Changes

​

​

In 1987, Blair attempted to regain the Senate seat. He and outgoing state Representative Jock Scott, then a convert to the Republican Party, challenged McPherson, who carried the support of [[AFL-CIO]] state president [[Victor Bussie]]. McPherson polled 16,950 (51 percent) in the primary and hence retained the seat outright. Scott trailed with 12,346 votes (37 percent). Blair netted 4,245 votes (13 percent). <ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 24, 1987.</ref> In 1995, Blair once more attempted to regain the Senate seat but failed to make the general election runoff in a field of seven candidates. The Reverend [[B.G. Dyess]], the retired Rapides Parish voter registrar and a Baptist clergyman who campaigned against [[gambling]], won the state Senate seat. Dyess served for four years and, because of his wife's health, did not seek a second term in 1999. McPherson made an unsuccessful bid for Public Service Commissioner in 1995, having been defeated by Dale Sittig of Eunice. McPherson returned to the Senate in 2000 and easily won a third consecutive term in the primary held on October 20, 2007, the same electionwhich propelled [[Bobby Jindal]] to the governorship.​<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 21, 1995, and October 20, 2007.</ref>

In 1987, Blair attempted to regain the Senate seat. He and outgoing state Representative Jock Scott, then a convert to the Republican Party, challenged McPherson, who carried the support of [[AFL-CIO]] state president [[Victor Bussie]]. McPherson polled 16,950 (51 percent) in the primary and hence retained the seat outright. Scott trailed with 12,346 votes (37 percent). Blair netted 4,245 votes (13 percent). <ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 24, 1987.</ref> In 1995, Blair once more attempted to regain the Senate seat but failed to make the general election runoff in a field of seven candidates. The Reverend [[B.G. Dyess]], the retired Rapides Parish voter registrar and a Baptist clergyman who campaigned against [[gambling]], won the state Senate seat. Dyess served for four years and, because of his wife's health, did not seek a second term in 1999. McPherson made an unsuccessful bid for Public Service Commissioner in 1995, having been defeated by Dale Sittig of Eunice. McPherson returned to the Senate in 2000 and easily won a third consecutive term in the primary held on October 20, 2007, the same electionwhich propelled [[Bobby Jindal]] to the governorship.​<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 21, 1995, and October 20, 2007.</ref>

 

==Legacy==​

==Legacy==​

Blair put his entomological skills to use with his Blair Laboratories pesticide business, which he operated for many years in Alexandria. Daughter Rebecca Tisdale said that her father was too independent to work for others; so he chose self-employment in farming and pesticides. She said that her father struggled as a youth and was dismissed as "white trash" because of his poverty. Such obstacles made him exceptionally determined to succeed: he was the kind of man who could not easily accept rejection. His life story fits the [[Horatio Alger]] mode<ref name=statement>Statement of Rebecca Blair Tisdale of Alexandria.</ref>

Blair put his entomological skills to use with his Blair Laboratories pesticide business, which he operated for many years in Alexandria. Daughter Rebecca Tisdale said that her father was too independent to work for others; so he chose self-employment in farming and pesticides. She said that her father struggled as a youth and was dismissed as "white trash" because of his poverty. Such obstacles made him exceptionally determined to succeed: he was the kind of man who could not easily accept rejection. His life story fits the [[Horatio Alger]] mode<ref name=statement>Statement of Rebecca Blair Tisdale of Alexandria.</ref>

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/>

​

​

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>​​

​

​

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/>