George Despot - Despot's Tenure As State Chairman

Despot's Tenure As State Chairman

In 1960, Despot sponsored Republican advertisements for the Nixon/Lodge presidential ticket, which lost in Louisiana. In 1964, Despot rallied behind the gubernatorial candidacy of Shreveporter Charlton Havard Lyons, Sr.. Lyons waged the first serious Republican campaign in modern Louisiana history but fell far short of victory. Despot and a friend, Shreveport CPA George Aubrey Burton, Jr., were named by Lyons as the campaign co-chairmen, largely because it was Despot and Burton who convinced Lyons to run for governor. The winner was Democrat John McKeithen. While Lyons was running for governor, Despot was an unsuccessful candidate for the Caddo governing body.

On November 8, 1966, Despot lost a second race — for the Caddo Parish School Board. So did his friend George Burton. Despot never again sought office himself but instead worked thereafter for other Republican candidates. Burton went on to become the first Shreveport Republican since Reconstruction to be elected to municipal office.

In 1976, Despot was first elected by his fellow Caddo Parish party members from District 33, to the Republican State Central Committee. Two years later he was named chairman by committee members.

As state chairman, Despot demanded that party organizations call caucuses to endorse one specific candidate in races in which more than one Republican filed for office. This was necessary to prevent GOP candidates from diluting their strength. Otherwise, none might poll enough primary votes even to make the ballot in the general election under Louisiana's unique nonpartisan blanket primary law, in which all candidates regardless of party affiliation run on the same ballot. Then the two top votegetters, assuming that no one secured a numerical majority in the primary, meet in the general election, popularly called a "runoff."

When challenged about endorsements in a 1980 party caucus in Bossier City, Despot thundered:

"The party endorsement is worth a great deal. Some voters will not have a chance to meet either candidate. Without party endorsement, they might not vote for either Republican. I will enforce party discipline with an iron hand across this state. If the chair refuses to call a caucus, I will remove the Political Action Council chairwoman."

Despot noted that his party could not realistically contest all offices on the ballot: "There are just some districts in the state where there is little opportunity for a Republican to get elected." This pick-and-choose approach was not conducive to rapid growth for the GOP but instead contributed to the partisan complexion of the legislature remaining largely unchanged even when Treen was elected governor in 1979.