Over several cycles in recent decades, Louisiana elected new members of its congressional delegation in December, a month after all other states had finished voting. That is likely to happen again this year.
This last-in-the-nation schedule left new members behind their peers in the scramble for office space, committee positions and staff, while raising other issues that might not be so obvious.
Consultant Chris Comeaux, who helped Congressman Clay Higgins get elected for the first time in 2016, woke up in a Lafayette hotel room on the Monday morning after that victory to an urgent call from the member-elect.
“The first thing out of his mouth is ‘Chris, we have got to figure out the Mardi Gras princesses,’” Comeaux recalled. “And I’m like, ‘Dude, what the hell is a Mardi Gras princess?’ I had never been to D.C. Mardi Gras at that point.”
But as Washington Mardi Gras devotees know, the annual multiday party doubles as a crucial networking event for Louisiana politicos, and participation is practically mandatory for a delegation member. Just one more thing to worry about on the road to taking the oath of office in January.
Louisiana used to hold nonpartisan open primaries for Congress in September or October, with the runoffs (if necessary) in November. But the runoffs often weren’t necessary, since incumbents often won in the first round, which meant members would be elected before the national Election Day.
In 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Louisiana’s elections violated the federal rule requiring elections for national offices to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The high court said the state didn’t have to “employ the conventional mechanics of an election,” a reference to the open primary, but the election “may not be consummated prior to federal election day.”
Federal courts set the November/December schedule, which would become the norm, except for in 2008 and 2010 when the state made its last foray into holding party primaries.
This year’s schedule would have looked more like 2008 and 2010 if the U.S. Supreme Court hadn’t thrown out Louisiana’s U.S. House map after early voting for party primaries had begun, spurring Gov. Jeff Landry to cancel that election and call for a do-over. So, at least for this year, we’re back to the old schedule, which means we probably won’t have winners in the crowded races for the open 5th District and 6th District seats until December.
Charlie Melancon was elected to Congress for the first time in December 2004. While he couldn’t point to anything specific that the late start kept him from accomplishing, he said it’s definitely a disadvantage.
In fact, he blames the rushed transition for campaign finance mistakes that he said his team made, which he said resulted in a hefty fine. Not being able to attend orientation with the rest of his class made it harder to get to know his colleagues, he added.
On the other hand, he made out pretty well with his first office, conveniently located in the Cannon House Office Building, so he didn’t have a long walk to the Capitol. Perhaps jokingly, he suggested outgoing Congressman Billy Tauzin Jr., whose son, Billy Tauzin III, also ran for the seat, might have had something to do with it.
“Either Billy Tauzin got it fixed up for his son, if his son had gotten elected, or I just got lucky,” Melancon said.
Not every freshman was so fortunate. Speaker Mike Johnson, like Higgins, was elected in December 2016.
“If you are elected as a freshman from Louisiana, you come in as the last member of your freshman class,” Johnson said in a House floor speech honoring departing chief of staff Hayden Hayes. “I got the lowliest office draw. I got the worst office in Congress, as noted by The Washington Post. We really started at the bottom, but we navigated life as a freshman.”
The issues are magnified on the House side of Congress because there’s more competition for influential positions, said Pearson Cross, a politics professor and department head at UL Monroe. In the Senate, “pretty much everybody gets a decent assignment right out of the gate,” Cross said.
In theory, the balance of power in the House could be at stake when Louisiana voters go to the polls in December. But that would probably be less dramatic than it sounds, since the 5th and 6th districts (where runoffs are likely) were drawn to favor Republicans.
For example, if Democratic Rep. Pat Moore (who is competing in the 5th District) got into the runoff against a Republican, and then some damaging information came out about that Republican that made the election dicey for the GOP, perhaps the parties would have an incentive to pour money into the race, Cross said.
“But barring something like that, I don’t see it,” he added.
Filling out a staff certainly can be a challenge. But just as Higgins was able to attract folks from outgoing U.S. Sen. David Vitter’s office, it would not be surprising to see some of U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy’s folks working for new members next year. As Comeaux noted, ideology isn’t particularly important for the staffers who handle constituent requests.
This year, Comeaux is working for Rep. Michael Echols in Echols’ campaign for the 5th District seat. Comeaux said he brought up planning for D.C. Mardi Gras with Echols, who wanted no part of that conversation. Which is understandable: They still have a race to run, even making the runoff is not guaranteed, and neither man is presuming victory.
Jeremy Alford publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter, or Facebook. He can be reached at JJA@LaPolitics.com.
Playoff outlook
