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Lyons accused Willis of being too closely aligned with [[U.S. President]] [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] and the [[Great Society]] social policy.<ref>''The Lafayette Daily Advertiser'', November 9, 1966, p. 1.</ref> Republicans also claimed that Willis's health had diminished after he sustained in February 1966 a series of strokes which required surgery.<ref>''[[Shreveport Journal]]'', November 9, 1966, p. 2</ref>  Lyons polled 31,444 votes (40.3 percent) in a district in which no Republican had been elected since [[Reconstruction]]. Despite health issues, Willis received 46,533 votes (59.7 percent). Lyons obtained a slim majority in Iberia Parish and finished with 46 percent in Lafayette Parish.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Louisiana general election returns, November 8, 1966</ref>  

Lyons accused Willis of being too closely aligned with [[U.S. President]] [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] and the [[Great Society]] social policy.<ref>''The Lafayette Daily Advertiser'', November 9, 1966, p. 1.</ref> Republicans also claimed that Willis's health had diminished after he sustained in February 1966 a series of strokes which required surgery.<ref>''[[Shreveport Journal]]'', November 9, 1966, p. 2</ref>  Lyons polled 31,444 votes (40.3 percent) in a district in which no Republican had been elected since [[Reconstruction]]. Despite health issues, Willis received 46,533 votes (59.7 percent). Lyons obtained a slim majority in Iberia Parish and finished with 46 percent in Lafayette Parish.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Louisiana general election returns, November 8, 1966</ref>  

Willis' defeat of Lyons marked the veteran lawmaker's last victory at the polls, He was unseated in the 1968 Democratic [[primary]] election by Patrick Thomson Caffery, Sr. (1932-2013), who retained the seat for two terms before retiring to return to his law practice in New Iberia, Louisiana.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=c000017|title=Caffery, Patrick Thomson (1932-2013)|publisher=bioguide.congress.gov|accessdate=August 15, 2014}}</ref> Charlton Lyons had waged a campaign in December 1961 for Louisiana's 4th congressional district seat against the incoming Democrat [[Joe Waggonner]] of Bossier Parish, who won the right to succeed Thomas Overton Brooks (1897-1961) of Shreveport, who had died in office three months earlier.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/1417765/|title=GOP Challenge Turned Back by Waggonner|publisher=''Lake Charles American Press''|date=December 20, 1961|accessdate=August 15, 2014}}</ref>​

Willis' defeat of Lyons marked the veteran lawmaker's last victory at the polls, He was unseated in the 1968 Democratic [[primary]] election by Patrick Thomson Caffery, Sr. (1932-2013), who retained the seat for two terms before retiring to return to his law practice in New Iberia, Louisiana.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=c000017|title=Caffery, Patrick Thomson (1932-2013)|publisher=bioguide.congress.gov|accessdate=August 15, 2014}}</ref> Charlton Lyons had waged a campaign in December 1961 for Louisiana's 4th congressional district seat against the incoming Democrat [[Joe Waggonner]] of Bossier Parish, who won the right to succeed [[Thomas Overton Brooks]] (1897-1961) of Shreveport, who had died in office three months earlier.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/1417765/|title=GOP Challenge Turned Back by Waggonner|publisher=''Lake Charles American Press''|date=December 20, 1961|accessdate=August 15, 2014}}</ref>​

Running with Lyons in the same Third Congressional District in 1966 was [[Charles and Virginia de Gravelles|Charles de Gravelles]], an oil landman from Lafayette and the successor to Charlton Lyons as state Republican chairman. DeGravelles failed to unseat Harvey Peltier, Sr. (1899-1977), in a race for the since reconfigured Louisiana State Board of Education, now the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.<ref>State of Louisiana: Secretary of State, ''Election Returns, 1965-1966'', p. 28.</ref>​

Running with Lyons in the same Third Congressional District in 1966 was [[Charles and Virginia de Gravelles|Charles de Gravelles]], an oil landman from Lafayette and the successor to Charlton Lyons as state Republican chairman. DeGravelles failed to unseat Harvey Peltier, Sr. (1899-1977), in a race for the since reconfigured Louisiana State Board of Education, now the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.<ref>State of Louisiana: Secretary of State, ''Election Returns, 1965-1966'', p. 28.</ref>​