The primary is almost upon us- only a few hours remain until the polls open this Saturday at 7am. A few final comments and observations would seem to be in order:

The major media has lately remarked on some “divisiveness”, so-called, within the Republican Party of Louisiana. As Chairman of the party I can tell you that all such talk, and more particularly any references to the 2015 debacle which turned the state over to a tax and spend liberal Governor, is the fantasy of a hostile press in league with John Bel Edwards.

I shall get out of the way for a moment and let the facts speak for themselves: Unlike the Democrats, the LAGOP is united as never before, with few ideological differences of any great consequence. Unlike the Democrats, the LAGOP is larger than ever before, having added a hundred and five thousand new members while the Democrat Party shrank by seventy-five thousand under the administration of John Bel Edwards. And unlike the Democrats, by all accounts our legislative majorities in both houses will increase after this election cycle has concluded.

Contrast these impressive Republican achievements with John Bel Edwards’ record of promises immediately broken, his serial failures over the last four years, and the awful consequences to our state:

Remember the key promises he made to the voters in 2015: (1) that he would reform our government, and (2) that he would not raise our taxes? John Bel knew he had to make those promises to be elected, but he also knew that he would break them almost immediately. As a senior Democrat leader in the House, he was well aware in 2015 that he would have to reform the government or raise taxes, and he chose the liberal-progressive path, thereby foisting upon our citizen’s the largest tax increase in Louisiana history.

Remember John Bel’s moving deficit numbers: $2B, then $1.7B, $1.4B, $1.1B, $950M, then $648M? Remember the threats to close universities and nursing homes, to downgrade or eliminate LSU football, the TOPS program, etc.? Truth be told, there was never a $2B deficit or anything near that amount, and the threats were untruthful and unnecessary.

And never, ever forget the present day results of his administration: The rising poverty rate, one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation, one of the lowest growth rates in the nation, and the skyrocketing and unsustainable growth in the cost of governing Louisiana. The state actually has fewer private sector jobs now than in 2015, a stunning indictment of liberal-progressive ideology and practice, with catastrophic effects on our workers and their families. We are dead last or nearly so on every state survey of the last four years, and trending further downwards where that’s even possible.

The question of the day is whether Louisiana has lived up to its potential, or even anything near it, under John Bel Edwards? The answer is obvious, and unfortunately we have actually lost ground as the rest of the country has prospered under the economic boom delivered, as promised, by President Trump. There could be no greater contrast between these two men, a successful President whose rallying cry is “PROMISES KEPT!” and a failed Governor who dares not speak of the promises broken since 2015.

I ask that all Republicans and conservatives vote up and down the ballot for our Republican candidates this Saturday. John Bel Edwards is not and never has been a “moderate”, but we have two excellent conservative candidates who can fix his mistakes and move our state forward. YOUR vote is essential to our victory!

LOUIS GURVICH, Chairman
REPUBLICAN PARTY OF LOUISIANA

P.S. Make your voting preparations now and bring a sample ballot (or your own list of candidates) with you, as you are technically only allowed three minutes inside the polling booth. Don’t forget to bring an ID with your signature appearing on it.