Murphy J. Foster, Jr.

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Murphy J. Foster, Jr.

54^th Governor of Louisiana
Term of office: 1996 – 2004
Predecessor:	Edwin Edwards
Successor:	Kathleen Babineaux Blanco
Born:	July 11, 1930
Political party:	Republican
Religion:	Episcopalian

Murphy James "Mike" Foster, Jr., (born July 11, 1930, in Shreveport), is a former Republican governor of Louisiana, having served from January 1996 until January 2004. His grandfather, Murphy J. Foster, Sr., was governor from 1892 -1900 and thereafter a United States senator from 1900-1913. Foster's father was Murphy J. Foster, Jr., but Mike Foster uses "Jr." even though he is technically Murphy J. Foster, III. Foster is a wealthy businessman, landowner, and sportsman in St. Mary Parishin the sugar-growing section of south Louisiana. He graduated from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.

In 1987, then Democrat Foster unseated liberal Democratic state SenatorAnthony Guarisco, Jr., of Morgan City by a large margin. Guarisco had been a vocal legislative supporter of the defunct Equal Rights Amendment. Foster served two terms in the state Senate before he embarked on his successful gubernatorial campaign.

1 Election as governor
2 Foster and David Duke
3 Foster and Dan Richey
4 Foster the motorcycle enthusiast
5 Electoral history
6 External links

[edit] Election as governor

Foster defeated black Democratic candidates in both of his campaigns for governor, then-Congressman Cleo Fields in 1995 and Congressman William Jefferson in 1999. In the former race, future U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu ran third, just missing the general election berth. Starting the race as minor candidate that most local political observers discounted, Foster entered the 1995 campaign as a Democrat but switched parties just prior to the filing period. His embrace of the "R" label undercut former Democrat-turned-Republican Governor Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer, III, who was seeking a gubernatorial comeback. Roemer ran fourth in the 1995 jungle primary.

[edit] Foster and David Duke

In his 1995 campaign, Foster paid more than $150,000 for former Ku Klux Klansman David Duke's mailing list of supporters. After failing to report the purchase as a campaign expenditure, Foster became the first Louisiana governor to admit and pay a fine for a violation of the state's ethics code. Foster insists he did not need to report the expenditure because he paid Duke with his personal funds and did not utilize the list in his campaign. (La. Campaign Finance Opinion No. 99-360)

Foster initially seemed to favor Duke's run for the Senate seat being vacated in 1996 by J. Bennett Johnston, Jr., but under pressure from the Republican Party, he did not officially endorse Duke. Instead, the Republican consensus choice for the Senate was veteran state Representative Louis Elwood "Woody" Jenkins of Baton Rouge. Jenkins was narrowly defeated, in a questionable outcome, by Johnston's choice, Mary Landrieu. Foster also endorsed Patrick J. Buchanan for the 1996 Republican nomination, the only governor to support Buchanan. However, he refused to vote in the Louisiana presidential primary held on March 12, 1996. Thereafter, he switched his support to pending nominee Robert J. Dole.

[edit] Foster and Dan Richey

In 1997, Foster named former state Senator Daniel Wesley "Dan" Richey, to head the new Governor's Program on Abstinence. The appointment became controversial in 2002, when the American Civil Liberties Union sued the state on grounds that Richey, a Catholic, had permitted religious instruction to be used in the program in violation of federal law. Foster and Richey went to court to defend the program and pledged that violations cited by the ACLU had been remedied. The program is underwritten by the national welfare-reform law of 1996.

Foster was the Louisiana campaign chairman for George W. Bush in 2000. Prior to leaving office, Foster quarreled with fellow Republican Representative David Vitter over expanded gambling on Indian reservations. The dispute did not prevent Vitter from winning the other U.S. Senate seat vacated by Democrat John Breaux in 2004. Richey in fact ran Vitter's successful grassroots organization.

[edit] Foster the motorcycle enthusiast

An avid motorcycling enthusiast, Foste introduced an initiative while governor to remove a legal mandate that required motorcyclists to wear helmets when they ride on the highways. This initiative was later overturned by his successor, Democratic Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco.

As a youngster, Foster was an Eagle Scout.

[edit] Electoral history

State Senator, 21st Senatorial District, 1987

Threshold > 50%

First Ballot, October 24, 1987

Candidate	Affiliation	Support	Outcome
Mike Foster	Democratic	24,183 (64%)	Elected
Anthony Guarisco, Jr.	Democratic	13,599 (36%)	Defeated

State Senator, 21st Senatorial District, 1991

Threshold > 50%

First Ballot, October 19, 1991

Candidate	Affiliation	Support	Outcome
Mike Foster	Democratic	30,836 (85%)	Elected
Eddie Albares	Independent	5,232 (15%)	Defeated

Governor of Louisiana, 1995

Threshold > 50%

First Ballot, October 21, 1995

Candidate	Affiliation	Support	Outcome
Mike Foster	Republican	385,267 (26%)	Runoff
Cleo Fields	Democratic	280,921 (19%)	Runoff
Mary Landrieu	Democratic	271,938 (18%)	Defeated
Buddy Roemer	Republican	263,330 (18%)	Defeated
Others	n.a.	274,440 (19%)	Defeated

Second Ballot, November 18, 1995

Candidate	Affiliation	Support	Outcome
Mike Foster	Republican	984,499 (64%)	Elected
Cleo Fields	Democratic	565,861 (36%)	Defeated

Governor of Louisiana, 1999

Threshold > 50%

First Ballot, October 23, 1999

Candidate	Affiliation	Support	Outcome
Mike Foster	Republican	805,203 (62%)	Elected
Bill Jefferson	Democratic	382,445 (30%)	Defeated
Others	n.a.	107,557 (8%)	Defeated

[edit] External links

Biography on sec.state.la.us

Preceded by: Anthony Guarisco, Jr. (D)	State Senator, 21st Senatorial District Murphy James "Mike" Foster, Jr. (D) switched (R) 1988–1996	Succeeded by: John Siracusa (D)
Preceded by: Edwin Washington Edwards (D)	Governor of Louisiana Murphy James "Mike" Foster, Jr. (R) 1996–2004	Succeeded by: Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D)