As I’ve grown older, one of the most important lessons I’ve learned in life and in business is the ability to face reality. It’s a lesson that is often hard learned because we all want what we want, and when the hard realities don’t line up with what we want we can often begin going through this process of convincing ourselves of our own bad ideas.

In politics, much as it is in other areas of life, it’s hard to accept reality when you’ve put so much time, effort, money, and emotion into an endeavor. Candidates become consumed by thoughts of winning and the nostalgia of supporters around you can create a false sense of confidence. I remember advising a friend who was running for a parish-wide office that he should temper his rhetoric and focus on running his race. He assured me he was going to win because people everywhere were supporting him. I assured him that a room filled with 10,000 people chanting your name would give anyone the same sense of confidence, but the reality is it will take a lot more than 10,000 votes to win and he’s probably not getting that. In the end, he lost his election and for some reason seemed confused by how he could be beaten by such a large margin. He refused to face reality and make adjustments.

When it comes to the current Governor’s race there are some clear realities that come to mind. Let’s start by going back to mid-summer last year.

Members of the Republican State Central Committee (RSCC) were hearing from their constituents that voters were tired of the vicious intra-party fighting which was costing them elections. They wanted a single candidate they could unite behind early and win – a dramatic change from the divisive and disastrous failures of 2015 and 2019.

So the RSCC committee quickly went to work, and it wasn’t long before the LAGOP Executive Committee received letters from RSCC members across the state requesting an endorsement for Jeff Landry. Acting upon these requests, the executive committee issued the endorsement and the momentum for Jeff Landry instantly began to swell.

Momentum grew for Landry from the LAGOP endorsement. And the fact that his experience and demonstrated political skill (he’s won four congressional or statewide elections, only one of which was he a favorite in beforehand) made him clearly the strongest of the gubernatorial candidates led many to the conclusion that Landry was going to ultimately win the race. Not surprisingly, fundraising grew – and Landry had established himself as a superstar fundraiser going back several years, particularly given his annual million-dollar “alligator hunt” events thrown in early September.

As a result, Jeff Landry has raised exponentially more money than all other Republican candidates combined. Conventional wisdom would have told other hopefuls that the best option would be to unite behind Landry and a Republican victory to take back the Governor’s mansion and seize and share the political power and spoils inherent in such a victory, but some decided they would run no matter what.

They refused to face reality.

Here are some more realities. The Democrats were basically assured a second-place position in the coming election purely because there is only one real Democrat candidate in the Governor’s race. Knowing this, they’ve been able to keep their financial powder dry.

Shawn Wilson has spent less than $800,000 on his campaign since April of this year. The big money is standing by salivating for a runoff thanks to Republicans who can’t get their act together. If the Democrats get their way and if the attacks on the GOP frontrunner create any signs of weakness, the day after the primary huge sums of money will flow into the coffers of Shawn Wilson and that will lead a five-week, multi-million dollar full-scale offensive attack on Jeff Landry. Make no mistake, the Democrats know they can’t beat Jeff Landry in the primary, but you shouldn’t expect them to give up the Governor’s mansion by laying down in a runoff.

While I don’t believe Louisianian’s can stomach another Democrat Governor, I do believe it’s not worth taking that chance. Leaving things to chance when this modern Democrat Party is your opposition is how you get very stupid prizes.

So, what are the other realities that need to be faced going into the October 14^th primary election? The reality for the outlier Republican candidates is there is no path to a second-place finish for any of them. This October 14^th election will end one of only two ways – Jeff Landry will be our Governor-elect thanks to a primary win like Bobby Jindal had in 2007, or there will be a runoff between Jeff Landry and Shawn Wilson. No other Republican candidate has polled out of single digits. None of them have the money to run a major campaign, and even if they did, it’s too late. The reality is it makes no sense for any of these candidates to stay in this race.

As Secretary of the State Republican Party, I’m asking all current Republican candidates to withdraw from the Governor’s race and support a Jeff Landry victory on October 14^th.

Why am I asking for this? I’m asking because I believe the stakes are too high and we need to unite behind our top priority for a Republican to win the Governor’s seat, and Jeff is the only viable candidate to win.

I’m asking because if this election goes to a runoff, then Jeff will have to raise huge sums of money again to compete with the money the Dems have been able to sit on all year. This money will come from citizens like you and me who have already given this year and will need to give again to make sure we win. And those funds could be better spent on other political priorities than on a Governor’s race we should have already won on October 14.

I’m asking because there’s a lot of work to right the ship for Louisiana when Jeff Landry becomes our Governor and giving him an extra month to work on transition rather than having to campaign can be a significant advantage to hitting the ground running in January.

And finally, I’m asking this because if Jeff is elected Governor on October 14th, then he can weigh in on other runoff elections around the state to help make sure other Republicans win their races. We need to give him a truly conservative legislature which can elect truly conservative leadership and deliver the kinds of aggressive reforms which remake this state and give it a real chance to catch up to Texas and Florida and other Southern states which have been draining population and capital from us for decades.

So, it’s time for everyone to face reality. It’s time for the other Republican candidates to realize there is no path to second place and no reason to remain in the race. The right thing to do is exit the Governor’s race and support Jeff Landry to assure Republicans take back the Governor’s mansion. And it’s time for voters to realize that voting for anyone other than Jeff Landry is a fruitless vote that only supports wasting more time and money before Jeff Landry can get to work for Louisiana.

Please join me in supporting a victory for Jeff Landry and Louisiana on October 14^th. Even if your candidate was somebody else, if they can’t win your vote won’t help them or anybody else. Let’s get this done now and start working immediately towards the greatest chapter in Louisiana history we so desperately need to come.

 

Derek Babcock
Secretary, LAGOP