The flooding in south Louisiana derailed the state’s mainline political parties in August, resulting in canceled fundraisers and slowing the pace of direct mail and incoming revenue, writes Jeremy Alford in his latest column.
“You may have noticed that commercials with candidates are finally showing up on your television screens,” Alford notes. “There’s a reason for that. Labor Day is widely accepted as the unofficial kickoff for Louisiana elections, and the weeks leading up to it are important for media rollouts.”
But this year, many candidates simply pressed pause during the flooding and its aftermath, he says. They canceled or postponed their first commercials and radio spots—as well as donor visits, speeches and public appearances.
The political parties also had “some juggling to do,” Alford writes.
“Democrats had to cancel their centerpiece event, the annual Jefferson Jackson Dinner, which was originally slated for Aug. 13,” says Alford, adding that Stephen Handwerk, executive director of the state party, says it will be rescheduled soon.
Most of the money raised from the dinner was already in the bank when it had to be postponed, Alford explains. Rescheduling will give Handwerk and his staff extra time to sell a few more tables, but expectations are, at best, moderate.
Alford says this sets up what could be a challenging September and October for fundraising overall, especially because an infusion of cash from national surrogates is not a given at this point.
The Louisiana Democratic Party had to go completely dark for roughly half a week last month, which is starting to slowly show up in operations in small ways, Alford says. “It’s tighter than I would expect,” Handwerk tells Alford. “But I’m confident supporters will help us get over that finish line.”
Meanwhile at the Louisiana Republican Party, a major fundraiser at Celtic Media Centre, which was transformed into an emergency shelter as floodwaters pushed in, was postponed until Sept. 29, Alford writes. Party officials tell him the postponement didn’t create an immediate cash flow problem. “Though the flooding will be creating challenges for all raising money for the foreseeable future,” says state GOP executive director Jason Doré.
The Louisiana Republican Party will be teaming up with Attorney General Jeff Landry this coming weekend for his annual gator hunt, which usually brings in national names and hefty fundraising figures, Alford says. Lafayette Sheriff Mark Garber will also be hosting another fundraiser, bringing the number of headliner events for the GOP to three for this month.
“We made it through August and feel good about our September events,” says Doré.
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.
