Displaying items by tag: Louisiana governor

by Tom Aswell

Publisher of Louisiana Voice

Republican members of the Louisiana Legislature are pretty smug about their ability to block any proposed legislation or budget put forward by Gov. John Bel Edwards.

Witness the antics of Rep. Cameron Henry (R-Metairie) as he danced to puppeteer/House Speaker Taylor Barras (R-New Iberia) in rejecting the findings of the Revenue Estimating Conference, effectively killing any chance Edwards had of implementing badly needed pay raises for Louisiana’s public school teachers.

But do Henry and Barras, members in good standing of the “Caucus of No,” give a damn about teachers or, for that matter, the state as a whole?

If Louisiana Republican activists had seen the GOP’s Sen. John Kennedy as the toughest challenger to Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards, GOP Rep. Ralph Abraham shouldn’t disappoint them.

Earlier this week, Kennedy took a pass on running for the state’s top job, disheartening some hoping to dump Edwards. Today, Abraham, after saying for months he gave serious consideration to taking on Edwards, made the plunge.

The John Bel Edwards administration is taking the flu season seriously. It is holding a one-day flu vaccination promotion tomorrow, statewide.

The good times keep rolling for Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards. Even though he is a Democrat in the red state of Louisiana, he was elected Governor in 2015 due to the personal and political baggage of his run-off opponent, former Republican United States Senator David Vitter. Not only did Vitter have to deal with a prostitution scandal, but he also was so disliked by his fellow Republican gubernatorial candidates that one remained neutral in the run-off and the other one made a very public endorsement of John Bel Edwards.

Eddie is ready.

This version of “Eddie’s Ready”, a slogan used by former New Orleans City Court Judge and Councilman, Eddie Sapir, could apply now to Baton Rouge businessman Eddie Rispone.

Who?

As we enter December 2018, in the land of Louisiana politics, there are two certainties:

No. 1: US Senator John Kennedy is not running for Louisiana governor. 

No. 2: The Democratic Party seems as if they could not be happier, for now.  The GOP bench of gubernatorial hopefuls is woefully thin. 

Exit stage left, US Senator John Kennedy in his bid to be the next Louisiana Governor.

Despite being in a strong position to capture the Governor's mansion, today In a press release, Kennedy stated he won’t run for governor, despite currently leading the current governor in a one on one poll by Bernie Pinsonat over Democrat Governor John Bel Edwards. Kennedy led Edwards in that poll by four points, 49-45 percent. Kennedy had a favorable rating of 61% whereas Edwards rated 60%.

Kennedy is the junior US Senator but has made a strong impact on the cable news circuits due in part to his southern folksy quips.

Might folksy US Senator John Neely Kennedy’s greatest strength, as of lately, morph into a sore political Achilles heel?

That is apparently what Democratic political Super PAC American Bridge is shooting for as the Senator keeps us all in suspense. The mystery is whether he will jump into the campaign waters once again, this time, for Louisiana Governor.

Should US Senator John Kennedy on Monday decide to run for Louisiana governor, he has the wind blowing behind his back, at least, so it seems, based upon a just-released poll by Bernie Pinsonat.

Pinsonat has just released his annual winter poll and from all indications, he has ahead of John Bel Edwards, 49-45 percent. The elections take place next fall.

With the announcement that Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry is running for re-election, the stage is set for U.S. Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) to announce his entrance into the 2019 Governor’s race. The Senator has indicated he will make an announcement in early December. If he runs, Kennedy will be the favorite in the race and will be in a good position to defeat John Bel Edwards, the liberal Democrat who currently occupies the Governor’s mansion.