Clyde C. Holloway
Encyclopedia
Clyde Cecil Holloway is an American
small business
owner from Forest Hill
in the southern part of Rapides Parish who is one of five members of the Louisiana Public Service Commission
. He also served as a conservative
Republican
member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from the Alexandria
-based 8th congressional district
from 1987 to 1993, becoming the first Republican in modern times to represent the northern part of the state. He won three consecutive elections to the U.S. House from an historically Democratic
district.
On April 13, 2009, Holloway, long a member of the Republican State Central Committee from the 27th District of the Louisiana House of Representatives
, the Public Service Commissioner of the Fourth District when his opponent dropped out of the race following the primary.
of Eunice
. The other candidate in the runoff, which had been scheduled for May 2, Democratic
State Senator William Joseph McPherson, Jr.
, of Woodworth
, formerly from Pineville
, dropped out on April 13. Holloway narrowly led a three-candidate field in the special election held on April 4. McPherson had lost the previous regular PSC election to Sittig. Democrat-turned-Republican Gil Pinac
, a hospital administrator and a former state representative from Crowley
in Acadia Parish
, finished a weak third in the balloting. McPherson explained his concession as an anticipation that most of Pinac's supporters would switch to Holloway and give the Republican an insurmountable lead. Holloway polled 32,258 votes (43.50 percent) to McPherson's 31,610 (42.63 percent). Pinac trailed with the critical 10,280 ballots (13.86 percent). McPherson's greatest strength was in populous Calcasieu Parish, where he led 11,178 (50.40 percent) to Holloway's 7,873 (35.50 percent), and Pinac's 3,127 (14.10 percent). Ironically, Holloway's total in Calcasieu – centered on Lake Charles
– was also his single greatest parish total. Rapides Parish, the home of both candidates, voted in a low turnout: 6,527 for Holloway to 5,327 for McPherson, and 791 for Pinac.
As results were still being tabulated, Pinac conceded and endorsed Holloway. Bobby Jindal, a Republican, had raised funds for McPherson, but had otherwise been silent on the PSC race.
Numerous people describe McPherson, a businessman, as "anti-business", and the state GOP endorsed Holloway. Thus the runoff would have pitted the Republican Committee's pick, Holloway, against the beneficiary of the Republican governor's fundraising largesse, McPherson. By withdrawing, McPherson removed a political embarrassment for Jindal. Meanwhile, the Jindal-endorsed Lee Domingue] lost the special election for a Louisiana State Senate
seat on April 4 to another Republican, Dan Claitor
, scion of the Claitor's Publishing Company of Baton Rouge.
In replacing Democrat Sittig, Holloway's addition to the PSC (even including the forerunner Louisiana Railroad Commission) gave the body its first-ever Republican majority. Commissioners Jimmy Field and Eric Skrmetta
are, like Holloway, Republican; and the PSC has just five seats. The Democratic PSC members are Foster Campbell
(an unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate against Jindal in 2007) and Lambert C. Boissiere, III. The PSC is also the first electoral body in Louisiana to develop a Republican majority since Reconstruction.
Holloway was unopposed in the August 28, 2010, nonpartisan blanket promary for a full term on the PSC. On July 13, 2010, Holloway noted as a guest on The Moon Griffon Show that August 28 would be his first ever unopposed race and his thirteenth time to appear on a ballot.
in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In making the appointment, then Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns
, currently a U.S. Senator from Nebraska
, said that Holloway, who had been a member of the House Agriculture Committee during his six years in Congress, "brings a wealth of knowledge to USDA." The agency seeks to increase economic opportunity and to improve the quality of life in rural communities. The agency has invested some $72 billion since 2001 to provide equity and technical assistance to finance and foster growth in homeownership, business development, and critical community and technology infrastructure
. The agency claims to have created or saved some 1.2 million jobs nationwide. The Holloway appointment expired in January 2009, with the incoming Barack Obama
administration.
in Rapides Parish to James Cecil Holloway (October 15, 1909 – September 26, 2006), formerly from Arizona
, and the former Ever Christina Barker (December 7, 1912 – December 11, 2006). The Holloways later moved to Forest Hill just west of Lecompte and south of Alexandria, the biggest city in central Louisiana. James Holloway earned his livelihood as an electrician
at Camp Claiborne and was later employed at the Meeker Sugar
Cooperative. He retired as a Rapides Parish school bus driver
. The senior Holloways were married for seventy-one years; he preceded her in death by some ten weeks. Mrs. Holloway was the daughter of Charlie and Emma Barker. The Holloways are interred at Butters Cemetery in Forest Hill.
Clyde Holloway attended the National Aeronautics School in Kansas City
, Kansas
. He owns a tree and shrub nursery in Forest Hill. He was also the chairman of the board of the private Forest Hill Academy, originally Forest Hill Neighborhood School.
He is married to Catherine F. "Cathie" Holloway (also born 1943). The couple has four children, Timothy A. Holloway (born 1969), Mark R. Holloway (born 1971), Rebecca L. Holloway (born 1975), and Sara E. Holloway (born 1979), and five grandchildren, Caleb, John Thomas and Ava Holloway and Faith and Evan Ebert. He is a member of the Elwood Baptist Church in Forest Hill, but Mrs. Holloway is Roman Catholic. One of his brothers, Charlie David Holloway (born 1941), is a former member of the Rapides Parish School Board.
Gillis William Long
. Holloway depicted himself as a Reagan
conservative
and an opponent of Republican U.S. District Judge Nauman Scott
's cross-parish school busing orders. Robert Henry Mitchell (born 1945), also of Forest Hill, the Republican loser to Long in the 1978 race, also ran again. Long prevailed with 75,433 votes (68.9 percent) to Holloway's 27,816 (25.4 percent) and Mitchell's 6,243 (5.7 percent). As it turned out, Holloway was laying the groundwork in the 1980 campaign for his eventual three elections to the U.S. House. Holloway and Long were actually residents of the same parish (Rapides) in Central Louisiana, so many were stunned when Holloway actually defeated the long-time powerful incumbent Long in their home parish.
