In 1927 , Snyder stunned his associates when he endorsed Huey P. Long Jr. , for governor in the 1928 primary race against U.S. Representative Riley J. Wilson , the favorite of the planter interests , and the third candidate , sitting Governor Oramel H. Simpson . The decision was surprising because Snyder had enjoyed a close relationship in the past with Long 's most vehement critic , former Governor Jared Y. Sanders Sr . Snyder backed Long because he believed that Long , who had lost the 1924 primary race , would defeat Wilson , and Snyder wanted a good relationship with the new governor over whom he expected to exert much influence on behalf of delta interests . He tried unsuccessfully to get Long to visit his hunting lodge on Lake Bruin . '' The Tensas Gazette '' questioned Snyder 's backing of Long because the district attorney had for " practically his whole life-time been hand in glove with the New Orleans Ring " . When Snyder turned aside his old friend Sanders , the '' Tensas Gazette '' said that the DA had " turned to other gods " and now worshipped at " another shrine . " After the defection , Sanders wrote Snyder that the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 had not only devastated delta lands but also " affected your mind . " By the spring of 1930 , Snyder expressed regret for his support of Long , who he believed had agitated class warfare and undermined the state constitution which Snyder had helped to write . Long shut out most delta interests in his administration . Again showing his political flexibility , Long vowed to " do all in my power to make amends for that course " . Long , however , was on another roll ; soon he would unseat U.S. Senator Joseph E. Ransdell of Lake Providence , the highest ranking of all delta political advocates . That action left the anti-Long advocates in a sense of bewilderment . Many tried to make peace with the Long forces to survive politically
Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
Jefferson B. Snyder