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LaPolitics: Are you definitely running for reelection next year?
Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser: My plan is to run for reelection, if I’m still healthy and I still have this passion I have right now. And it’s no secret, every day someone calls me and wants me to run for governor. Some people don’t think the governor will run again. They think he’ll take an appointment in Washington. It’s too early to tell what he’s going to do or what that race is going to look like. I love what I do. People ask me not to rule out a run if that opportunity presents itself. But right now, I’m planning on running for reelection.
You’ve said before that you wouldn’t run against Gov. Landry. Are you saying you would consider running for governor if he isn’t?
I tell people, look, that’s next year, and it’s so far off that a lot of things could change. But I’ll tell you this, and I don’t know this for a fact, I’ve had people say, “You need to be ready for a race.” Because the word is that the governor is going to put somebody in a race against me because his plan is to leave to go to Washington in some kind of way. Some people say that he thinks he’s going to be a vice presidential pick. I don’t know about that.
What do you think your father [who was a Louisiana GOP leader when the state party was just starting to become relevant] would say about Louisiana Republicans overtaking the Democrats in party registration?
Well, I’m proud of it, but I gave a speech to the state Central Committee and said I’m here today with a heavy heart and greatly disappointed in the party that my father helped build. While you have record-breaking numbers, it’s a divided party. If you go to your Facebook page, you’d think there’s only two statewide elected officials, Jeff Landry and Liz Murrill. We had our third record-breaking year in state parks. We’ve had tourism numbers through the roof, never mentioned. And then I went on to say, during the [immigration] raids, that people were picked up with legit work permits and were told, don’t know if it’s true, but they were told they’re holding them until their work permit expires because they have a quota to reach. Then I got calls from hotels and restaurants. Nobody was going to work. So I went on TV and asked the president or the governor or ICE to please clarify, if you’ve got a legit work permit, you don’t have to fear going to your job. Well, the [governor’s office] put out a statement and said I’m disappointed the lieutenant governor wants to leave criminals in Louisiana and give them more rights than American citizens. That was a lie.
—They siad it: “You need to put down the bong if you think that Iran and China are not helping Russia in that war.” –U.S. Sen. John Kennedy about the war in Ukraine, on Fox News