. A special election was held to fill out the term, and Holloway entered as the lone Republican candidate. Long's widow, Catherine Small Long (born 1924), and Alexandria
attorney John W. "Jock" Scott
, (born 1947), a state representative in his third and final term, also ran. "Cathy" Long, a native of Dayton, Ohio
, was a landslide winner, with 61,791 votes (57.8 percent). Scott finished second with 27,138 (25.4 percent), and Holloway trailed with 18,013 votes (16.8 percent).
William J. "Bill" Dodd, an astute observer of Louisiana politics, called the liberal Cathy Long "the perfect political wife." She once told the Alexandria Daily Town Talk
that a U.S. representative's main responsibility is to bring as much national funding home to the congressional district as possible, a view at odds with those conservatives who abhor pork-barrel spending. She decided not to seek the seat for a full term in 1986.
from Alexandria, who supported abortion
and expanded social programs.
The other contenders were Morgan Godeau, Joe Sevario, and Carson K. Killen, of St. Amant in Ascension Parish, who had been an aide to Gillis Long and presumably Long's choice as his successor. Killen was later elected to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and was the executive director of the Louisiana Police Jury (the equivalent of a county commission
in other states) Association. Williams led Holloway in the primary, 46,025 (26 percent) to 41,618 (23 percent), a margin of 4,407 votes. Goudeau was third with 36,304 ballots (20 percent), followed by Sevario with 34,847 votes (19 percent), and Killen with 21,116 votes (12 percent).
Polls indicated that Williams would defeat Holloway in the general election
in part because the district was 90 percent historically Democratic. High turnout, particularly in the large black community, was expected to benefit Williams. Holloway, however, pulled an upset. He received 102,276 votes (51.4 percent) to Mrs. Williams' 96,864 (48.6 percent). He was heavily dependent on his native Rapides and neighboring Avoyelles parishes. Holloway was estimated to have received 73 percent of the ballots of whites and 1 percent of the black vote. Williams would presumably have won if she had received 29 or 30 percent of the white vote, instead of the 27 percent that she obtained. Williams may have been damaged by reports that her black ex-husband had murdered her white boyfriend. The high turnout in fact helped Holloway more than it did Williams.
In the same election cycle that Holloway was elected to the U.S. Congress, another Republican, Richard Hugh Baker of Baton Rouge, won a U.S. House seat. Holloway and Baker would be only the fourth and fifth Republicans to have served in the U.S. House from Louisiana since Reconstruction, following David C. Treen
in 1973, Henson Moore
(Baker's predecessor) in 1975 and Bob Livingston
in 1977. However, Holloway and Baker were only the second and third Republicans to win an undisputed victory in a contested election. Holloway was also the first Republican to represent north Louisiana since Reconstruction.
In the U.S. House, Holloway was considered a "protectionist" and an opponent of "free trade
" policies, which he believes have contributed to economic troubles in Louisiana. Unlike Long, however, he was an ardent fiscal and social conservative. He voted to cut government spending. He was skeptical of international organizations that he felt undermined U.S. sovereignty
. His voting record consistently reflected his middle class beliefs. He advocated rolling back "big government," cutting taxes to spur economic growth, restoring school prayer
, and ending abortion.
In 1988, Williams and Holloway again squared off in the general election. Holloway was helped by the presence of the successful Republican presidential nominee, Vice-President George H.W. Bush, who carried the state in a landslide. This time, Holloway defeated Williams in a single round. He received 116,241 votes (57 percent) to her 88,564 (43 percent). After her defeats, Williams left Alexandria and relocated to Washington, D.C.
In the primary in 1988, former Alexandria Mayor
John K. Snyder
also ran and polled only 1 percent of the vote, as his controversial political career continued to unravel.
In 1990, Holloway defeated two state senators
in the primary, Cleo Fields
of Baton Rouge and State Senator Joe McPherson, Jr., of Holloway's own Rapides Parish. Holloway polled 113,607 votes (56 percent) to 59,511 (30 percent) for Fields, and 18,170 (14 percent) for McPherson.
, who had been elected as a Democrat in 1987 in the primary. In the 1991 primary, Holloway finished a fourth, with 82,683 (5.3 percent), although Holloway finished ahead of Roemer in two parishes, a sign of the incumbent governor's weak campaign.One reason Holloway supporters rejected Roemer was the outgoing governor's support for abortion. Roemer, previously considered pro-life, reversed himself and vetoed three bills which would have restricted access to abortion in Louisiana.
Instead, the general election featured unendorsed Republican David Duke
and former Governor Edwin Washington Edwards. Holloway refused to endorse either Duke or Edwards. Edwards won a clear victory for a fourth term in part because the third place candidate, Roemer, endorsed Edwards in the showdown with Duke, who was unpopular among many Republicans because of his Ku Klux Klan
ties to the "Radical Right."
(born 1942) Holloway led in the nonpartisan blanket primary with 52,012 votes (37 percent) to Baker's 46,990 (33 percent), and Randolph's 42,819 (30 percent).
In the general election held on the day of the Bill Clinton
-George Herbert Walker Bush presidential contest, Holloway won fifteen of seventeen parishes in the new district. However, Baker polled large majorities in the two largest parishes of Livingston and his home base, East Baton Rouge. That was enough for Baker to win the seat, 123,953 votes (51 percent) to Holloway's 121,225 (49 percent). Had Holloway been able to hold down Baker's margin in East Baton Rouge Parish (Baker's home), he would have secured a fourth House term.
