Joseph David Waggonner Jr. (September 7, 1918 – October 7, 2007) was a Democratic U.S. Representative for the 4th congressional district in northwest Louisiana from December 1961 to January 1979.

In 1959, Waggonner ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic primary for the position of Louisiana state comptroller, losing to Roy R.

[4] He had also been instrumental in the founding of the White Citizens Council in the late 1950s, and served as the president of its Louisiana Fourth District Chapter.

[5] Waggonner won a special election on December 19, 1961, to succeed long-time U.S. Representative Overton Brooks, who had died in office.

Waggonner had already announced his intention to oppose Brooks for renomination in the 1962 Democratic primary, spurred by Brooks' congressional vote to expand the House Rules Committee to permit Speaker Sam Rayburn to add new liberal members to the panel, which was dominated at the time by minority conservatives from both national parties.

[6] In the special election, Waggonner turned back a relatively strong Republican challenge from Charlton Lyons, an Abbeville native and a Shreveport oilman.

He was an economic development pioneer for Northwest Louisiana, and will be remembered for his hard work to lift up the region," Blanco said in her statement.