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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Former Louisiana Gov. Dave Treen, who became the state's first Republican governor since Reconstruction when he was elected in 1979 but lost a re-election bid to the flamboyant Democrat Edwin Edwards four years later, has died at age 81. Treen's son, David C. Treen Jr., said Treen died early Thursday of complications from a respiratory illness at East Jefferson General Hospital in a New Orleans suburb. Funeral arrangements were not complete.

Former Louisiana Gov. Dave Treen said Monday he plans to run for the congressional seat being vacated by Gov.-elect Bobby Jindal. Treen, 79, served four terms in the U.S. House in the 1970s. The Republican was a one-term governor, from 1980-1984. Treen, who lives in Mandeville, said he built relationships with members of both parties in the House, a foundation that will help secure funding for the state's recovery from hurricanes Katrina and Rita. "I think, having had that experience and those contacts, I can help us," Treen told the Associated Press in an interview. "There is a shortage of...

LOUISIANA I love Louisiana with its cotton fields and trees And the Spanish moss that flutters with the slightest bit of breeze. I love the fields of sugar cane, the grazing cattle herds, The sweet scented magnolias filled with brightly colored birds. I love the lazy bayous that meander through the state, Where bass and bream and speckled perch and crawfish lie in wait. I love the mighty rivers that flowed where we now tread, Atchafalaya, Mississippi and the clay filled Red. I love the forests filled with game, I'm proud that from our soil Come shrimp and oysters from...

Breaux's Retirement Could Mean GOP Pickup by John Gizzi Posted Dec 22, 2003 Alone among the 13 states of the Confederacy, Louisiana has never elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate. But with three-term Democratic Sen. John Breaux announcing his retirement last week, Republican operatives in the state are confident they have a good chance to change that. Louisiana will now be a major focus for Republicans in the 2004 Senate races. Breaux’s retirement, along with the retirement of other Democratic senators in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, gives the party an excellent opportunity to pick up as...

<p>BATON ROUGE - Gubernatorial candidate Bobby Jindal and Gov. Mike Foster backed off criticisms of pollster Verne Kennedy on Friday after first charging that it was rigged by "push questions."</p> <p>Foster had branded it a "bogus poll" and suggested that it was a negative attack on Jindal, his handpicked candidate for his successor. Jindal's campaign issued a statement that charged, in effect, that Kennedy's poll was not objective.</p>

<p>BATON ROUGE - Not since 1971 have we had such a long list of gubernatorial candidates.</p> <p>That was the year there were 17 candidates on the Democratic Party primary ballot and two on the Republican primary ballot. Conducted in the same polls at the same time, one had to be a Republican to vote in the Republican primary and vice versa.</p>

Then there were nine. Three of the dozen major candidates for governor dropped out of the race Thursday. A fourth may soon follow. Republicans state Sen. Ken Hollis and former Gov. Dave Treen said they would pull out of the race at a news conference attended by reporters, politicians, bystanders and outgoing Gov. Mike Foster. State Treasurer John Kennedy, a Democrat, issued a news release Thursday saying he was out of the race and would instead run for re-election. The Republican dropouts came after a gathering Monday of powerful Republican contributors from across the state to interview four candidates: state...

Then there were nine. Three of the dozen major candidates for governor dropped out of the race Thursday. A fourth may soon follow. Republicans state Sen. Ken Hollis and former Gov. Dave Treen said they would pull out of the race at a news conference attended by reporters, politicians, bystanders and outgoing Gov. Mike Foster. State Treasurer John Kennedy, a Democrat, issued a news release Thursday saying he was out of the race and would instead run for re-election. The Republican dropouts came after a gathering Monday of powerful Republican contributors from across the state to interview four candidates: state...

<p>GOP rift emerging in race Two Republican gubernatorial candidates withdraw John Hill Posted on June 13, 2003 BATON ROUGE - State Rep. Hunt Downer of Houma picked up the endorsement of former Gov. David Treen as expected Thursday, but an obvious rift in the Republican Party shows there is no GOP cohesiveness developing.</p>

BATON ROUGE - Two Republicans and a Democrat are dropping out of the Louisiana gubernatorial race today in a major seismic development that shook the political landscape Wednesday. Former Gov. Dave Treen and state Sen. Ken Hollis of Metairie will endorse state Rep. Hunt Downer of Houma, who is emerging as the consensus Republican candidate. "It will all shake out and shape up within the month," Downer said. "I'm excited." Democratic state Treasurer John Kennedy, who has canceled fund-raisers, will issue a public statement this morning that he is dropping out, a development that probably most benefits former Senate President...