The Sixth Congressional District had been drawn in such a way that the winner was likely to have been a Republican, since black residents of the surrounding area had been drawn into the majority African-American Fourth Congressional District. (Ironically, that district was won by Cleo Fields
, Holloway's unsuccessful opponent in 1990.) Tens of thousands of Democrats in the once historically Democratic Sixth District were forced through the nonpartisan blanket primary to choose between two Republican candidates for Congress or to skip that race on the ballot. Baker was only slightly less conservative than Holloway, but Democratic voters apparently saw him as the lesser of two evils. Such a dilemma for Democrats was not what Edwards had in mind when he fashioned the nonpartisan blanket primary some fifteen years earlier. Edwards had expected Republicans to be sitting on the sidelines and having to choose from two unacceptable Democrats.
. Hayes polled 72,424 votes (53 percent) to Holloway's 54,253 (40 percent). Another 7 percent of voters supported a candidate who ran as "no party." Hayes surprised many observers by becoming a Republican himself in 1995.
In 1996, Holloway entered the race for the revised (again) Fifth District, which covered the northeast quadrant of Louisiana, stretching to south of Alexandria to include his Forest Hill residence. Holloway ran third in the primary to fellow Republican John Cooksey
, a Monroe
ophthalmologist
, and Democratic State Representative Francis C. Thompson
, a large landowner in Delhi
in Richland Parish.
Cooksey polled 60,853 ballots (34 percent) to Holloway's 48,226 (27 percent). Thompson, with 50,144 votes (28 percent), hence went into the 1996 general election with Cooksey. Holloway's weak showing in Ouachita Parish in particular kept him from proceeding to the second round of balloting, just as his weak showing in East Baton Rouge Parish had doomed him in 1992. Thwarted once more, Holloway endorsed Cooksey, with whom he shared a similar conservative philosophy, and helped him to raise money. Cooksey went on to win the seat handily, 135,990 (58 percent) to the more liberal Thompson's 97,363 (42 percent). Cooksey served three terms before leaving the House.
against Mary Landrieu
in 2002, Holloway entered the race to succeed him in the House. For a time, Holloway appeared strong. He had the support of House Speaker Dennis Hastert
of Illinois
and then Majority Whip Tom DeLay
of Texas
. But he finished third in the nonpartisan blanket primary with 42,573 votes (23 percent). Leading the pack was the eventual winner, Democrat Rodney Alexander, with 52,952 votes (29 percent). Newcomer Dewey Lee Fletcher
, a young Republican advertising entrepreneur from Monroe, who had also previously been an aide to Cooksey, finished second in the primary with 45,278 (25 percent). A fourth candidate, Republican State Senator Robert J. Barham
of Oak Ridge
in Morehouse Parish, had 34,533 votes (19 percent). (Three minor candidates shared the remaining 5 percent.)
Alexander then defeated Fletcher in the general election by only 974 votes, 86,718 to 85,744. Holloway's endorsement of Alexander may have been the decisive movement of the campaign: he could not be congressman again, but he could choose between the two general election candidates and anoint the narrow winner. There were also reports cited as the Clyde Factor" that many Holloway supporters in Rapides Parish, particularly Alexandria, voted for Alexander primarily to thwart young Fletcher, given Fletcher's negative and misleading false campaign tactics the final hours leading to the primary election.
The seat stayed in Democratic hands for less than two years, however. In the summer of 2004, Alexander switched to the Republican Party and quickly gained enough support from the Republican Party establishment to end any hopes Holloway had of running in that year's election. It was Holloway's rival from 1985, Jock Scott, who decided to take on Alexander that year.
but was defeated by the Democrat Mitch Landrieu
, younger brother of Senator Mary Landrieu
. He originally ran on a "ticket" with the then chairman of the PSC, John "Jay" Blossman, Jr.
, of suburban New Orleans. When Blossman withdrew from the gubernatorial race in light of weak poll numbers, Holloway remained a candidate for lieutenant governor. He polled 249,668 votes (19 percent) to Landrieu's 674,803 (53 percent). The other 28 percent was shared by several other candidates, including the African American businessman Kirt Bennett
of Baton Rouge and Melinda Schwegmann
, a former Democratic lieutenant governor (1992–1996) serving as a state representative who switched in 2003 to the GOP
. Announcing to run only one month prior to the election and spending less than $10,000 for the statewide race, HOlloway still scored majorities in La Salle, Caldwell, and West Carroll parishes, which are all sparsely populated parishes in north Louisiana. He scored pluralities in Avoyelles and Evangeline parishes, both from his old Eighth Congressional District.
"Holloway appointed to head rural development efforts in Louisiana," Colfax Chronicle (Grant Parish), October 19, 2006
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
small business
Small business
A small business is a business that is privately owned and operated, with a small number of employees and relatively low volume of sales. Small businesses are normally privately owned corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships...
owner from Forest Hill
Forest Hill, Louisiana
Forest Hill is a village in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the Alexandria, Louisiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 456 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Forest Hill is located at ....
in the southern part of Rapides Parish who is one of five members of the Louisiana Public Service Commission
Louisiana Public Service Commission
Louisiana Public Service Commission is an independent regulatory agency which manages public utilities and motor carriers in Louisiana. The commission has five elected members chosen in single-member districts for staggered six-year terms...
. He also served as a conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
member of the U.S. House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from the Alexandria
Alexandria, Louisiana
Alexandria is a city in and the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the principal city of the Alexandria metropolitan area which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant parishes....
-based 8th congressional district
Louisiana's 8th congressional district
Louisiana's 8th congressional district is a defunct Congressional district and no longer exists after Louisiana lost its eighth Congressional seat in the 1990 U. S. Census. For its entire existence, it was based in Alexandria and included much of the north-central part of the state.-List of...
from 1987 to 1993, becoming the first Republican in modern times to represent the northern part of the state. He won three consecutive elections to the U.S. House from an historically Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
district.
