The Louisiana House of Representatives is on track to do something it hasn’t done in 32 years: publicly choose between candidates vying to be House speaker.
The Associated Press reports that this sort of decision is usually hashed out behind the scenes, with an anointing of sorts when a new term begins, rather than a contested vote.
But unless a compromise is brokered within days, lawmakers in the House will face a head-to-head matchup between Democrat Walt Leger and Republican Cameron Henry as the new term begins Monday.
Gov.-elect John Bel Edwards is pushing for Leger, even though Republicans hold a majority of House seats.
Some lawmakers continued to work behind the scenes to find a third, compromise candidate that could garner support from Edwards and Republicans alike. But so far, that candidate hadn’t emerged.
The Associated Press has the full story.
