Robert F. Kennon
Robert Floyd "Bob" Kennon | |
In office May 13, 1952 – May 8, 1956 | |
Preceded by | Earl Long |
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Succeeded by | Earl Long |
Judge of the Louisiana Court of Appeal for the Second Circuit
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In office 1945–1952 | |
Preceded by | Harmon Caldwell Drew |
Succeeded by | J. Frank McInnis |
District Attorney for Bossier and Webster parishes
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In office December 6, 1930 – January 6, 1941 | |
Preceded by | R. H. Lee |
Succeeded by | Graydon K. Kitchens, Sr. |
In office 1926–1928 | |
Preceded by | Connell Fort |
Succeeded by | Henry L. Bridges |
Born | August 21, 1902 Dubberly, Webster Parish Louisiana |
Died | January 11, 1988 Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
Resting place | Young Cemetery in East Baton Rouge Parish |
Political party | Democrat |
Spouse(s) | Eugenia Sentell Kennon |
Relations | Edward Francis Kennon, Jr. (nephew) |
Children | Three sons |
Alma mater | Louisiana State University LSU Law School |
Occupation | Lawyer |
Religion | Presbyterian |
Robert Floyd Kennon, Sr., known as Bob Kennon (August 21, 1902 – January 11, 1988), was a conservative Democrat who served as the 48th governor of the U.S. state of Louisiana. His tenure extended for a single term from 1952 to 1956.
A native of Dubberly south of Minden in Webster Parish in north Louisiana, Kennon graduated from Minden High School, Louisiana State University, and the LSU law school in Baton Rouge. He was the youngest person to serve as mayor of Minden, filling a two-year term from 1926 to 1928 after unseating Mayor Connell Fort. For a time, he also held the record as the youngest mayor in the United States. Thereafter, he was a district attorney and a state circuit court judge. He served in World War II. He ran unsuccessfully in 1948 both for governor and the United States Senate. In the second contest, he narrowly lost a special election to Russell Long of Baton Rouge, a son of Huey P. Long, Jr., for the right to succeed John H. Overton, who died in office.
Kennon won the 1952 governor's race in a runoff contest against Judge Carlos Spaht of Baton Rouge. Intra-party rival Bill Dodd, the outgoing lieutenant governor, was defeated in the primary. Kennon polled 96 percent of the general election ballots over the Republican nominee, Harrison Bagwell of Baton Rouge. Governor Kennon is remembered for industrial recruitment, the establishment of voting machines in all precincts, the passage of a temporary right to work law, and support for school segregation, which was struck down by the United States Supreme Court in 1954.
Ineligible to run again in 1956, Kennon was succeeded by his predecessor and political rival, Earl Long, brother of Huey Long. In 1963, Kennon ran third in the Democratic gubernatorial race, which occurred some two weeks after the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. During that campaign, Kennon had made numerous anti-Kennedy remarks which may have had the impact of dampening his prospects for a comeback. Victory instead went to fellow Democrat John J. McKeithen of Caldwell Parish in north Louisiana, a protege of Earl Long, who edged out U.S. Representative Gillis Long, Robert Kennon, and Shelby M. Jackson.
On several occasions, Kennon endorsed Republican presidential nominees. He and his wife, the former Eugenia Sentell, are interred at the Young Cemetery in East Baton Rouge Parish.