The independent expenditure group that helped Republicans overtake the Louisiana Legislature under the leadership of outgoing U.S. Sen. David Vitter has been reborn. More than a dozen of the original board members from the Louisiana Committee For A Republican Majority have been reenlisted and collectively have pledged $1.5 million to spend on the 2019 election cycle. Attorney General Jeff Landry is spearheading the effort now and we should start seeing some political action during the 2017 fiscal session. That’s when Gov. John Bel Edwards will be pushing lawmakers to approve hefty tax changes. Outreach from LCRM is expected to coincide with important votes next year, and metrics are being developed for grading and rating incumbent lawmakers on those votes.
—Republicans already have a decent majority this term in the state Senate, 25-14, but you couldn’t tell based on the bills the Senate passes and the support it provides to the governor. With Senate President John Alario term-limited, along with 41% of the entire chamber—16 out of 39 seats—the Senate looks to be a real area of opportunity for LCRM. In the House, 38 out of 105 seats will be open due to term limits, or 36% of the chamber.
They said it: “I’m not a fan of Bobby Jindal and David Vitter, but they’re not running in this election.”—Caroline Fayard, during last week’s U.S. Senate forum at LSU hosted by the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, in The Associated Press
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.
