1998), ran again for state auditor but was defeated in the primary by [[Bill Dodd]], who had served as lieutenant governor under Earl Long from 1948 to 1952. Also in that race was the incumbent [[Allison Kolb]], who in 1967 defected to the [[Republican Party]] and ran unsuccessfully for state treasurer on February 6, 1968. The Long faction was divided over whether to back Fowler or Dodd for auditor.
Thereafter, Long rewarded Fowler for his loyalty to the Long faction and named him the third appointed "custodian of voting machines." The legislature created the unusual position — the only in the nation — at Long's request as a result of a bitter dispute that the governor was having with Secretary of State Wade Omer Martin, Jr. (1911-1990), whose office then handled elections duties. A political commentator, Alan Ehrenhalt, years later dubbed the "custodianship" as "the most ridiculous elective office in the history of state government."
Thereafter, Long rewarded Fowler for his loyalty to the Long faction and named him the third appointed "custodian of voting machines." The legislature created the unusual position — the only in the nation — at Long's request as a result of a bitter dispute that the governor was having with Secretary of State Wade Omer Martin, Jr. (1911-1990), whose office then handled elections duties. A political commentator, Alan Ehrenhalt, years later dubbed the "custodianship" as "the most ridiculous elective office in the history of state government."