State Rep. Hunter Greene (R-Baton Rouge) had relatively clear sailing for his HB 292, which would restore an open primary election system in Congressional elections, through the House and a Senate committee.

Final passage won’t be so easy for the bill. It has lots of opposition.

The Louisiana Republican Party back on April 7 suggested that Greene’s bill was a bad idea because…

…a well-reasoned argument for making the change which first went into effect in 2008 was that open primaries in the past pushed back elections into December and consequently hurt our member’s seniorty and committee assignments. A return to that system negatively impacts the influence of our delegation in Washington at a time when our state and nation need their leadership.

Turns out the parties agree on something after all. Yesterday, Buddy Leach, chairman of the Louisiana Democrat Party, put out a release saying that closed party primaries are the “best way to ensure that Louisiana voters are offered a reasonable choice between mainstream candidates for federal office,” and then mentioned that open primary runoffs push elections back into December, which would result in…

“denying members of our congressional delegation the seniority and influence they need to fight for middle-class families in Louisiana.”

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

Via The Advocate.