# 1986 United States Senate election in Louisiana

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The 1986 United States Senate election in Louisiana was held on November 4, 1986. Democratic nominee John Breaux defeated Republican nominee Henson Moore with 52.82% of the vote.

## Campaign

U.S. Senator Russell B. Long declined to seek another term in the 1986 election. Republican candidate Moore placed first ahead of Democratic candidate Breaux in the primary.
President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H.W. Bush campaigned in the state two and four times respectively.
Two weeks before the election Judge Dickinson R. Debevoise unsealed an internal memo between Kris Wolfe, the regional director for the Republican National Committee, and Lanny Griffith, the RNC's regional director in the south. The memo was about their usage of Ballot Integrity Groups to "eliminate at least 60-80,000 folks from the rolls" as "this could keep the black vote down considerably". The purge targeted precincts that gave Reagan less than 20% of the vote and removed 34,000 black voters from the rolls in Louisiana.
Moore denied involvement with the scheme, but one of his campaign staffers was mentioned in the memo. Breaux accused the Republicans of conducting a Watergate coverup and voter registration rolls increased by 38,054 before the election. Breaux defeated Moore in the election.
Breaux received 89% of the black vote.

## Primary election

Primary elections were held on September 27, 1986.

### Candidates

* Henson Moore, U.S. Representative from Baton Rouge
* John Breaux, U.S. Representative from Crowley
* Samuel B. Nunez Jr., State Senator from Chalmette
* J. E. Jumonville Jr., State Senator from Ventress
* Sherman A. Bernard, Louisiana Insurance Commissioner
* Eli Williams
* Robert H. Briggs
* Frank J. McTopy
* Fred Collins
* John H. Myers
* Ken Lewis
* Vincent Giardina
* Robert M. Ross
* Nels J'Anthony

### Results

1986 United States Senate primary election in Louisiana :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Henson Moore | 529,433 | 44.22 |
| | Democratic | John Breaux | 447,328 | 37.36 |
| | Democratic | Samuel B. Nunez Jr. | 73,505 | 6.14 |
| | Democratic | J. E. Jumonville Jr. | 53,394 | 4.46 |
| | Democratic | Sherman A. Bernard | 52,479 | 4.38 |
| | Democratic | Eli Williams | 7,286 | 0.61 |
| | Democratic | Robert H. Briggs | 6,953 | 0.58 |
| | Independent | Frank J. McTopy | 6,746 | 0.56 |
| | Democratic | Fred Collins | 5,341 | 0.45 |
| | Democratic | John H. Myers | 4,084 | 0.34 |
| | Democratic | Ken Lewis | 3,415 | 0.29 |
| | Independent | Vincent Giardina | 2,640 | 0.22 |
| | Republican | Robert M. Ross | 2,493 | 0.21 |
| | Independent | Nels J'Anthony | 2,144 | 0.18 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,197,241 | 100.00 |

## General election
### Candidates

* John Breaux, Democratic
* Henson Moore, Republican

### Results

1986 United States Senate election in Louisiana :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | John Breaux | 723,586 | 52.82% |
| | Republican | Henson Moore | 646,311 | 47.18% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 77,275 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,369,897 | |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Swing | |