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 focus of the campaign was the ongoing 'Louisiana Scandals' which implicated former governor Richard W. Leche – and by extension Earl K. Long – in widespread corruption.

Jones's main campaign focus was a moralistic crusade against corruption, and the state's newspapers featured him in overwhelmingly positive coverage.

He also made extensive speaking tours throughout the state's rural areas, making colorful attacks on the big-city newspapers and calling Jones a tool of corporate interests.

Long called a special session of the legislature to pass several spending increases for social programs and some reform bills in an effort to influence runoff voters.