Being a Democratic member of the Louisiana Legislature can sometimes get a little rough, Jeremy Alford says.
“They’re outnumbered on both sides of the Capitol—41 to 64 in the House and 14 to 25 in the Senate,” Alford writes in his latest column. “That means Democrats have to play well with others to obtain majority floor votes; they can’t pass anything of significance alone.”
Democrats can, however, block important legislation if they stick together, he says. For example, last week House Democrats were able to stall the bond financing bill for statewide construction projects.
Still, Alford notes that Democrats have lost their shared leverage this term, with Republicans holding the Legislature’s top two leadership spots and having a chokehold on the lower chamber’s committee process.
Few, if any, of the party’s chief policy priorities have gained traction, he says. Even the Senate—which has long been home to Republicans with Democratic voting tendencies—is no longer advancing bills for equal pay and a higher minimum wage.
Having a Democrat in the governor’s office is the one obvious bright spot for the party, but Alford says even that doesn’t shine as brightly as it once did.
“It’s always good to have a friend on the Capitol’s fourth floor,” he writes. “But, if history is any indication, the sitting governor also needs the support of his or her own party’s rank-and-file members.”
That Democrats have lost control of the Legislature after generations of running the show is not a new conversation topic in Louisiana, Alford says. But recent happenings and trends reveal how Democrats are dealing with the shift in an effort to lean forward.
“Some of the most noticeable changes have occurred in the lower chamber, where Rep. Gene Reynolds of Minden resigned as chairman of the House caucus in May,” Alford writes. “Reynolds said it was time for new leadership, and he wanted to see more moderate lawmakers working together across party lines.”
Since then, Rep. Robert Johnson of Marksville has stepped into the job, bringing with him a new sense of determination for the caucus, Alford says. That much was evident as last month’s budget hearing on the House floor commenced, he adds, noting the caucus unleashed a series of policy-specific messages from its members and the pre-recorded videos were promoted on social media.
“As this term continues to cross its midway mark, it’s clear that Democrats are beginning to find their collective footing,” Alford writes. “But with legislative membership numbers in danger of dipping again, sitting lawmakers becoming more independent and a governor who lacks the coattails of his predecessors, Democrats still aren’t sure what their next big move will be.”
Jeremy Alford publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter, or on Facebook. He can be reached at JJA@LaPolitics.com.
