Fowler Runs For State Auditor
In 1952, Fowler ran unsuccessfully for state auditor on the Hale Boggs intraparty gubernatorial ticket. The incumbent L.B. Baynard in turn lost the runoff election to Allison Kolb, the choice of the successful candidate gor governor, Robert F. Kennon of Minden.
In 1956, Fowler, a particular favorite of Mrs. Blanche R. Long, the governor's wife, ran again for state auditor but was defeated in the primary by Bill Dodd, who had served as lieutenant governor under Earl Long from 1948 to 1952. Also in that race was the incument Allison Kolb, who would later defect to the Republican Party and run unsuccessfully for state treasurer in 1968. The Long faction was divided over whether to back Fowler or Dodd for auditor.
Thereafter, Long rewarded Fowler for his loyalty to the Long faction and named him the third appointed "custodian of voting machines." The legislature created the unusual position—the only in the nation—at Long's request as a result of a bitter dispute that the governor was having with Secretary of State Wade O. Martin, Jr., whose office then handled elections duties. A political commentator, Alan Ehrenhalt, years later dubbed the "custodianship" as the "most ridiculous elective office in the history of state government."
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