Odd LA political culture lets Edwards levitate

Besides the more immediate concerns of electoral politics, a recent poll also shed some insight into the evolution of Louisiana’s political culture.

The JMC Analytics survey of last week, among queries focusing on this fall’s Senate contest and next year’s gubernatorial race (and even extended to the 2026 Senate one in asking about the falling political fortunes of Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy), asked about approval of Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards, who frankly has no electoral political future in the state and seems set on slipping away from state politics after his term ends. Respondents gave him at best lukewarm numbers at 48 percent approval (28 percent very) and 44 percent disapproval (27 percent very).

This is somewhat below the more dated Morning Consult number that it collects for all governors and would put Edwards squarely in the middle of the pack. It also indicates a snap election would find Edwards in trouble, for two reasons: an incumbent who can’t pull 50 percent is vulnerable, and especially in one where the median voter is closer to the other major party than his. Another way of putting it is few of the disapprovers can be enticed to support such an incumbent, but many of the approvers would switch to another candidate of which they also grant approval.

Historic veto override implements valid map

Game, set, almost certainly soon to be match, and with some historical import thrown in.

Today, the Louisiana Legislature overrode a Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards veto of maps passed apportioning the state for the purpose of electing members to Congress. He had nixed two different bills of identical content creating one majority-minority district of six passed by the majority Republicans, opposed by Democrats who wanted two such districts made.

The vetoes weren’t surprising. As an ultra-loyal Democrat, Edwards had to do it in order to promote any chance that his party could pick up a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives over the next decade, as black voters traditionally have cast ballots for Democrats. Additionally, it wouldn’t hurt with any legal challenges for there to dilute bipartisan resolution to the matter.

Poll shows Kennedy big winner, Cassidy big loser

Recent polling results provide winners and losers not just for this fall’s Senate contest, but next year’s gubernatorial race as well and even insight into the 2026 Senate election.

JMC Analytics surveyed 600 likely Louisiana voters last week on these topics, and Republican Sen. John Kennedy emerged as the biggest winner. Insofar as his 2022 reelection attempt goes, MacAoidh gave a trenchant rundown on what his drawing 53 percent of the sample and any other name save one in the single digits means: he likely will draw approaching 60 percent, black and woke Democrat Gary Chambers will hit around 30 percent in monopolizing the black vote, and great white hope Democrat Luke Mixon will have a hard time cracking double digits (in fact, a pardoned ex-con who now runs a nonprofit aiding ex-con women, Democrat Syrita Steib who announced but has spent no money on her effort, polled at almost half the level of Mixon who has raised almost $200,000 – just over a tenth of what Kennedy has).

This matches Kennedy’s approval number and makes him the most popular politician polled (and the only one above 50 percent). Perhaps then unsurprisingly among the several names polled for next year’s governor’s race – only one candidate has declared, GOP Treasurer John Schroder – Kennedy also comes out on top, at 22 percent. He won’t run, given how he punches above his weight for a freshman senator with his loquaciousness and wit that, like a moth towards a flame, draws even the leftist mainstream media to him and he would gain more influence still in a second term, so with him out much of his vote would go elsewhere.

Mugshot restriction bill needs strengthening

It’s a good first step, but Louisiana needs to go further when it comes to dissemination of booking photographs of arrestees.

Last week, HB 729 by Democrat state Rep. Royce Duplessis advanced out of committee. The bill would change public records law to shield booking mugshots of arrestees from release, except under circumstances that would aid law enforcement agencies in corralling a dangerous individual, from media outlets that require payment to remove a mugshot from publication. LEAs would be prohibited from disseminating this information to outlets suspected of doing this.

Duplessis and other legislators argued that arrestees entered into a correctional facility have a presumption of innocence and reputational damages could occur regardless whether ultimately no conviction related to that arrest happened. They also argued media had plenty of other online sources to grab photos of many arrestees (or could do it the old fashioned way, send out a photographer) and only the mugshot would be withheld, with all other arrest information still available.

Data show LA must stop embrace of Rx ganja

Maybe this dose of reality finally will stop Louisiana from its headlong dash to marijuana legalization under the guise of the herb’s medical use.

Ever since legal changes began in 2015 that have culminated in making its use legal for any imaginable malady in any form you like, a narrative has circulated, largely unchallenged outside of spaces other than this one, that it conveys more benefits than costs. As such, that impetus continues to expand its use even further with this legislative session seeing proposed changes to counteract supply constraints – after all, if you all but legalize it, more people will demand it under the prevailing illusion – through increasing more production and distribution points.

This despite a long history of scant evidence that cannabis use produces positive outcomes for any but a small number of medical ailments. Plus, it carries a number of negative outcomes. And this momentum otherwise has resulted in other bills cropping up calling for decriminalization of marijuana possession, even as research continues to demonstrate harmful effects from its use.