BATON ROUGE - Two Republicans and a Democrat are dropping out of the Louisiana gubernatorial race today in a major seismic development that shook the political landscape Wednesday. Former Gov. Dave Treen and state Sen. Ken Hollis of Metairie will endorse state Rep. Hunt Downer of Houma, who is emerging as the consensus Republican candidate. "It will all shake out and shape up within the month," Downer said. "I'm excited." Democratic state Treasurer John Kennedy, who has canceled fund-raisers, will issue a public statement this morning that he is dropping out, a development that probably most benefits former Senate President...

<p>Northeastern Louisiana gubernatorial candidate Randy Ewing this week launched a statewide television advertising campaign in his bid to be the next Louisiana governor.</p> <p>The initial commercial highlights an introduction to Ewing, D-Quitman, and his record as a businessman and public official.</p>

Four of the seven Republican candidates in the governor's race -- and one state GOP bigwig -- met over white wine earlier this week to discuss who should get out of the race. It wasn't really a meeting, state Senate President John Hainkel said. It was more of a casual gathering to talk about how too many Republicans in the race could lead to a pair of Democrats in the runoff, he said. State Sen. Ken Hollis, state Rep. Hunt Downer and ex-Gov. Dave Treen joined Hainkel on Tuesday evening at his apartment in the Pentagon Barracks near the Capitol....

BATON ROUGE, La.(AP) -- The first poll to include all 12 candidates in the Louisiana governor's race shows two veteran politicians -- Lt. Gov. Kathleen Blanco, a Democrat, and Republican former Gov. David Treen -- at the top of the pack. The independent poll showed Blanco in a slight lead with 14 percent of the vote to Treen's 10 percent, with a 4 percent margin of error. The biggest surprise was that Bobby Jindal, a youthful former top aide to Gov. Mike Foster and the governor's favorite, finished fourth -- ahead of a number of longtime state politicians. Jindal, a...

The Louisiana Republican Party owes its existence to the open primary system devised by then-Gov. Edwin W. Edwards. But since making it to the big time in state politics, the GOP is now stuck with the downsides of the open primary. The Republican Party has seven more or less formally announced candidates, and former Gov. David C. Treen -- who is seeking a return to public life at age 74 -- is the only one showing any real standing in public opinion polls. Most of the leading Democratic candidates have vast experience running statewide compared to the legislators and others...

<p>BATON ROUGE - Six intended candidates for governor in this fall's election say they view education, particularly early childhood programs, as a major key to improving the state's future.</p> <p>But they have differing opinions about vouchers, which would allow students currently enrolled in public schools to switch to private schools at public expense.</p>

Treen stumps for governor's job in Alexandria Suzan Manuel / Staff Reporter Posted on March 13, 2003 Former Gov. Dave Treen talks of his plan for a Coastal Wetlands Environmental Levy during Wednesday's visit to Alexandria to announce his candidacy for governor. Dave Treen, hoping to return to the Governor's mansion, officially announced his candidacy for the state's top office Wednesday. The Republican candidate's Alexandria stop was one of four he made around the state Wednesday. "I can hit the ground running," he said, citing his tenure as governor from 1980 to 1984. That experience, as well as his integrity...

Treen says he's the one with plan Robbie Evans / City Government Reporter Posted on March 13, 2003 Former Gov. Dave Treen wants to be known as "the man with the plan." Treen, a 74-year-old Republican from Mandeville, made a stop in Monroe on Wednesday to formally announce his candidacy for governor. Treen joins a growing list of candidates to replace lame-duck Gov. Mike Foster later this year. Treen served as a congressman from 1972 to 1980. He was governor from 1980 to 1984. "I know how to manage government," Treen said. "I bring to the office experience, integrity and...

<p>Crowded governor's race could limit funds More Republican than Democratic candidates enter fray John Hill / Louisiana Gannett News Posted on March 2, 2003 BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana governor's race is up to a dozen serious candidates with Republicans outnumbering Democrats seven to five.</p>

<p>BATON ROUGE - Former Gov. David Treen said he intends to run for governor next year, but won't make a decision until traveling the state in January.</p> <p>Treen, now a New Orleans lawyer who lives in Mandeville on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain, said he would not run if an acceptable candidate would adopt his pet program.</p>