GOP BESE candidates need to explain positions

Voters in Louisiana’s boot are going to suffer off-year overload with not only hotly-contested U.S. Senate and Fifth Congressional District races but also a slew of state-level elections that may prove as vigorously contested.

 Elections for the Public Service Commission and Supreme Court will end up putting a Republican in office, but will test voters on their abilities to distinguish among candidates more aligned with consistent conservatism and others less so. By contrast, the special election for the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education features a lineup blasting from the past without obvious and clearcut differences.

After a number of years out of the political limelight, when past member Republican Paul Hollis received confirmation as GOP Pres. Donald Trump’s director of the U.S. Mint, Republican Anh “Joseph” Cao was appointed by GOP Gov. Jeff Landry late last year to hold the seat on an interim basis. He signed up to finish the last couple of years of Hollis’ term.