Edwin Edwards
Edwin Washington Edwards (born August 7, 1927) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the U.S. Representative for Louisiana's 7th congressional district from 1965 to 1972 and as the 50th Governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972–1980, 1984–1988 and 1992–1996), twice as many elected terms as any other Louisiana chief executive. He served a total of sixteen years in office, the sixth-longest serving gubernatorial tenure in post-Constitutional U.S. history at 5,784 days. A colorful, powerful and legendary figure in Louisiana politics, Edwards, who has been dubbed the "very last of the line of New Deal Southern Democrats", was long dogged by charges of corruption. In 2001, he was found guilty of racketeering charges and sentenced to ten years in Federal prison. Edwards began serving his sentence in October 2002 in Fort Worth, Texas, and was later transferred to the federal facility in Oakdale, Louisiana. Edwards was released from federal prison in January 2011, after serving eight years. He entered into home confinement at his daughter's Denham Springs, Louisiana home through the supervision of a halfway house, on January 13, 2011. Following that, Edwards was placed on parole. In February 2013, Edwards was granted early release from parole. His wife Trina made the announcement on her Facebook page. Supporters lobbied President Barack Obama for a pardon for Edwards so that he might run in the 2011 Louisiana gubernatorial election. Obama did not reply to petitions by supporters of Edwards and without a pardon, Edwards remains ineligible to seek the governorship until 15 years have passed from the end of his sentence. In 2013, Edwards co-starred, alongside his third wife Trina, in an A&E reality show, The Governor's Wife based on their life together. In February 2014, Edwards announced his candidacy for the 2014 election to represent Louisiana's 6th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives.