Tomorrow is election day for Louisiana! On Saturday, registered Republican voters in Louisiana will have the opportunity to elect their representatives on their local Republican Parish Executive Committee (RPEC) and the Republican State Central Committee (RSCC).

At first glance, these elected positions seem to be minor, relatively unimportant positions. After all, what power does the RPEC or the RSCC have?

To the surprise of many, tomorrow’s RSCC and RPEC elections are actually a big deal for one simple reason: the RSCC and RPEC set the tone for the Republican party in Louisiana.

For many years, the RSCC and many local RPECs have acted more like an Establishment “good ol-boys” club rather than an active political party. To my knowledge, neither the RSCC nor most RPECs have sought grassroots, conservative activists to get involved to join their ranks. Instead, well-connected politicos and politicians have typically filled the ranks of the RSCC and RPEC.

Despite Republican candidates dominating statewide and legislative elections in recent year, the Republican party is still NOT the largest political party in Louisiana. As of March 2024, the Democrat party still boasts a larger party registration in our state. In fact, the Louisiana Democrat party still has 100k more registered members than the Republican party.

For Louisiana Republicans to still trail the Democrat party in 2024 in terms of registered voters is beyond inexcusable. Louisiana has voted for Republican presidential candidates by roughly 15-20% over the past five presidential elections, yet there are still more registered Democrats than Republicans in Louisiana?

Clearly, the RSCC and many RPECs are not working as intended if this dilemma still exists. Equally clearly, the Republican Establishment in Louisiana does not want grassroots conservatives to get involved in state and local politics. That would change the entire landscape they’ve worked so hard to groom.

Just look at Jefferson Parish, the Jefferson Parish RPEC does not hold public meetings–including their endorsement meetings. Yes, you read that correctly. Registered Republicans in Jefferson Parish are NOT allowed to see how their RPEC representatives vote in endorsing candidates. What’s worse is that many members of the RPEC are also politicians. So, that means elected officials sit on the same committee that makes official endorsements on behalf of the Jefferson Parish GOP. Is there not a clear conflict of interest here? Why should elected officials be allowed to serve on the committee that gets to endorse them when election time rolls around?

No wonder Jefferson Parish has some of the worst RINOs (“Republicans-in-name only”) in all of Louisiana–such as Rep. Joe Stagni and Rep. Stephanie Hilferty. Jefferson Parish does not have a functioning GOP, and we produce some of the worst elected officials in the state.

When you have a local GOP that does not hold public meetings and has not made a public press release in over six months (as of this writing), you a recipe for disaster.

If you live in Jefferson Parish, it’s a good bet that most didn’t know that the Jefferson Parish GOP endorsed terrible RINO incumbents like Joe Stagni, Stephanie Hilferty, and Pat Connick. These endorsements alone show the lack of legitimacy associated with the current Jefferson Parish GOP:

Fortunately, Jefferson Parish judicial candidate Jerry Smith has recently called attention to the Jefferson Parish GOP’s shady endorsement practices, and several grassroots candidates for Jefferson Parish’s RPEC have called for endorsement meeting open to the public.

Sadly, the RSCC has its own disfunction too, but I won’t get into that can of worms in today’s article. If you’ve ever attended an RSCC meeting, you know what I’m talking about.

Now, I may have painted a bleak picture so far about the state of the Louisiana Republican party. However, I firmly believe that people need to fully understand a problem before it can get fixed. The “status quo” Louisiana Republican politics is not effective nor is it transparent. Our party at the state and local levels is an insider’s party that has failed to capitalize more on the absolute dumpster fire going on with Louisiana Democrats.

As I said last December, the biggest obstacle to Louisiana’s success going forward is no longer the Democrat party. The Louisiana Democrat party is the political equivalent of a minor league baseball team. LA Democrats hold power in only a few select areas of the state and hold little power in Louisiana’s state-level executive or legislative branches. Instead, Establishment RINOs provide a much greater threat to the revival of our state.

If we have a roomy RINO problem in Louisiana, what can we do it about it?

Here’s a great first step: VOTE for “Louisiana First” candidates for RPEC and RSCC tomorrow. We have a golden opportunity to elect many grassroots conservatives to both the RSCC and RPECs throughout the state on Saturday. In fact, I have personally met many solid candidates who are running for either RSCC or RPEC. So, make sure to get yourself and other people you know to vote for grassroots, “Louisiana First” patriots to RSCC and RPEC.

If we want to turn the Louisiana Republican party in the right direction, then we need to start by electing the right people into office tomorrow. The time is now.

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Nathan Koenig is a frequent contributor to RVIVR.com, a national conservative political site affiliated with The Hayride. Follow his writing on the Louisiana First Standard Substack, on Twitter (X) @LAfirststandard, and on Instagram @tincanconservative. Email him here: louisianafirststandard@proton.me