No matter what happens in the Dec. 10 runoff elections, Louisiana’s congressional delegation will have an entirely differently look in 2017, Jeremy Alford says in his latest column.
Three out of Louisiana’s eight Congressional members will be true freshmen next year, Alford notes, adding that doesn’t necessarily mean Louisiana will have less clout.
“The most notable vacancy comes courtesy of senior Sen. David Vitter, who is leaving elected life following last year’s upset in the governor’s race. Vitter will take with him an important gavel as the chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship,” he writes, adding Vitter is the only committee chairman currently serving in Louisiana’s congressional delegation.
Vitter’s absence among Louisiana’s Washington establishment isn’t limited to rank, Alford says.
“(Vitter) has an anti-establishment political brand that was crafted long before being anti-establishment was cool. Whether it was for idealistic or political reasons, Vitter never hesitated to question authority, which is a rare quality among Louisiana’s elected class,” Alford says.
Republican U.S. Senate candidate and State Treasurer John Kennedy has campaigned on being a good replacement for that archetype, Alford writes, noting that voters liked Kennedy the most of the 24 Senate candidates in the primary.
“Kennedy’s campaign structure also includes some former Vitter hands, so it could be argued that the treasurer’s transition would be a smooth one,” Alford writes. “However, if you want a dramatically different approach from Vitter, then Democrat Foster Campbell, a member of the Public Service Commission, is your best bet.”
Campbell, who’s facing Kennedy in the Dec. 10 runoff, is a populist who has denounced Vitter’s accomplishments and style, Alford says. Whereas Vitter was the best friend of business and industry, Campbell has a strong record of standing with labor and unions, he says.
“As either Kennedy or Campbell takes his oath of office in January, junior Sen. Bill Cassidy will become the senior senator,” Alford writes. “It will be the beginning of Cassidy’s third year in the upper chamber, which will also be the halfway mark for his first term. Cassidy’s most important contribution to the delegation so far is probably his seat on the Senate Appropriations Committee. This is the panel that doles out federal money, so it’s a big deal.”
Alfords says the stars are better aligned on the House side as House Majority Whip Steve Scalise returning to Washington and, it’s anticipated, the GOP leadership.
“Scalise has close ties to President-elect Donald Trump and his status is already on the upswing,” he writes. ”Helping balance out some of the state’s stroke, Congressman Cedric Richmond, currently the only Democrat in the delegation, appears to be in line to become the next chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus. That would be a big win for Louisiana.”
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.
