WASHINGTON 鈥 House Speaker Mike Johnson took advantage of the long Memorial Day holiday to talk with national media 鈥 criticizing President Joe Biden over immigration, Israel, inflation and energy policies.
For the Capitol Hill insiders he discussed how to use congressional rules to bypass filibusters and deliver a conservative wish list of legislation, including extending Trump-era tax cuts and revisiting Obamacare if Donald Trump wins the White House in November and Republicans retain control in the House and take control of the Senate, even with razor-thin majorities.聽
He touched on those subjects back home in Louisiana on Tuesday, but his main topic was that he wants Baton Rouge Rep. Garret Graves to run for reelection Nov. 5 from the newly configured Black-majority district and not challenge fellow Republican Rep. Julia Letlow, of Start.
鈥淚 have encouraged Garret to think hard about running in that newly drawn district,鈥 J, a radio program based in Baton Rouge.
On May 20, Johnson released a blanket endorsement to reelect all four of his Louisiana Republican colleagues. But he also attached their congressional districts to each statement of support. His office offered no further explanation.
But in Louisiana. It came a , which redrew Graves鈥 6th Congressional District boundaries to include a 56% Black majority and stretch from Baton Rouge to Shreveport.
A third of Louisiana鈥檚 population is Black, and some lower federal courts had declared African Americans should have a reasonable shot of electing someone who would represent their interests better than a White Republican.
Legislators chose that second Black opportunity district to be the one Graves has represented since 2015, which currently is 25% Black.
Graves angered some prominent Republicans by when the Jefferson Republican took his shot at becoming speaker. Graves then backed his longtime friend, business lobbyist Stephen Waguespack, for governor against Jeff Landry, who eventually won.
Graves and reiterated after the Supreme Court reinstituted the Legislature鈥檚 two minority-majority seat configuration that he would run for reelection from a district based in the Capitol City region, though he wouldn鈥檛 say in which district. If , Graves could challenge Rep. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans, or Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Lafayette, both of whose districts cozy up to Baton Rouge on the new maps. But it is Letlow who makes the most appealing target because in the new map she acquired about 40% of Graves' current constituents.
Johnson , a radio program based in Shreveport, that he supported the 2022 maps that grouped White voters and distributed Black voters in such a way that sent five White Republicans and one Black Democrat to the U.S. House.
鈥淚 don't believe, I don't think anybody believes that these new districts are going to survive even one cycle,鈥 Johnson said about the new map to be used this fall. 鈥淪o, we'll have them for two years.鈥
Gov. Landry on May 20 endorsed Higgins and Letlow, as did Scalise. Absent from both endorsements was any mention of Graves.
The Republican Party of Louisiana followed Johnson鈥檚 track of endorsing all Republican congressional incumbents to run in their respective districts.
鈥淲e know that losing just one seat in Louisiana this fall could make the difference between keeping Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House and Steve Scalise as Majority Leader or having to hand over power to Hakeem Jefferies and the Democrats in January,鈥 said party chair Derek Babcock.
鈥淕arret is a very strong candidate,鈥 Johnson said on Talk Louisiana, supporting Graves's reelection campaign in the newly configured 6th District. 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 bet against him.鈥
Some folks are. Larry Sabato鈥檚 Crystal Ball, a handicapping newsletter run by the University of Virginia Center for Politics, stated that the 6th District 鈥渄oes not seem winnable for a Republican.鈥
On the other hand, Bernie Pinsonat, a veteran political strategist, said 鈥渋t鈥檚 not unrealistic鈥 for Graves to win in a Black majority district.
If Graves gets in the Dec. 7 runoff against a Black candidate, , D-Baton Rouge, the historically lower turnout for runoff elections could be low enough for energized Republicans to elect one of their own, Pinsonat said.
