Wyche also served as chairman of the Black Caucus for Louisiana 's 5th congressional district . This district was long represented by Otto Passman ( D ) ( 1947-1977 ) , a white conservative who was first elected in the years of disenfranchisement of blacks and was a critic of civil rights legislation . Passman was defeated in the 1976 Democratic primary by Jerry Huckaby . ( The 5th district was redrawn in 2013 following reapportionment after the 2010 census . ) In 1972 , Wyche was elected as a chairman of the Louisiana delegation to the Democratic National Convention , which met in Miami Beach , Florida , and nominated the McGovern-Shriver ticket . Newly elected Governor Edwin Edwards ( D ) attended the convention . After he refused to back party nominee George McGovern , Edwards was snubbed by the Louisiana delegation . Leon Irwin , III ( 1936-2006 ) , a former Democratic National Committeeman from New Orleans , attributed the snub to Wyche , and said that he was one who " knows a great deal about politics but has very bad manners . " Edwards was unhappy with the McGovern nomination ; he predicted that incumbent President Richard M. Nixon a Republican would win the electoral vote of Louisiana . In keeping with the increasing shift of white Democrats to Republican candidates , Nixon carried much of the South in 1972
Democratic National Convention
1972 Democratic National Convention
Zelma Wyche