In the gubernatorial election of 1920, he have campaigned prominently for John M. Parker, and today Long is often credited with helping Parker to win in the northern Louisiana parishes. However, after Parker was elected to the gubernatorial office, the two became bitter rivals. This break was largely the result of Long having demanded that Parker declare the state's oil pipelines to be public utilities and Parker having refused to do so. In particular, Long was horrified and became furious when Parker allowed the oil companies led by the legal team of Standard Oil to assist in the writing of the state's severance tax laws-laws that decreed how much money corporations such as Standard Oil had to pay the state for the extraction of natural resources. Because the governor was willing to go along with companies like Standard Oil, Huey began calling Parker the chattel of the corporations. After butting heads, Parker eventually tried to have Huey ousted from his position on the Louisiana Railroad Commission in 1921, although he was unable to do so.
