Complex sentence: This issue dominated most of his term in office and split the state Democratic Party and Laffoon's own administration; the tax was defeated three times before Laffoon forged a bipartisan alliance to get it passed in a special legislative session in 1934.
Split into simpler sentences: This issue dominated most of his term in office and split the state Democratic Party and Laffoon's own administration. After the tax was defeated in two regular legislative sessions and one specially called legislative session, Laffoon forged a bipartisan alliance to get the tax passed in a special session in 1934.