Leon Griffith
Encyclopedia
Louis Leon Griffith was a master plumber
from North Little Rock
, who was the Arkansas
Republican
gubernatorial nominee in 1976, losing the election to Democratic
incumbent
Governor David H. Pryor.
Griffith was born in Almyra
, a small town in Arkansas County
in eastern Arkansas
, to the late Henry T. Griffith and the former Lennie Opal Golden, later Lennie Davis (1914–2008).
, which had supported former Republican Governor Winthrop Rockefeller
, termed the suggestion, if true, "an ignominious end to the reform heritage" that the GOP had earlier championed in Arkansas. Faubus and Republican leaders denied that such talk ever even occurred.
To make the race against Pryor, the GOP had recruited James E. "Jim" Lindsey
(born 1944), an insurance
broker then from Fayetteville
and a former football player for the University of Arkansas
and the Minnesota Vikings
. Lindsay, however, filed as a Democrat and ran as a conservative against Pryor, under whom there had been a 20 percent increase in violent crime in Arkansas during 1975. After Lindsay declined the Republican offer, the party permitted Griffith to run as an essentially placeholder nominee.
Before carrying the Republican banner, however, Griffith first had to defeat maverick Republican Joseph H. Weston
of Cave City
, editor of the Sharp Citizen, a mimeographed newspaper
that often criticized local and state officials for alleged corruption
. Weston, whose work had led to a change in Arkansas libel law, embarrassed the GOP with his peculiar antics. He told a group of farmers that World War III had begun and that they should lay up provisions. In 1974, Weston had opposed in the primary the Republican gubernatorial nominee, Ken Coon
, whom Pryor, as a former U.S. representative, had handily defeated in the general election that year. Griffith polled 15,500 votes (59.5 percent) to Weston's 10,540 (40.5 percent). The Griffith-Weston race drew more than four times the participation of the Coon-Weston primary two years earlier, a factor attributed to the presidential primary between Ronald W. Reagan and Gerald R. Ford, Jr.
During his campaign, Griffith relocated from Pine Bluff
to North Little Rock. He complained about his lack of media coverage and small campaign coffers. At one point, Griffith threatened to withdraw from the race unless he received more funding from the party. He ultimately spent less than $10,000 on the race and depended almost entirely on the small staff at state headquarters in Little Rock.
, described the hopeless nature of both the Griffith and Ford campaigns in Arkansas:
"Ten years after Arkansas Republicans began their resurgence under the late Winthrop A. Rockefeller, they are back where they were before Rockefeller arrived on the scene. . . . The GOP apparatus built by Rockefeller has self-destructed. Republicans have returned to their traditional role as the second party in a one-party state."
In a large general election turnout in 1976, Griffith lost each of the seventy-five counties, having polled 121,716 votes (16.7 percent), more than the 3 percent minimum required for a Republican candidate to qualify automatically for the 1978 ballot. Pryor prevailed with 605,083 votes (83.2 percent).
Griffith's showing was the worst for an Arkansas Republican since Jefferson W. Speck
, a young planter from Mississippi County in eastern Arkansas, polled only 12.6 percent in the 1952 race against Democrat Francis Cherry
, Faubus' predecessor as governor. President Ford received more than twice the votes polled in Arkansas by Griffith. He carried three counties and finished with 267,903 ballots (35 percent) to former Georgia
Governor Jimmy Carter
's 498,604 ballots (65 percent).
At the time of his death at the age of seventy-four, Griffith was residing in Hensley
in Pulaski County. He was survived by four daughters, Sherrie Carlon of Fayetteville
, Arkansas, Toni Griffith and Tammie Griffith, both of Roseburg
, Oregon
, and Deborah Jennings of Hensley, and a sister, Dorothy Herrod of Pine Bluff.
Plumber
A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable water, sewage, and drainage in plumbing systems. The term dates from ancient times, and is related to the Latin word for lead, "plumbum." A person engaged in fixing metaphorical "leaks" may also be...
from North Little Rock
North Little Rock, Arkansas
the city was 62.55% White, 33.98% Black or African American, 0.41% Native American, 0.59% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.18% from other races, and 1.26% from two or more races...
, who was the Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
gubernatorial nominee in 1976, losing the election to Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
incumbent
Incumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
Governor David H. Pryor.
Griffith was born in Almyra
Almyra, Arkansas
Almyra is a town in Arkansas County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 319 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Almyra is located at ....
, a small town in Arkansas County
Arkansas County, Arkansas
Arkansas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 19,019. The county has two county seats, De Witt and Stuttgart...
in eastern Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, to the late Henry T. Griffith and the former Lennie Opal Golden, later Lennie Davis (1914–2008).
1976 gubernatorial candidacy
Even after Griffith's entry into the gubernatorial race, reports surfaced that the GOP leadership had earlier approached former Democratic Governor Orval E. Faubus, who had lost to Pryor in the 1974 primary, about switching parties and running again for governor in the 1976 general election. The liberal Republican Ripon SocietyRipon Society
The Ripon Society is an American centrist Republican think tank based in Washington, D.C. They produce The Ripon Forum, the Nation's longest running Republican thought and opinion journal....
, which had supported former Republican Governor Winthrop Rockefeller
Winthrop Rockefeller
Winthrop Rockefeller was a politician and philanthropist who served as the first Republican Governor of Arkansas since Reconstruction. He was a third-generation member of the Rockefeller family.-Early life:...
