Jeremy Alford: Louisiana elections often beget elections

The headline on this opinion column was recycled. I used the caption in April of last year to explain the various electoral dominoes toppled by the resignation of former Congressman Cedric Richmond of New Orleans.

The resulting 2021 special election, which gave us now-Congressman Troy Carter, led to two other special elections because Carter was a member of the state Senate at the time and his Senate replacement, nephew Gary Carter, was a state representative.

With primary voting set to conclude in less than a month, both of the open state Senate seats on the fall ballot could — again — lead to other special elections on future ballots. Put another way, special elections in Louisiana beget special elections.

There are three state representatives running for these two competitive Senate seats, and neither contest has crystal clear frontrunners as of this hour.

Democrats will definitely maintain control of New Orleans’ Senate District 5, where a replacement politico is needed for former Sen. Karen Carter Peterson, who pleaded guilty to a federal wire charge in August.
In Senate District 17 in the Iberville-Pointe Coupee region, Republicans and the business lobby may have to fight to hold onto the seat vacated by term-limited Sen. Rick Ward of Maringouin — or wait until the district turns more conservative next term due to redistricting.

Of the two contests, the special election in New Orleans between Reps. Royce Duplessis and Mandie Landry is a real dogfight.

While the two Democrats agree on many policy issues, they offer more contrast on the political front.
Duplessis has a well-funded campaign stocked with seasoned consultants. His team is pushing out media with production value and buying airtime. Landry is managing her own campaign and a tight budget. She’s making her own videos and prioritizing things like door-knocking and canvassing.

Landry, in particular, has some natural advantages in this race, like her entire House district being inside the Senate district. She’s also well positioned to discuss abortion rights — easily the hottest issue in the district, which is home to some of the most progressive voters in the state. On this issue, Landry has both policy and professional experience.

Abortion can be a difficult issue to tackle gracefully for male candidates, but Duplessis’ campaign is searching for that avenue in its latest TV spot, which feature’s the representative’s mother discussing a family member’s “self induced coat hanger abortion.”

Duplessis, in a polished fashion, is selling himself to voters as a politician who has forged compromises in Baton Rouge on tough topics like criminal justice reform. But supporters add he can get it done on the neighborhood-level as well and he can work with the alphabet groups in New Orleans, some of which are lining up behind his bid.

Landry, meanwhile, gladly discusses not having the same establishment endorsements or in-demand consultants, which has in turn become part of her own political brand. She instead points to her community-level engagement, like being a volunteer attorney with the Pro Bono Project, and her grassroots approach to this race.

In the three-candidate field for Senate District 17, Rep. Jeremy LaCombe, a Democrat from New Roads, has garnered the most attention in Capitoland, as any sitting lawmaker would.

LaCombe will have the fundraising and campaign staff, led by consultant Trey Ourso, to mount a strong bid. He’ll need both to replace Ward in a district that twice backed former President Donald Trump.

There are two other candidates, both Republicans, making unmissable noise in this race, beginning with West Baton Rouge Parish Councilman Caleb Kleinpeter of Port Allen.

Conservatives and some corners of the business lobby find Kleinpeter’s candidacy attractive, and they like seeing consultant Jason Hebert of the Political Firm at the helm of the campaign.

But those same players also know this race is gong to be personal and intimate during the primary’s final weeks, and they want to see how all of the candidates perform when faced with fodder from opposition research books.

Republican-leaning groups also stand ready to spend in the district to weaken LaCombe’s standing as the quasi-incumbent in the race. That includes dredging up this term’s controversial votes on transgender athletes.
LaCombe, however, may have an ace in the hole with the high number of Democrat-versus-Democrat races slated on the municipal level in the district’s nine parishes. Should he find a way to tap into those elections in a meaningful way, LaCombe will have a powerful weapon.

The wild card in the race is Dr. Kirk Rousset of Oscar, an OBGYN at Woman’s Hospital. He’s running on health care and has a commercial on the air produced by media consultant Roy Fletcher.

Rousset may be in a position to either grab some dollars from the medical PACs or make sure they stay on the sidelines. Either way, he could also cut into LaCombe’s base in Pointe Coupee Parish.

This Iberville-Pointe Coupee race, as well as the contest over in New Orleans, may not stay as tight and competitive in the coming weeks. But right now they both look livelier than expected with a whole lot of voters in the undecided category.
For more Louisiana political news, visit www. LaPolitics.com.