On April 13, 2009, Holloway, long a member of the Republican State Central Committee from the 27th District of the Louisiana House of Representatives
Louisiana House of Representatives
The Louisiana House of Representatives is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Louisiana. The House is composed of 105 Representatives, each of whom represents approximately 42,500 people . Members serve four-year terms with a term limit of...
, the Public Service Commissioner of the Fourth District when his opponent dropped out of the race following the primary.
Public Service Commissioner
In 2009, Holloway emerged the plurality leader in a special election for the PSC post vacated by the resignation of Dale SittigDale Sittig
Clifton Dale Sittig is the director of the Louisiana Offshore Terminal Authority, who previously served from 1995-2008 as a Democratic member of his state’s Public Service Commission and from 1983-1995 as a state representative from Eunice in St. Landry Parish in south Louisiana.Sittig graduated...
of Eunice
Eunice, Louisiana
Eunice is a city in Acadia, Evangeline and St. Landry parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 11,499 at the 2000 census.The St...
. The other candidate in the runoff, which had been scheduled for May 2, Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
State Senator William Joseph McPherson, Jr.
Joe McPherson
William Joseph "Joe" McPherson, Jr., is a retiring veteran Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate from Woodworth, a small community south of Alexandria, Louisiana, the seat of government of Rapides Parish and the largest city in the Central Louisiana region...
, of Woodworth
Woodworth, Louisiana
Woodworth is a town in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the Alexandria, Louisiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,080 at the 2000 census....
, formerly from Pineville
Pineville, Louisiana
Pineville is a city in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is adjacent to the city of Alexandria, and is part of that city's Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 13,829 at the 2000 census....
, dropped out on April 13. Holloway narrowly led a three-candidate field in the special election held on April 4. McPherson had lost the previous regular PSC election to Sittig. Democrat-turned-Republican Gil Pinac
Gil Pinac
Gillis James Pinac, known as Gil Pinac is a former 12-year Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from Crowley, the seat of Acadia Parish...
, a hospital administrator and a former state representative from Crowley
Crowley, Louisiana
Crowley is a city in and the parish seat of Acadia Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 14,225 at the 2000 census. The city is noted for its annual International Rice Festival. Crowley has the nickname of "Rice Capital of America", because at one time it was a major center for...
in Acadia Parish
Acadia Parish, Louisiana
Acadia Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Crowley. According to the 2010 census, the population of Acadia Parish is 61,773. The parish was founded from parts of St...
, finished a weak third in the balloting. McPherson explained his concession as an anticipation that most of Pinac's supporters would switch to Holloway and give the Republican an insurmountable lead. Holloway polled 32,258 votes (43.50 percent) to McPherson's 31,610 (42.63 percent). Pinac trailed with the critical 10,280 ballots (13.86 percent). McPherson's greatest strength was in populous Calcasieu Parish, where he led 11,178 (50.40 percent) to Holloway's 7,873 (35.50 percent), and Pinac's 3,127 (14.10 percent). Ironically, Holloway's total in Calcasieu – centered on Lake Charles
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Located in Calcasieu Parish, a major cultural, industrial, and educational center in the southwest region of the state, and one of the most important in...
– was also his single greatest parish total. Rapides Parish, the home of both candidates, voted in a low turnout: 6,527 for Holloway to 5,327 for McPherson, and 791 for Pinac.
As results were still being tabulated, Pinac conceded and endorsed Holloway. Bobby Jindal, a Republican, had raised funds for McPherson, but had otherwise been silent on the PSC race.
Numerous people describe McPherson, a businessman, as "anti-business", and the state GOP endorsed Holloway. Thus the runoff would have pitted the Republican Committee's pick, Holloway, against the beneficiary of the Republican governor's fundraising largesse, McPherson. By withdrawing, McPherson removed a political embarrassment for Jindal. Meanwhile, the Jindal-endorsed Lee Domingue] lost the special election for a Louisiana State Senate
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
seat on April 4 to another Republican, Dan Claitor
Dan Claitor
Daniel Albert Claitor , known as Dan Claitor, is a Baton Rouge attorney and a Republican member of the Louisiana State Senate. He defeated fellow Republican Lee Domingue, a Baton Rouge businessman, in a special election held on April 4, 2009, for the District 16 seat vacated by Republican U.S....
, scion of the Claitor's Publishing Company of Baton Rouge.
In replacing Democrat Sittig, Holloway's addition to the PSC (even including the forerunner Louisiana Railroad Commission) gave the body its first-ever Republican majority. Commissioners Jimmy Field and Eric Skrmetta
Eric Skrmetta
Eric Frederick Skrmetta is an attorney from Metairie, Louisiana, who is a Republican member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission from District 1, which includes suburban New Orleans, the eastern Florida Parishes, and the River Parishes...
are, like Holloway, Republican; and the PSC has just five seats. The Democratic PSC members are Foster Campbell
Foster Campbell
Foster L. Campbell, Jr. , is a Democratic member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission, a former 26-year member of the Louisiana State Senate, and an unsuccessful candidate for governor in the October 20, 2007, jungle primary. Campbell polled 161,425 votes and won two parishes: Red River and...
(an unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate against Jindal in 2007) and Lambert C. Boissiere, III. The PSC is also the first electoral body in Louisiana to develop a Republican majority since Reconstruction.
Holloway was unopposed in the August 28, 2010, nonpartisan blanket promary for a full term on the PSC. On July 13, 2010, Holloway noted as a guest on The Moon Griffon Show that August 28 would be his first ever unopposed race and his thirteenth time to appear on a ballot.
Rural Development Director
On October 19, 2006, Holloway was named Louisiana state director for the Office of Rural DevelopmentRural Development
USDA Office of Rural Development is an agency with the United States Department of Agriculture which runs programs intended to improve the economy and quality of life in rural America....
in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In making the appointment, then Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns
Mike Johanns
Michael Owen "Mike" Johanns is an American Republican politician who has been the junior United States Senator from Nebraska since 2009. Previously he was the 38th Governor of Nebraska from 1999 to 2005 and was U.S. Secretary of Agriculture from 2005 to 2007, becoming the fourth Nebraskan to hold...