, termed the suggestion, if true, "an ignominious end to the reform heritage" that the GOP had earlier championed in Arkansas. Faubus and Republican leaders denied that such talk ever even occurred.
To make the race against Pryor, the GOP had recruited James E. "Jim" Lindsey
Jim Lindsey
James Edgar Lindsey is a former American football running back for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League, having played from 1966 to 1972....
(born 1944), an insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
broker then from Fayetteville
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Fayetteville is the county seat of Washington County, and the third largest city in Arkansas. The city is centrally located within the county and is home to the University of Arkansas. Fayetteville is also deep in the Boston Mountains, a subset of The Ozarks...
and a former football player for the University of Arkansas
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...
and the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
. Lindsay, however, filed as a Democrat and ran as a conservative against Pryor, under whom there had been a 20 percent increase in violent crime in Arkansas during 1975. After Lindsay declined the Republican offer, the party permitted Griffith to run as an essentially placeholder nominee.
Before carrying the Republican banner, however, Griffith first had to defeat maverick Republican Joseph H. Weston
Joseph H. Weston
Joseph H. Weston was a controversial newspaper editor in Cave City in Sharp County in northern Arkansas, whose work led to a change in his state's libel law....
of Cave City
Cave City, Arkansas
Cave City is a city in Independence and Sharp counties in the U.S. state of Arkansas. The population was 1,946 at the 2000 census. The city was named for a large cave underneath the Crystal River Tourist Camp, which is the oldest motor court in Arkansas...
, editor of the Sharp Citizen, a mimeographed newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
that often criticized local and state officials for alleged corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
. Weston, whose work had led to a change in Arkansas libel law, embarrassed the GOP with his peculiar antics. He told a group of farmers that World War III had begun and that they should lay up provisions. In 1974, Weston had opposed in the primary the Republican gubernatorial nominee, Ken Coon
Ken Coon
Kenneth Lloyd "Ken" Coon, Sr. , is a Little Rock educator, professional psychologist, and counselor who was also a pioneer in the development of the Republican Party in the U.S. state of Arkansas. He was the GOP state chairman from 1988—1990...
, whom Pryor, as a former U.S. representative, had handily defeated in the general election that year. Griffith polled 15,500 votes (59.5 percent) to Weston's 10,540 (40.5 percent). The Griffith-Weston race drew more than four times the participation of the Coon-Weston primary two years earlier, a factor attributed to the presidential primary between Ronald W. Reagan and Gerald R. Ford, Jr.
During his campaign, Griffith relocated from Pine Bluff
Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Pine Bluff is the largest city and county seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. It is also the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Arkansas Combined Statistical Area...
to North Little Rock. He complained about his lack of media coverage and small campaign coffers. At one point, Griffith threatened to withdraw from the race unless he received more funding from the party. He ultimately spent less than $10,000 on the race and depended almost entirely on the small staff at state headquarters in Little Rock.
Political legacy
Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, based in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, described the hopeless nature of both the Griffith and Ford campaigns in Arkansas:
"Ten years after Arkansas Republicans began their resurgence under the late Winthrop A. Rockefeller, they are back where they were before Rockefeller arrived on the scene. . . . The GOP apparatus built by Rockefeller has self-destructed. Republicans have returned to their traditional role as the second party in a one-party state."
In a large general election turnout in 1976, Griffith lost each of the seventy-five counties, having polled 121,716 votes (16.7 percent), more than the 3 percent minimum required for a Republican candidate to qualify automatically for the 1978 ballot. Pryor prevailed with 605,083 votes (83.2 percent).
Griffith's showing was the worst for an Arkansas Republican since Jefferson W. Speck
Jefferson W. Speck
Jefferson W. Speck was a planter and businessman from Mississippi County, Arkansas, who was the Republican gubernatorial nominee in 1950 and again in 1952. He was a leader in the Dwight D...
, a young planter from Mississippi County in eastern Arkansas, polled only 12.6 percent in the 1952 race against Democrat Francis Cherry
Francis Cherry
Francis Adams Cherry was the 35th Governor of Arkansas, elected as a Democrat for a single two-year term from 1953 to 1955. He was only the second governor in Arkansas history to have been denied a second term—the first was Tom Jefferson Terral, who was defeated in 1926. After the...
, Faubus' predecessor as governor. President Ford received more than twice the votes polled in Arkansas by Griffith. He carried three counties and finished with 267,903 ballots (35 percent) to former Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
Governor Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
's 498,604 ballots (65 percent).
At the time of his death at the age of seventy-four, Griffith was residing in Hensley
Hensley, Arkansas
Hensley is a census-designated place in Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 139 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
in Pulaski County. He was survived by four daughters, Sherrie Carlon of Fayetteville
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Fayetteville is the county seat of Washington County, and the third largest city in Arkansas. The city is centrally located within the county and is home to the University of Arkansas. Fayetteville is also deep in the Boston Mountains, a subset of The Ozarks...
, Arkansas, Toni Griffith and Tammie Griffith, both of Roseburg
Roseburg, Oregon
Roseburg is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is the county seat of Douglas County. The population was 21,181 at the 2010 census.-History:...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, and Deborah Jennings of Hensley, and a sister, Dorothy Herrod of Pine Bluff.