The partisan frontline of Louisiana’s legislative runoff elections centers on the state House of Representatives, where Republicans are within striking distance of gaining a veto-proof, two-thirds supermajority.
The GOP already has reached that benchmark in the Senate for the new term that begins in January, after capturing two Senate seats in the October primary election that had been held by Democrats. With those gains, Republicans are assured 26 of the Senate’s 39 seats.
Seven contested House seats in the Nov. 16 runoff will determine whether Republicans in the lower chamber also will reach a supermajority, 70 of 105 seats.
Securing two-thirds of the members of the House and Senate means if the GOP votes as a bloc, its members could override a gubernatorial veto and could make certain budget and tax decisions without working with Democrats.
The Louisiana Committee for a Conservative Majority—led by Attorney General Jeff Landry and U.S. Sen. John Kennedy—helped flip the two state Senate seats to the GOP and is now working toward that veto-proof majority in the House.
The Louisiana Democratic Party is working to keep Republicans from reaching their goal, offering Democratic legislative candidates assistance with voter data, fundraising emails and texting platforms, said Stephen Handwerk, party executive director.
Twenty-four House seats are on the November ballot. But 16 of those competitions are between candidates of the same party. Of the remaining eight seats, Republicans are competing in seven—and need to win each one to reach the 70-member supermajority.
The partisan makeup of the Senate was largely settled in the primary.
While five Senate seats are on the runoff ballot, all but one of the competitions is between members of the same party. The tossup Senate contest is the Baton Rouge-based race between Beverly Brooks Thompson, a Democrat, and Franklin Foil, a Republican.
The Louisiana Committee for a Conservative Majority also is working to oust GOP incumbent Sen. Ryan Gatti of Bossier Parish, arguing he isn’t conservative enough.
