2022 has been a good year for the LAGOP, so I’d like to begin this article by thanking our party activists, donors, staff, RSCC and parish executive committee members, for their efforts on the party’s behalf. Our successes were widespread and significant, especially when you consider that Republicans in much of the rest of the country did not fare as well. I am truly honored to have had the privilege of leading our wonderful party in 2022!

Just to briefly mention a few of our accomplishments, our numbers continued to increase even as our Democrat opponents’ numbers continued to diminish; donations were up; events were well attended; two new RPEC’s were established (St. James and Red River, with two more to follow shortly). Most importantly of all, our party’s candidates were generally successful.

To re-cap our recent election victories, on Nov. 8th, Senator Kennedy was re-elected by a record margin. All of our congressman were easily re-elected, most by record margins. A new state senator and several judges were also elected, as were many new Republican school board members. On Dec. 10th, our third largest city, Shreveport, elected a Republican mayor for the first time in twenty-eight years, and another appellate court judge was elected to the bench. Congratulations to our victorious Republican candidates and their supporters!

I would like to especially congratulate our RSCC members for their very wise initiative in endorsing Attorney General Jeff Landry as the Republican nominee for governor. Unlike most other Republican state parties, for several decades the LAGOP has not been able to nominate candidates through the method used by state parties in almost all other states- closed party primaries. Those of you of a certain age may recall that the legislature, acting under the dictates of then Governor Edwin Edwards, took away party primaries to help him win his next election.

So when a clear majority of our members chose to endorse Jeff using the traditional LAGOP method of filing individual endorsement forms which the executive committee then verifies and certifies, I welcomed the process. It was the only way to avoid another protracted fight for the Republican nomination like those which resulted in our loss of the governorship in 2015 and 2019.

This was an absolutely critical step in winning back the governorship in 2023, and I applaud the work of the RSCC. We Republicans already possess the values and ideals which made this country great. When unified behind a single candidate, we are rarely defeated, and going forward into this election year we must be united or we will again suffer the consequences.

Well, the holidays are upon us. Personally, I find the Christmas season to be the time of the year when the Judeo-Christian values we are fighting to preserve come into sharpest contrast with the cold materialism of our Marxist progressive opponents. For me, this is a time for renewal of faith and patriotism, and I know you feel the same way.

And we will need these moral resources in abundance during next year’s critical elections. The actions taken by the officials we elect in 2023 will mark our state for a generation as a shining example of economic renewal or an abject display of the damage wrought by a progressive ideology which at its heart is about nothing more than forcing most Americans into government dependence. The stakes for the people of Louisiana could not be higher!

I’ll close by wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah (Dec. 18-26), and a Happy and Prosperous New Year, with special prayers for our troops and those suffering illness or hardship during this holiday season.

GOD BLESS ALL!