Editing Dave Treen (section)

===1971–72 gubernatorial election===
{{Main|1971–72 Louisiana gubernatorial election}}

Treen was challenged in 1971 in the only Republican gubernatorial [[closed primary]] ever held in Louisiana by [[Robert Max Ross]]. In a campaign tour in [[Minden, Louisiana|Minden]], Treen said that Louisiana needed "true competition" in state government, or "a system in which two political parties operate on a continuing and permanent basis to examine and criticize each other's policies and programs." If elected, Treen said that he would be "as independent as possible" in the governorship.<ref>"Treen Says Louisiana Needs Two-Party System to Develop Leaders," ''[[Minden Press-Herald]]'', September 3, 1971, p. 1.</ref> Treen won the Republican primary with 92 percent of the vote.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}

Treen polled 480,424 ballots (42.8%) to Edwards's 641,146 (57.2%) Treen carried twenty-seven parishes, mostly in the northern part of the state, with margins exceeding 60 percent in ten of those parishes.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}} Weak support among black voters was reported as one factor in Treen's loss.<ref name=cmte>"Treen Named State GOP Committeeman", ''Minden Press-Herald'', March 6, 1972, pg. 1.</ref>