Jock Scott - A State Senate Bid

A State Senate Bid

The "reformer" Scott became a Republican in the latter half of 1985. So did a colleague from Monroe, John C. Ensminger. In 1987, Scott ran for the District 29 state senate seat previously held by his colleague Randolph. It was Edward J. Steimel, president of the trade association called the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry or LABI, who urged Scott to make the race. Scott, like Randolph four years earlier, was defeated by the Democrat William Joseph "Joe" McPherson, Jr., a businessman from Pineville, later Woodworth. McPherson, currently in his fifth nonconsecutive term in the Louisiana Senate, enjoyed the backing of Louisiana AFL-CIO 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). Former state senator Cecil Blair sought a comeback but netted only 4,245 votes (13 percent). Years later, Scott attributed his defeat to both McPherson's tough electioneering and the unpopularity of Judge Scott's desegregation orders in rural portions of Rapides Parish. Scott's state House seat also reverted to Democratic hands: Charles Herring, an Alexandria chiropractor, held the seat for a single term. Since 1992, the District 26 has been held by an African American Democrat, Israel "Bo" Curtis and Herbert Dixon.

In Scott's own words in 2006: "I had decided to sit out the 1987 elections after my struggles with Edwards during those difficult legislative years... I needed a break. Then Steimel [director of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry) talked me into the state senate race against McPherson. Very harsh race and very difficult for me in the country precincts with the unpopularity of desegregation/busing orders by my father... plus Joe is a very tough candidate. .. . I had become a Republican. So that was the end for me."

While McPherson has defeated both Randolph and Scott, the one Republican who has defeated McPherson is Holloway, who beat him in the 1990 congressional primary and again in the 2009 special election for the Louisiana Public Service Commission. Until 2009, the 1990 congressional election has been Holloway's last victory.