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After the assassination of Sen. [[Huey Long|Huey Pierce Long]], his wife [[Rose McConnell Long]] was appointed to the seat to fill the vacancy. She declined to run for a full term, and Ellender won the 1936 election to succeed her.<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=267971 LA US Senate - D Primary]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved April 21, 2021.</ref><ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=267971 LA US Senate]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved April 21, 2021.</ref>

After the assassination of Sen. [[Huey Long|Huey Pierce Long]], his wife [[Rose McConnell Long]] was appointed to the seat to fill the vacancy. She declined to run for a full term, and Ellender won the 1936 election to succeed her.<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=267971 LA US Senate - D Primary]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved April 21, 2021.</ref><ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=267971 LA US Senate]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved April 21, 2021.</ref>

In the United States Senate, he was known for his support for school segregation through the signing in 1956 of the [[Southern Manifesto]].<ref>[https://www.congress.gov/84/crecb/1956/03/12/GPO-CRECB-1956-pt4-3.pdf GPO-CRECB-1956-pt4-3pdf]. ''Congressional Record''. Retrieved April 21, 2021.</ref> Ellender was also an advocate of farm subsidies and the school lunch program, and he opposed the investigations into [[communist]] infiltration of the U.S. government conducted prior to 1954 by his [[Republican]] colleague, [[Joseph McCarthy]] of [[Wisconsin]]. Though Ellender later opposed the [[Vietnam War]], he voted for the [[Gulf of Tonkin Resolution]] of 1964. During his Senate tenure he was chairman of the Agriculture Committee and then the Appropriations Committee. He was considered a more [[conservative Democrat]] in comparison to his party colleagues, though held some [[liberal]] positions such as adamantly supporting social programs championed by President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]].<ref>[https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-upon-signing-the-food-stamp-act Remarks Upon Signing the Food Stamp Act.]. ''The American Presidency Project''. Retrieved April 21, 2021.</ref><ref>[https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-the-signing-the-child-nutrition-act-1966 Remarks at the Signing of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966.]. ''The American Presidency Project''. Retrieved April 21, 2021.</ref>

In the United States Senate, he was known for his support for school segregation through the signing in 1956 of the [[Southern Manifesto]].<ref>[https://www.congress.gov/84/crecb/1956/03/12/GPO-CRECB-1956-pt4-3.pdf GPO-CRECB-1956-pt4-3pdf]. ''Congressional Record''. Retrieved April 21, 2021.</ref> Ellender, a [[New Deal]]er,<ref>[https://segregationinamerica.eji.org/report/segregation-forever-leaders.html Segregation Forever]. ''Equal Justice Initiative''. Retrieved April 21, 2021.</ref> was also an advocate of farm subsidies and the school lunch program, and he opposed the investigations into [[communist]] infiltration of the U.S. government conducted prior to 1954 by his [[Republican]] colleague, [[Joseph McCarthy]] of [[Wisconsin]]. Though Ellender later opposed the [[Vietnam War]], he voted for the [[Gulf of Tonkin Resolution]] of 1964. During his Senate tenure he was chairman of the Agriculture Committee and then the Appropriations Committee. He was considered a more [[conservative Democrat]] in comparison to his party colleagues, though held some [[liberal]] positions such as adamantly supporting social programs championed by President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]].<ref>[https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-upon-signing-the-food-stamp-act Remarks Upon Signing the Food Stamp Act.]. ''The American Presidency Project''. Retrieved April 21, 2021.</ref><ref>[https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-the-signing-the-child-nutrition-act-1966 Remarks at the Signing of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966.]. ''The American Presidency Project''. Retrieved April 21, 2021.</ref>

Following the 1946 Senate election in [[Mississippi]] where [[segregation]]ist demagogue [[Theodore Bilbo]] intimidated and threatened blacks, most of whom then were not then voters, Senate Republicans, who just gained a bare majority in the election cycle, moved to block him from being seated.<ref>[https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/electing-appointing-senators/contested-senate-elections/126Theodore_Bilbo.htm The Election Case of Theodore G. Bilbo of Mississippi (1947)]. ''senate.gov''. Retrieved February 19, 2021.</ref> Ellender defended the racist [[voter suppression]] and attempted to dismiss the charges, and gridlock ensued. Bilbo, suffering from oral cancer after decades of inciting violence and promoting bigotry, never returned to the Senate and died in August 1947.

Following the 1946 Senate election in [[Mississippi]] where [[segregation]]ist demagogue [[Theodore Bilbo]] intimidated and threatened blacks, most of whom then were not then voters, Senate Republicans, who just gained a bare majority in the election cycle, moved to block him from being seated.<ref>[https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/electing-appointing-senators/contested-senate-elections/126Theodore_Bilbo.htm The Election Case of Theodore G. Bilbo of Mississippi (1947)]. ''senate.gov''. Retrieved February 19, 2021.</ref> Ellender defended the racist [[voter suppression]] and attempted to dismiss the charges, and gridlock ensued. Bilbo, suffering from oral cancer after decades of inciting violence and promoting bigotry, never returned to the Senate and died in August 1947.