William J. Guste - Election As Attorney General, 1971-1972 and 1975

Election As Attorney General, 1971-1972 and 1975

In 1971, Guste did not seek reelection to the state Senate but instead entered a crowded Democratic field for attorney general. Gremillion was seeking a fifth term, but it was believed that the corruption allegations then pending against him, which later resulted in conviction and a prison sentence, would doom his candidacy.

In addition to Guste and Gremillion, the other candidates included Guste's state Senate colleague, George T. Oubre, Sr., from St. James Parish, who also represented St. Charles and St. John the Baptist parishes. Also running was J. Minos Simon (1922–2004), an articulate Lafayette lawyer known for his theatrics, humor, and yet stern demeanor in the courtroom. Waiting to face the winner of the Democratic primaries was Thomas Eaton "Tom" Stagg, Jr., of Shreveport, the first Republican to wage an active contest for Louisiana attorney general in modern history. Stagg would later become a long-serving U.S. District judge on the appointment of President Richard M. Nixon.

Guste and Oubre went into a primary runoff in which Guste was a comfortable winner. Guste then overwhelmed Stagg, whose campaign, while blessed by Republican gubernatorial nominee David C. Treen, then of Jefferson Parish, fell far short. Guste prevailed in the general election with 763,276 votes (74.1 percent) to Stagg's 270,038 (25.9 percent). Stagg won only his native Caddo Parish with 54 percent of the ballots cast. The other 63 parishes backed Guste, most by margins of more than 57 percent.

Once in office, Guste placed on his staff the attorney Joseph A. Sims of Hammond, a former legal advisor to Governor Earl Kemp Long, who had "rescued" Long from his confinement at Southeastern Louisiana State Hospital in Mandeville in the summer of 1959. Sims died a year after his appointment. Sims had run unsuccessfully for attorney general in 1952.