, currently a U.S. Senator from Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, said that Holloway, who had been a member of the House Agriculture Committee during his six years in Congress, "brings a wealth of knowledge to USDA." The agency seeks to increase economic opportunity and to improve the quality of life in rural communities. The agency has invested some $72 billion since 2001 to provide equity and technical assistance to finance and foster growth in homeownership, business development, and critical community and technology infrastructure
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
. The agency claims to have created or saved some 1.2 million jobs nationwide. The Holloway appointment expired in January 2009, with the incoming Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
administration.
Early years
Holloway was one of seven children born in the small town of LecompteLecompte, Louisiana
Lecompte is a town in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the Alexandria, Louisiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,366 at the 2000 census....
in Rapides Parish to James Cecil Holloway (October 15, 1909 – September 26, 2006), formerly from Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, and the former Ever Christina Barker (December 7, 1912 – December 11, 2006). The Holloways later moved to Forest Hill just west of Lecompte and south of Alexandria, the biggest city in central Louisiana. James Holloway earned his livelihood as an electrician
Electrician
An electrician is a tradesman specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, stationary machines and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the maintenance and repair of existing electrical infrastructure. Electricians may also...
at Camp Claiborne and was later employed at the Meeker Sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
Cooperative. He retired as a Rapides Parish school bus driver
Bus driver
A bus driver, bus operator or omnibus driver is a person who drives buses professionally. Bus drivers typically drive their vehicles between bus stations or stops. They often drop off and pick up passengers on a predetermined route schedule. In British English a different term, coach drivers, is...
. The senior Holloways were married for seventy-one years; he preceded her in death by some ten weeks. Mrs. Holloway was the daughter of Charlie and Emma Barker. The Holloways are interred at Butters Cemetery in Forest Hill.
Clyde Holloway attended the National Aeronautics School in Kansas City
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City is the third-largest city in the state of Kansas and is the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the third largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The city is part of a consolidated city-county government known as the "Unified...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
. He owns a tree and shrub nursery in Forest Hill. He was also the chairman of the board of the private Forest Hill Academy, originally Forest Hill Neighborhood School.
He is married to Catherine F. "Cathie" Holloway (also born 1943). The couple has four children, Timothy A. Holloway (born 1969), Mark R. Holloway (born 1971), Rebecca L. Holloway (born 1975), and Sara E. Holloway (born 1979), and five grandchildren, Caleb, John Thomas and Ava Holloway and Faith and Evan Ebert. He is a member of the Elwood Baptist Church in Forest Hill, but Mrs. Holloway is Roman Catholic. One of his brothers, Charlie David Holloway (born 1941), is a former member of the Rapides Parish School Board.
First congressional campaign, 1980
Holloway first ran for Congress in 1980 against entrenched Democratic incumbentIncumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
Gillis William Long
Gillis William Long
Gillis William Long was a Democratic U.S. Representative from Louisiana and member of the Long family. Long served seven non-consecutive terms in the United States House of Representatives but placed third in two campaigns for the Democratic gubernatorial nominations in 1963 and 1971...
. Holloway depicted himself as a Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
conservative
American conservatism
Conservatism in the United States has played an important role in American politics since the 1950s. Historian Gregory Schneider identifies several constants in American conservatism: respect for tradition, support of republicanism, preservation of "the rule of law and the Christian religion", and...
and an opponent of Republican U.S. District Judge Nauman Scott
Nauman Scott
Nauman Steele Scott, II , was a Republican-appointed federal judge in the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana from 1970 until 2001, who ordered cross-parish busing guidelines in 1980 to foster racial balance in Rapides Parish public schools...
's cross-parish school busing orders. Robert Henry Mitchell (born 1945), also of Forest Hill, the Republican loser to Long in the 1978 race, also ran again. Long prevailed with 75,433 votes (68.9 percent) to Holloway's 27,816 (25.4 percent) and Mitchell's 6,243 (5.7 percent). As it turned out, Holloway was laying the groundwork in the 1980 campaign for his eventual three elections to the U.S. House. Holloway and Long were actually residents of the same parish (Rapides) in Central Louisiana, so many were stunned when Holloway actually defeated the long-time powerful incumbent Long in their home parish.
Choosing a successor to Gillis Long
In 1985, Gillis Long died on the day of Reagan's second inaugurationInauguration
An inauguration is a formal ceremony to mark the beginning of a leader's term of office. An example is the ceremony in which the President of the United States officially takes the oath of office....
. A special election was held to fill out the term, and Holloway entered as the lone Republican candidate. Long's widow, Catherine Small Long (born 1924), and Alexandria
Alexandria, Louisiana
Alexandria is a city in and the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the principal city of the Alexandria metropolitan area which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant parishes....
attorney John W. "Jock" Scott
Jock Scott
John Wyeth "Jock" Scott, II was a lawyer and college professor in Alexandria, who served three terms from District 26 in the Louisiana House of Representatives, first as a Democrat and then as a Republican . He was defeated in a race for the Louisiana State Senate in 1987...
, (born 1947), a state representative in his third and final term, also ran. "Cathy" Long, a native of Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
, was a landslide winner, with 61,791 votes (57.8 percent). Scott finished second with 27,138 (25.4 percent), and Holloway trailed with 18,013 votes (16.8 percent).
