Jeff Landry Elected as New Louisiana Governor, Works To Shift Political Landscape

Newly-elected Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry is making efforts to dramatically change the state's political landscape with changes to the primaries.

The Republican lawmaker is pushing to scrap Louisiana's unique open primary system, which is expected to cause a significant shift in how the state elects its politicians. The region's current election system puts candidates running for state and congressional offices on one ballot.

New Louisiana Governor

Under this, the "primary" typically occurs in either October for odd-numbered years or in November for even-numbered years. If a specific candidate gets a majority, they win the office, and if not, the top two candidates advance to a Saturday runoff that is held roughly a month later.

On Monday, Landry moved quickly to call for a special legislative session that could drastically change the state's primary structure as well as tackle congressional redistricting. Furthermore, the session will take place from Jan. 15 to Jan. 23.

The current system has been in place in Louisiana for decades for both state and congressional offices except for a brief interruption in 2008. This particular system is not used for either presidential primaries or general elections, as per Politico.

The new Louisiana governor won his election last October with more than 51% of the vote over his rival Democrat Shawn Wilson and a group of other GOP candidates. He was officially sworn in on Monday as the first Republican governor of the state in the past eight years.

The development has given the region an all-Republican state government. However, the supermajority in both legislative chambers does not guarantee the open primary's elimination as there are those who support the process.

In a statement, Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser said that they built the Republican Party on open primaries, adding that he believes closed primaries encourage political extremism. The official noted that candidates at least have to campaign to represent all of Louisiana, adding that when the primary is closed, it would include the far left and the far right.

Shift in the Political Landscape

Landry also called a special session that gives lawmakers a chance to draw and replace the state's current congressional map. This was something that a federal judge said violates the Voting Rights Act by diluting the power of Black voters, according to Yahoo News.

In a press release, the Republican said that the court has mandated that the state of Louisiana redraw its congressional districts. He added that redistricting is a state legislative function, which prompted him to call to convene the legislature of the state into a special session on the matter.

Before he was sworn in as the new Louisiana governor, Landry held a 30-minute speech where he called for unity and expressed his love for the Bayou State. He also laid out some of his priorities, which include an aggressive response to address "uncivilized and outrageous" violent crime.

The Republican also plans to safeguard schools from what he called "the toxicity of unsuitable subject matter." During his address, the GOP lawmaker said that it is fitting and appropriate that they stand before the Capitol with the sun having set on the past, noting that a new Louisiana day dawns, said the Associated Press.