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Edwin Edwards
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{{Short description|American politician (1927β2021)}} {{other people||Edwin Edwards (disambiguation)}} {{Cleanup rewrite|date=April 2024}}{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2013}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Edwin Edwards | image = Edwin Edwards (1986) (cropped).png | caption = Edwards in 1986 | order = 50th [[List of governors of Louisiana|Governor of Louisiana]] | lieutenant = [[Melinda Schwegmann]] | term_start = January 13, 1992 | term_end = January 8, 1996 | predecessor = [[Buddy Roemer]] | successor = [[Mike Foster (American politician)|Mike Foster]] | lieutenant1 = [[Robert Louis Freeman Sr.]] | term_start1 = March 12, 1984 | term_end1 = March 14, 1988 | predecessor1 = [[Dave Treen]] | successor1 = Buddy Roemer | lieutenant2 = [[Jimmy Fitzmorris]] | term_start2 = May 9, 1972 | term_end2 = March 10, 1980 | predecessor2 = [[John McKeithen]] | successor2 = Dave Treen | office3 = Associate Justice of the [[Louisiana Supreme Court]] | term_start3 = April 14, 1980 | term_end3 = December 1, 1980 | predecessor3 = | successor3 = | state4 = [[Louisiana]] | district4 = {{ushr|LA|7|7th}} | term_start4 = October 2, 1965 | term_end4 = May 9, 1972 | predecessor4 = [[T. Ashton Thompson|Ashton Thompson]] | successor4 = [[John Breaux]] | state_senate5 = Louisiana | district5 = 35th | term_start5 = May 12, 1964 | term_end5 = October 2, 1965 | predecessor5 = [[Bill Cleveland]] | successor5 = [[Howard A. Duncan]] | birth_name = Edwin Washington Edwards | birth_date = {{birth date|1927|8|7}} | birth_place = [[Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana]], U.S.<!-- KATC, WAFB, and New York Times obits all say he was born in rural Avoyelles Parish NEAR Marksville, but take effort to make the distinction. --> | death_date = {{death date and age|2021|7|12|1927|8|7}} | death_place = [[Gonzales, Louisiana]], U.S. | party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] | spouse = {{plainlist| * {{marriage|[[Elaine Edwards|Elaine Schwartzenburg]]|1949|1989|end=div}} * {{marriage|Candace Picou|1994|2004|end=div}} * {{marriage|Trina Grimes Scott|2011|<!-- Omission per Template:Marriage instructions -->}} }} | children = 5 | education = [[Louisiana State University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], [[Juris Doctor|JD]]) | allegiance = United States | branch = [[United States Navy]] | serviceyears = 1945β1946 | battles = [[World War II]] }} '''Edwin Washington Edwards''' (August 7, 1927 β July 12, 2021)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/10/14/trina-edwards-exhumes-former-governor/ |title=Trina Edwards, widow of former Louisiana Gov. Edwin W. Edwards, exhumed his body after burial and had it cremated |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=2021-10-14 |accessdate=2022-02-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/article_917ed65e-2c64-11ec-9635-cf85e39af823.html|title = Late Gov. Edwin Edwards' wife had his remains exhumed and cremated; his children are angry| date=October 13, 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.katc.com/news/covering-louisiana/edwards-to-lie-in-honor-at-state-capitol-saturday|title = Edwin Edwards to lie in honor at State Capitol Saturday|date = July 13, 2021}}</ref> was an American politician who served as the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. representative]] for {{ushr|LA|7}} from 1965 to 1972 and as the 50th [[List of Governors of Louisiana|governor of Louisiana]] for four terms (1972β1980, 1984β1988, and 1992β1996). A member of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]], he served twice as many elected terms as any other [[Louisiana]] chief executive. He served a total of almost 16 years in gubernatorial office, which at 5,784 days is the sixth-longest such tenure in post-Constitutional U.S. history.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ostermeier |first=Eric |title=The Top 50 Longest-Serving Governors of All Time |url=http://editions.lib.umn.edu/smartpolitics/2013/04/10/the-top-50-longest-serving-gov/ |work=Smart Politics |date=April 10, 2013}}</ref> An influential figure in Louisiana politics, Edwards, who was dubbed the "very last of the line of [[New Deal]] [[Southern Democrats]]",<ref name=laststand>{{cite news |last=Nichols |first=Bill |title=Edwin Edwards' last stand |url=http://www.politico.com/story/2014/04/edwin-edwards-louisiana-2014-elections-105563.html |publisher=Politico |date=April 10, 2014 |access-date=April 10, 2014}}</ref> was long dogged by charges of corruption. In 2001, he was found guilty of [[Racket (crime)|racketeering]] charges and sentenced to ten years in federal prison. Edwards began serving his sentence in October 2002 in [[Fort Worth, Texas]], and was later transferred to the federal facility in [[Oakdale, Louisiana]]. He was released from federal prison in January 2011, having served eight years.<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite web |last=McGaughy |first=Lauren |title=Former Gov. Edwin Edwards considering return to politics |url=http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/10/edwin_edwards_election_race_se.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131031073035/http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/10/edwin_edwards_election_race_se.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 31, 2013 |website=NOLA.com |date=October 29, 2013}}</ref> He was also considered to be the last remnant of the [[political machine]] founded and led by [[Huey Long]] and [[Earl Long]] to serve as governor. In [[2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Louisiana|2014]], Edwards again sought election to the U.S. House of Representatives, running to represent {{ushr|LA|6}}.<ref name=congress2014>{{cite news |title=Ex-Con Ex-Governor Running for Congress |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-19/edwin-edwards-is-running-for-congress.html |publisher=Bloomberg |date=February 19, 2014 |access-date=February 20, 2014}}</ref> He placed first in the [[Louisiana primary|jungle primary]], but was defeated by Republican [[Garret Graves]] by nearly 25 percentage points in the [[runoff election]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Runoff election returns, December 6, 2014 |url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/12062014/12062014_MultiParish.html |publisher=[[Louisiana Secretary of State]] |access-date=December 6, 2014}}</ref> a sign of Edwards' precipitous decline in popularity due to his felony conviction, as well as the [[Republican Party of Louisiana]]'s growing dominance over state politics.
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