William J. "Bill" Dodd, an astute observer of Louisiana politics, called the liberal Cathy Long "the perfect political wife." She once told the Alexandria Daily Town Talk
The Town Talk (Alexandria)
The Town Talk, started as The Daily Town Talk in 1883 and later named the Alexandria Daily Town Talk, is the major newspaper of Central Louisiana. It is published by Gannett in Alexandria, the seat of Rapides Parish and the economic center of Central Louisiana.The daily newspaper has a circulation...
that a U.S. representative's main responsibility is to bring as much national funding home to the congressional district as possible, a view at odds with those conservatives who abhor pork-barrel spending. She decided not to seek the seat for a full term in 1986.
Mr. Holloway goes to Congress, 1987
In 1986, Holloway was the lone Republican in the nonpartisan blanket primary to succeed Mrs. Long. His principal opponent was Faye Williams, a black liberal Democratic woman attorneyLawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
from Alexandria, who supported abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
and expanded social programs.
The other contenders were Morgan Godeau, Joe Sevario, and Carson K. Killen, of St. Amant in Ascension Parish, who had been an aide to Gillis Long and presumably Long's choice as his successor. Killen was later elected to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and was the executive director of the Louisiana Police Jury (the equivalent of a county commission
County commission
A county commission is a group of elected officials charged with administering the county government in local government in some states of the United States. County commissions are usually made up of three or more individuals...
in other states) Association. Williams led Holloway in the primary, 46,025 (26 percent) to 41,618 (23 percent), a margin of 4,407 votes. Goudeau was third with 36,304 ballots (20 percent), followed by Sevario with 34,847 votes (19 percent), and Killen with 21,116 votes (12 percent).
Polls indicated that Williams would defeat Holloway in the general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
in part because the district was 90 percent historically Democratic. High turnout, particularly in the large black community, was expected to benefit Williams. Holloway, however, pulled an upset. He received 102,276 votes (51.4 percent) to Mrs. Williams' 96,864 (48.6 percent). He was heavily dependent on his native Rapides and neighboring Avoyelles parishes. Holloway was estimated to have received 73 percent of the ballots of whites and 1 percent of the black vote. Williams would presumably have won if she had received 29 or 30 percent of the white vote, instead of the 27 percent that she obtained. Williams may have been damaged by reports that her black ex-husband had murdered her white boyfriend. The high turnout in fact helped Holloway more than it did Williams.
In the same election cycle that Holloway was elected to the U.S. Congress, another Republican, Richard Hugh Baker of Baton Rouge, won a U.S. House seat. Holloway and Baker would be only the fourth and fifth Republicans to have served in the U.S. House from Louisiana since Reconstruction, following David C. Treen
David C. Treen
David Conner "Dave" Treen, Sr. , was an American attorney and politician from Mandeville, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana – the first Republican Governor of the U.S. state of Louisiana since Reconstruction. He was the first Republican in modern times to have served in the U.S...
in 1973, Henson Moore
Henson Moore
William Henson Moore III , is a retired attorney and businessman who is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, having represented the Baton Rouge-based Sixth Congressional District, from 1975-1987. He is only the second Republican to have represented Louisiana in the House since...
(Baker's predecessor) in 1975 and Bob Livingston
Bob Livingston
Robert Linlithgow "Bob" Livingston Jr. is a Washington, D.C.-based lobbyist and a former Republican U.S. Representative from Louisiana...
in 1977. However, Holloway and Baker were only the second and third Republicans to win an undisputed victory in a contested election. Holloway was also the first Republican to represent north Louisiana since Reconstruction.
In the U.S. House, Holloway was considered a "protectionist" and an opponent of "free trade
Free trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
" policies, which he believes have contributed to economic troubles in Louisiana. Unlike Long, however, he was an ardent fiscal and social conservative. He voted to cut government spending. He was skeptical of international organizations that he felt undermined U.S. sovereignty
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
. His voting record consistently reflected his middle class beliefs. He advocated rolling back "big government," cutting taxes to spur economic growth, restoring school prayer
School prayer
School prayer in its common usage refers to state-approved prayer by students in state schools. Depending on the country and the type of school, organized prayer may be required, permitted, or prohibited...
, and ending abortion.
In 1988, Williams and Holloway again squared off in the general election. Holloway was helped by the presence of the successful Republican presidential nominee, Vice-President George H.W. Bush, who carried the state in a landslide. This time, Holloway defeated Williams in a single round. He received 116,241 votes (57 percent) to her 88,564 (43 percent). After her defeats, Williams left Alexandria and relocated to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
In the primary in 1988, former Alexandria Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
John K. Snyder
John K. Snyder
John Kenneth Snyder, Sr., sometimes known as Tillie Snyder , was a colorful, outspoken Democratic mayor of Alexandria, Louisiana, from 1973–1977 and again from 1982-1986....
also ran and polled only 1 percent of the vote, as his controversial political career continued to unravel.
In 1990, Holloway defeated two state senators
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
in the primary, Cleo Fields
Cleo Fields
Cleo Fields is a lawyer and politician. He is a former member of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana....
of Baton Rouge and State Senator Joe McPherson, Jr., of Holloway's own Rapides Parish. Holloway polled 113,607 votes (56 percent) to 59,511 (30 percent) for Fields, and 18,170 (14 percent) for McPherson.
Ill-fated gubernatorial race, 1991
Holloway's three consecutive House victories, two with more than 55 percent of the vote, made him feel secure in running for governor in 1991; he could run statewide in an off year from congressional races without surrendering his House seat. He won the endorsement of state Republican delegates against the sitting Republican governor, Charles E. "Buddy" Roemer, IIIBuddy Roemer
Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer III is an American politician who served as the 52nd Governor of Louisiana, from 1988 to 1992. He was elected as a Democrat but switched to the Republican Party on March 11, 1991...
, who had been elected as a Democrat in 1987 in the primary. In the 1991 primary, Holloway finished a fourth, with 82,683 (5.3 percent), although Holloway finished ahead of Roemer in two parishes, a sign of the incumbent governor's weak campaign.One reason Holloway supporters rejected Roemer was the outgoing governor's support for abortion. Roemer, previously considered pro-life, reversed himself and vetoed three bills which would have restricted access to abortion in Louisiana.
