On Jan. 13, 2020, Louisiana re-inaugurated Gov. John Bel Edwards to his second term. With this inauguration, Louisiana witnessed the end of Gov. Edwards’ status as a “Blue Dog” Democrat and the birth of something inevitably partisan.
Across Louisiana, voters filled the state legislature with a super majority of conservative Republicans. In the Senate, there are 27 Republicans and only 12 Democrats. In the House of Representatives, 68 Republicans outnumber 35 Democrats, with only two Independents.
The leadership in both houses of the legislature represent the conservative values of the people of Louisiana, as the Senate is now led by President Patrick “Page” Cortez and President Pro-Tempore Beth Mizell. Both career-long Republicans with a strong conservative voting record. Additionally, the House of Representatives is now led by Speaker Clay Schexnayder and Speaker Pro Tempore Tanner Magee.
The current state of the Louisiana legislature allows for an easy conclusion to be drawn: conservative legislation will be written, debated, passed and put on the governor’s desk. This does not mean the Republicans in the legislature will not work with Democrats, but in the end, the legislators were elected to represent their constituents. Democrats will be the ones having to make compromises.
What does this exactly mean for Gov. Edwards?
The governor now has reached a partisan fork in the road; a road he has been walking for the past four years. Edwards must now either become more politically conservative to make the government process work easier, or skew more liberal to compensate for the drowned-out Democratic voices in the legislature.
If Edwards chooses to lean politically right, there will be little change to many of his previously-held political stances, most of which are conservative. The only major compromises he would have to make would be in his stances on raising taxes and expanding Medicaid. These changes would also represent a greater range of Louisiana voters, as most of Louisiana is conservative.
If Edwards were to lean politically left in the upcoming years, he would be standing up for the lost Democratic voice in the legislature. This stance would pay homage to those who got Edwards elected, particularly Orleans Parish, who had an outstanding turnout of 127,853 votes, 90% of which went to Edwards.
While this may seem like a noble burden, the result would be bitter partisan clashes within the Louisiana government, a severe drop in productivity numerous special sessions and overall, embarrassment to the state’s reputation.
Edwards can no longer be a middle-of-the-road governor. Republicans only need two swing votes in the House of Representatives to override any governor veto. There are currently two members in the House who have no party affiliation and can act as the needed wild card votes.
If Edwards vetoes something, the legislature does not have to care. This is possibly the least amount of power a Louisiana governor has ever had, excluding those controlled by Huey P. Long.
In the end, Gov. Edwards might surprise us all and dance the line between southern Democrats and mainstream conservatives for another four years, leaving the executive office with some resemblance of a blue dog.
However, the Republicans will have a contingency plan for all their potentially failed legislation these next four years, and they are about as heated up and red as a pot of hot boiled crawfish on Good Friday.
Edwards is going to have to face another learning curve. The Republican in me hopes he shifts, becoming more politically conservative, but as Louisianians, all of us should hope that our government does a good job.
Brett Landry is a 21-year-old political communications senior from Bayou Petit Caillou, Louisiana.