The theme of today’s article is UNITY. Unity has been defined as the state of being undivided or unbroken, which is most assuredly not the face which Republicans presented to the electorate in the 2015 and 2019 gubernatorial elections. This article is submitted in the hope that conservatives may avoid the mistakes of the two previous gubernatorial elections. Since Democrat John Bel Edwards took office in 2016, every other southern state has prospered, even as Louisiana‘s industrial base has eroded and our population has declined. IT IS TIME FOR A CHANGE!

You may painfully recall the absolute bitterness engendered by the three-way Republican-on-Republican war in 2015. (Yes, I mean “war,” because there is simply no other word to describe what happened.) After the primary, major Republican candidates openly or covertly endorsed John Bel, with predictable results. And if 2019 was less overtly bitter, Republican-on-Republican attacks still resulted in another defeat.

We cannot keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect a different result. That is Einstein’s definition of insanity, yet we already have three Republican candidates in the governor’s race and we could have three more in short order. Now I well realize that the LAGOP is a large and growing party, and unlike that other party, we encourage healthy dialogue and tolerate dissent. We do not demand absolute adherence to the party platform on pain of cancellation, but we do share common goals and interests. If we are to achieve these goals, we must stop making the same mistakes. That is to say, we must be unified going into this race!

Conscious of this fact, the LAGOP acted to achieve unity in early November of last year, when a clear majority of its governing body, the Republican State Central Committee (RSCC), voted to endorse Attorney General Jeff Landry. For those of you who may not know, the RSCC is a two hundred and thirty member body of Republican activists elected in a Republican only election. The members are elected from around the state. They are ordinary folks just like you and me- only about ten percent of them have also been elected to a local, state, or federal public office.

Let me be clear- LAGOP leadership did not initiate this endorsement. Contrary to what certain political persons have claimed, the endorsement of Jeff Landry by the RSCC was a grassroots effort by concerned members who wished to avoid a repeat of 2015 and 2019. Any Republican candidate for governor was welcome to seek the party’s official endorsement, but only Jeff Landry sought and received it.

So where are we at this early stage of the race? Jeff Landry has declared, as have two other candidates each polling at about one percent. But the word on the street is that Congressman Garret Graves of Louisiana’s 6th Congressional District will declare for the race this week.

I will frankly admit that I like Garret Graves; he is just plain likable and he is an effective voice for conservatives in Congress. What’s more, I think he will go far in the House. Following in the footsteps of Steve Scalise and Mike Johnson, he almost certainly has a future in senior leadership. That’s why I believe he would be making a terrible mistake by leaving Congress for the governor’s mansion. Here’s why:

(1) Garret was just re-elected to Congress! All the hard work and treasure that was expended on his re-election would be waisted, and the hopes of the folks who just re-elected him would be betrayed. When a candidate runs for an office, there is an unspoken but sacred compact between him and his supporters that he will perform the duties of that office to the best of his ability. This fact is usually so obvious that it is rarely remarked upon, but now would be a good time to remind Garret of the importance of standing by his congressional oath of office.

(2) Republicans only have a four seat margin in this Congress. There will be many important votes in the House, virtually all of which are likely to be very close. Whether Garret ultimately won or lost the governor’s race, he would be forced to miss many of these crucial votes in Congress while he was campaigning in Louisiana. We cannot afford to lose a single vote in this Congress!

(3 If Garret were to win the governor’s race, he would have to resign from Congress. Do we really want him want to risk this critical seat? What if John Bel Edwards were to run to replace him? Remember, one doesn’t have to live in a Congressional district to run for the seat, and John Bel will be looking for a new job at just that time. The Democrats would instantly commit tens of millions of dollars to John Bel’s election. A few years in the House would place him in an excellent position to run for U. S. Senator in 2026, when Bill Cassidy must run for re-election or leave the Senate.

(4) If Garret does enter the governor’s race, he will start well behind Jeff Landry in popularity. Jeff has been a successful and popular statewide elected official for seven years, while Garret is only well known in the 6th Congressional District. Garret would be forced to relentlessly attack Jeff to have any chance of beating him, but wouldn’t that be a repeat of the the same mistakes we made in 2015 and 2019? And wouldn’t that turn most Republicans against him? And wouldn’t Donald Trump, who well remembers Garret’s comments about him after the 2020 election, travel early and often to Louisiana to express his support for Jeff?

(5) The LAGOP has already united behind Jeff Landry, and donations are flooding in. Everything points to a successful fundraising campaign over the next several months, and with only minor candidates to oppose him, Jeff’s pathway to the governorship has been eased considerably. Why change all that for the sake of one congressman’s ego? No well-intended conservative elected official or voter should be willing to risk the opportunity of a lifetime to change the political landscape of Louisiana just because he or she might favor one Republican candidate over another. After all, that would be the definition of insanity!

I’ll close, or rather I’ll let two of the greatest Americans who ever lived close for me, with the most important advice they ever gave to America. We Louisianans should profit by their wisdom:

“United we stand, divided we fall.”  

Abraham Lincoln

 

“We must all hang together, or most assuredly, we will all hang separately.” 

Benjamin Franklin

 

LOUIS GURVICH, Chairman
Republican Party of Louisiana