Like most Southern states between the Reconstruction Era and the Civil Rights Movement, Louisiana's Republican Party was virtually nonexistent in terms of electoral support.

The 1924 election saw Henry L. Fuqua defeat Hewitt Bouanchaud to become Governor of Louisiana, and saw the beginning of the political rise of Huey P. Long Jr., who came in a surprisingly strong third.

Henry L. Fuqua of Baton Rouge, the manager of Louisiana State Penitentiary, had the support of former governors Jared Y. Sanders and Ruffin G. Pleasant, and of the Regular Democratic Organization, a powerful New Orleans-based political machine.

Hewitt Bouanchaud, a French-speaking lawyer from Pointe Coupee Parish, was the handpicked candidate of outgoing governor John M. Parker.

Bouanchaud ran strongest in rural southern Louisiana, where Catholic voters were attracted to his French background and his strong anti-Klan position.