After a vote last night came this release…

The Republican Party of Louisiana has formally endorsed Misti Cordell for Congress in Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District, giving the conservative businesswoman and community leader the state party’s backing in the race.

Cordell secured the support of a majority of Republican State Central Committee members representing the 5th Congressional District – advancing her endorsement to the state party’s Executive Committee, which voted last night to formally endorse Cordell for Congress.

“Congress has enough career politicians,” Cordell said. “Our district deserves someone who knows what it’s like to meet a payroll, raise a family, serve their community, and see firsthand how Washington’s decisions affect everyday life. I’ve spent my life working alongside the people I want to represent – not climbing the political ladder like my opponents.”

Cordell has made lowering costs for working families, strengthening rural healthcare, supporting Louisiana farmers and small businesses, improving education, securing the border, and defending conservative values central to her congressional bid. Her campaign has emphasized Cordell’s private-sector healthcare experience and rural Louisiana background in contrast to the career politicians also seeking the seat.

“The good ole boys have plenty of voices in Washington. It’s time rural Louisiana had one, too,” Cordell said. “I’m honored to have the endorsement of the Republican Party of Louisiana and grateful for the confidence Republican leaders across the 5th District have placed in me. They know we need a conservative fighter who will remember who sent her to Washington. I’ll take the values of rural Louisiana with me every single day, never forgetting who I work for. Now we take that fight to November.”

Cordell is a lifelong Republican who has served in leadership with the Louisiana Federation of Republican Women, the Ouachita Republican Parish Executive Committee, and the Republican State Central Committee. A Christian, wife, mother, small businesswoman, and community leader, Cordell has spent her career working in healthcare and has been a longtime advocate for rural communities, education, and conservative causes.

“This endorsement means so much to me because it came from the grassroots – the men and women who have spent years doing the hard work of building our Republican Party in communities across Louisiana,” Cordell said. “They know me. They know my values. And they know I’m not a career politician looking for my next title. I’m grateful for their trust, and I’m ready to fight for the people who live and work in this district.”

It’s a little bit of a surprise in one respect, in that state representative Michael Echols and state senator Stewart Cathey are current elected officials and bigger political names, and there are polls showing Echols as the early favorite in the 5th District race. But Cordell is well-known and well-liked in the 5th District, she’s been running for the seat since before the congressional map was redrawn and she’s an ally of Gov. Jeff Landry and has his backing. Members of Landry’s political team are working on Cordell’s campaign.

There is something of a controversy surrounding party endorsements of candidates. The thing to remember about that, though, is because of the redrawing of the map following the Callais decision, Louisiana went back to a jungle primary for this year’s congressional races for logistical reasons. So it’s appropriate for the party’s Executive Committee to make an endorsement where it wouldn’t be in the case of an actual party primary.

More than likely, the runoff in December will be a D-vs.-R affair. Pat Moore, a state representative from Monroe, is likely to lead the primary field, but there’s a pretty hard ceiling below 50 percent for her. No national money is coming in for Moore; she’s going to get the black vote in the district, which is 27.5 percent of the electorate, plus maybe a little more. The fight between Cordell, Echols and Cathey is for the 70 percent or so of the district which is white (with a smattering of Asians and Hispanic voters).

We can’t really handicap that three-way race at this point. Cordell getting the party’s endorsement cannot hurt her, of course, and should President Trump make an endorsement in the race it’s quite likely that will decide it.