Instead, the general election featured unendorsed Republican David Duke
David Duke
David Ernest Duke is a former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan an American activist and writer, and former Republican Louisiana State Representative. He was also a former candidate in the Republican presidential primaries in 1992, and in the Democratic presidential primaries in...
and former Governor Edwin Washington Edwards. Holloway refused to endorse either Duke or Edwards. Edwards won a clear victory for a fourth term in part because the third place candidate, Roemer, endorsed Edwards in the showdown with Duke, who was unpopular among many Republicans because of his Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
ties to the "Radical Right."
Winning 15 of 17 parishes and still losing
After his gubernatorial loss, Holloway mapped plans to seek reelection to Congress in 1992. Louisiana lost a congressional district as a result of the 1990 Census, and Holloway's Alexandria-based Eighth District was eliminated. His home in Forest Hill was drawn into a revised Sixth District stretching from Baton Rouge on the south to Alexandria on the north. He faced two opponents, fellow Republican Representative Richard Baker and the Democratic mayor of Alexandria, Edward Gordon "Ned" Randolph, Jr.Ned Randolph
Edward Gordon "Ned" Randolph, Jr. , is a veteran Democratic politician who served as the mayor of Alexandria in central Louisiana from 1986 to 2006. Randolph was also a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1972 to 1976 and the Louisiana State Senate from 1976 to 1984...
(born 1942) Holloway led in the nonpartisan blanket primary with 52,012 votes (37 percent) to Baker's 46,990 (33 percent), and Randolph's 42,819 (30 percent).
In the general election held on the day of the Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
-George Herbert Walker Bush presidential contest, Holloway won fifteen of seventeen parishes in the new district. However, Baker polled large majorities in the two largest parishes of Livingston and his home base, East Baton Rouge. That was enough for Baker to win the seat, 123,953 votes (51 percent) to Holloway's 121,225 (49 percent). Had Holloway been able to hold down Baker's margin in East Baton Rouge Parish (Baker's home), he would have secured a fourth House term.
The Sixth Congressional District had been drawn in such a way that the winner was likely to have been a Republican, since black residents of the surrounding area had been drawn into the majority African-American Fourth Congressional District. (Ironically, that district was won by Cleo Fields
Cleo Fields
Cleo Fields is a lawyer and politician. He is a former member of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana....
, Holloway's unsuccessful opponent in 1990.) Tens of thousands of Democrats in the once historically Democratic Sixth District were forced through the nonpartisan blanket primary to choose between two Republican candidates for Congress or to skip that race on the ballot. Baker was only slightly less conservative than Holloway, but Democratic voters apparently saw him as the lesser of two evils. Such a dilemma for Democrats was not what Edwards had in mind when he fashioned the nonpartisan blanket primary some fifteen years earlier. Edwards had expected Republicans to be sitting on the sidelines and having to choose from two unacceptable Democrats.
Underdog Taking on the Machine
Holloway has since waged determined campaigns to return to Congress. In the heavily Republican year of 1994, he moved to the Lafayette-based Seventh Congressional District in southwestern Louisiana and ran against Democratic Congressman Jimmy HayesJimmy Hayes
James Allison "Jimmy" Hayes is a Republican politician from the state of Louisiana.Born in Lafayette, Hayes graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette . He served in the Louisiana Air National Guard from 1968 to 1974...
. Hayes polled 72,424 votes (53 percent) to Holloway's 54,253 (40 percent). Another 7 percent of voters supported a candidate who ran as "no party." Hayes surprised many observers by becoming a Republican himself in 1995.
In 1996, Holloway entered the race for the revised (again) Fifth District, which covered the northeast quadrant of Louisiana, stretching to south of Alexandria to include his Forest Hill residence. Holloway ran third in the primary to fellow Republican John Cooksey
John Cooksey
John Charles Cooksey, M.D. is an ophthalmologist who was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana from 1997 to 2003.-Early life:...
, a Monroe
Monroe, Louisiana
Monroe is a city in and the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. A July 1, 2007, United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 51,208, but 51,636...
ophthalmologist
Ophthalmology
Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine that deals with the anatomy, physiology and diseases of the eye. An ophthalmologist is a specialist in medical and surgical eye problems...
, and Democratic State Representative Francis C. Thompson
Francis C. Thompson
Francis Coleman Thompson is a wealthy developer from Delhi in Richland Parish, Louisiana, U.S., where he served as a senior Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives. He served continuously from 1975 until 2007...
, a large landowner in Delhi
Delhi, Louisiana
Delhi, originally called Deerfield, is a town in Richland Parish, Louisiana, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 3,066.-History:...
in Richland Parish.
Cooksey polled 60,853 ballots (34 percent) to Holloway's 48,226 (27 percent). Thompson, with 50,144 votes (28 percent), hence went into the 1996 general election with Cooksey. Holloway's weak showing in Ouachita Parish in particular kept him from proceeding to the second round of balloting, just as his weak showing in East Baton Rouge Parish had doomed him in 1992. Thwarted once more, Holloway endorsed Cooksey, with whom he shared a similar conservative philosophy, and helped him to raise money. Cooksey went on to win the seat handily, 135,990 (58 percent) to the more liberal Thompson's 97,363 (42 percent). Cooksey served three terms before leaving the House.
2,705 votes short
When Cooksey decided to run for the U.S. SenateUnited States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
against Mary Landrieu
Mary Landrieu
Mary Loretta Landrieu is the senior United States Senator from the State of Louisiana and a member of the Democratic Party.Born in Arlington, Virginia, Landrieu was raised in New Orleans, Louisiana...
in 2002, Holloway entered the race to succeed him in the House. For a time, Holloway appeared strong. He had the support of House Speaker Dennis Hastert
Dennis Hastert
John Dennis "Denny" Hastert was the 59th Speaker of the House serving from 1999 to 2007. He represented as a Republican for twenty years, 1987 to 2007.He is the longest-serving Republican Speaker in history...
of Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
and then Majority Whip Tom DeLay
Tom DeLay
Thomas Dale "Tom" DeLay is a former member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1984 until 2006. He was Republican Party House Majority Leader from 2003 to 2005, when he resigned because of criminal money laundering charges in...
of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. But he finished third in the nonpartisan blanket primary with 42,573 votes (23 percent). Leading the pack was the eventual winner, Democrat Rodney Alexander, with 52,952 votes (29 percent). Newcomer Dewey Lee Fletcher
Lee Fletcher
Dewey Lee Fletcher, Jr. , was an American political consultant and a talk radio host and blogger in Monroe, who was defeated by 974 votes in a 2002 race for the United States House of Representatives from the Fifth Congressional District in northeast Louisiana...
, a young Republican advertising entrepreneur from Monroe, who had also previously been an aide to Cooksey, finished second in the primary with 45,278 (25 percent). A fourth candidate, Republican State Senator Robert J. Barham
Robert J. Barham
Robert Jocelyn Barham is a large-scale farmer from Morehouse Parish who has been appointed by Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal as the secretary of the state's Department of Wildlife and Fisheries...
of Oak Ridge
Oak Ridge, Louisiana
Oak Ridge is a village in Morehouse Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 142 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Bastrop Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Oak Ridge is located at ....
in Morehouse Parish, had 34,533 votes (19 percent). (Three minor candidates shared the remaining 5 percent.)
Alexander then defeated Fletcher in the general election by only 974 votes, 86,718 to 85,744. Holloway's endorsement of Alexander may have been the decisive movement of the campaign: he could not be congressman again, but he could choose between the two general election candidates and anoint the narrow winner. There were also reports cited as the Clyde Factor" that many Holloway supporters in Rapides Parish, particularly Alexandria, voted for Alexander primarily to thwart young Fletcher, given Fletcher's negative and misleading false campaign tactics the final hours leading to the primary election.
The seat stayed in Democratic hands for less than two years, however. In the summer of 2004, Alexander switched to the Republican Party and quickly gained enough support from the Republican Party establishment to end any hopes Holloway had of running in that year's election. It was Holloway's rival from 1985, Jock Scott, who decided to take on Alexander that year.
Running for lieutenant governor, 2003
In 2003, Holloway ran for lieutenant governorLieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...
but was defeated by the Democrat Mitch Landrieu
Mitch Landrieu
Mitchell Joseph "Mitch" Landrieu is the Mayor of New Orleans, former Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, and a member of the Landrieu family. Landrieu is a member of the Democratic Party and a Roman Catholic. He is the son of former New Orleans mayor and Secretary of the United States Department of...
, younger brother of Senator Mary Landrieu
Mary Landrieu
Mary Loretta Landrieu is the senior United States Senator from the State of Louisiana and a member of the Democratic Party.Born in Arlington, Virginia, Landrieu was raised in New Orleans, Louisiana...
. He originally ran on a "ticket" with the then chairman of the PSC, John "Jay" Blossman, Jr.
Jay Blossman
Jack Arthur Blossman, Jr., known as Jay Blossman , is a Mandeville, Louisiana, attorney who is a former Republican member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission. Blossman was named PSC chairman by his colleagues early in 2007....
, of suburban New Orleans. When Blossman withdrew from the gubernatorial race in light of weak poll numbers, Holloway remained a candidate for lieutenant governor. He polled 249,668 votes (19 percent) to Landrieu's 674,803 (53 percent). The other 28 percent was shared by several other candidates, including the African American businessman Kirt Bennett
Kirt Bennett
Kirt Bruce Bennett was an African-American Republican political activist, businessman, and educational leader in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.-Early years:...
of Baton Rouge and Melinda Schwegmann
Melinda Schwegmann
Melinda B. Schwegmann was the lieutenant governor of Louisiana from 1992–1996 – the first woman to hold the position. She made an unsuccessful run for governor of Louisiana in 1995...
, a former Democratic lieutenant governor (1992–1996) serving as a state representative who switched in 2003 to the GOP
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. Announcing to run only one month prior to the election and spending less than $10,000 for the statewide race, HOlloway still scored majorities in La Salle, Caldwell, and West Carroll parishes, which are all sparsely populated parishes in north Louisiana. He scored pluralities in Avoyelles and Evangeline parishes, both from his old Eighth Congressional District.
External links
- http://www400.sos.louisiana.gov/cgibin?rqstyp=comp3&rqsdta=40
- http://www.skepticfiles.org/conspire/faye-wil.htm
- http://lcweb2.loc.gov/elect2002/catalog/1248.html
- http://www.sos.louisiana.gov:8090/cgibin/?rqstyp=elcmp&rqsdta=11039214511069
- http://www.sos.louisiana.gov:8090/cgibin/?rqstyp=elcms2&rqsdta=110596
- http://www.sos.louisiana.gov:8090/cgibin/?rqstyp=elcmp&rqsdta=09219614519066
- http://www.sos.louisiana.gov:8090/cgibin/?rqstyp=elcms2&rqsdta=110502
- http://www.sos.louisiana.gov:8090/cgibin/?rqstyp=elcms2&rqsdta=092786
- http://www.lib.lsu.edu/special/williams/abstracts/gillis/dhemecourt.warren.htm
- http://www.growit.com/Plants/Growers/240.htm
- http://www.sos.louisiana.gov:8090/cgibin/?rqstyp=elcms2&rqsdta=100392
- http://www.rurdev.usda.gov
"Holloway appointed to head rural development efforts in Louisiana," Colfax Chronicle (Grant Parish), October 19, 2006
- Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections, U.S. House
- http://lapolitics.com/