Members of Louisiana’s U.S. House delegation revealed their 2017 fundraising activities last week and they are collectively sitting on $3.8 million, according to the Federal Election Commission.
It’s a notable milestone, with all six Bayou State representatives facing re-election this fall.
The standout from last year’s federal reporting period was Congressman Garret Graves of Baton Rouge, whose $1.4 million in the bank leads Louisiana’s congressional delegation.
He even outpaced U.S. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Jefferson, who has $1 million in the bank following a year where prayers were sent his way from around the world. Last summer Scalise and three other people were shot and wounded during a practice for Republican team ahead of the annual congressional baseball game.
Graves also raised more money than his congressional colleagues in 2017, with $710,000 in contributions.
Trailing closely was Congressman Cedric Richmond of New Orleans, who has managed to leverage his new chairmanship of the Black Caucus to collect $656,000. Richmond is the only Democrats in the House delegation.
The big political story may belong to Congressman Ralph Abraham of Mangham, who’s said to be a potential candidate for the 2019 governor’s race. His $381,000 in donations and $282,000 in the bank may prompt some to wonder why he isn’t bulking up to perhaps transfer his federal dollars to a super PAC.
What some prognosticators miss, however, is that Abraham’s district is the second poorest Republican district in the United States, which has traditionally made fundraising difficult there. Abraham also retired all of his campaign debt last year and, if needed, he can always cut his own checks for his political endeavors.
On the matter of campaign debt, Congressman Clay Higgins of Port Barre nearly cleared his I-owe-you column as well, paying off more than $73,000 in back bills last year. The freshman has brought his campaign debt down from $121,000 to $7,450.
But Higgins’ $50,000 campaign kitty isn’t doing much to scare off possible challengers back in the district. That could soon change, though, as fundraising consultant Sally Nungesser of Baton Rouge has been added to the team, according to the Higgins’ campaign.
What follows is an overview of the delegation’s fundraising hauls from 2017.
Scalise:
— Contributions: $325,162
— Disbursements: $1.2 million
— Cash on Hand: $1 million
— Debt Owed: None
Richmond:
— Contributions: $655,665
— Disbursements: $463,263
— Cash on Hand: $557,264
— Debt Owed: $8,000
Higgins:
— Contributions: $336,061
— Disbursements: $310,247
— Cash on Hand: $50,651
— Debt Owed: $7,450
Johnson:
— Contributions: $428,345
— Disbursements: $173,259
— Cash on Hand: $451,741
— Debt Owed: None
Abraham:
— Contributions: $381,339
— Disbursements: $309,988
— Cash on Hand: $282,563
— Debt Owed: None
Graves:
— Contributions: $709,899
— Disbursements: $435,881
— Cash on Hand: $1.4 million
— Debt Owed: None
State GOP set for new chair
With Roger Villere stepping down, the Republican State Central Committee will vote on Feb. 24 to install a new chairman for the first time in 14 years.
The latest news from that front comes courtesy of businessman Scott McKnight, who was at one time interested in running and has now thrown his support behind Baton Rouge consultant Scott Wilfong.
McKnight, in fact, was slated to hosted a reception for Wilfong this week. The co-hosts listed on the invitation included a handful of party influencers, such as Todd Danos, Boysie Bollinger, Lane Grigsby, Baton Rouge Councilman Buddy Amoroso, state Rep. Mark Wright of Mandeville and others.
New Orleans attorney Louis Gurvich has been campaigning hard for the job as well, but is not alone.
State Rep. Barry Ivey of Central recently told friends that he intends to run, and state Rep. Julie Emerson of Carencro became a candidate last year. Emerson has been promoting her message in well-crafted videos across social media platforms.
Longtime party activist Charlie Buckels of Lafayette is said to be interested in the job too.
Political History: Foster and the Roemer comeback bid
In 1995, Louisiana’s political landscape was shifting. Frustrated with problems in the gambling industry, bad press, and numerous investigations, Edwin Edwards was retiring after four terms in the Governor’s Mansion.
The large field to succeed him included such notables as Mary Landrieu, Melinda Schwegmann, Buddy Roemer, Dave Treen, Cleo Fields, Bill Jefferson and Harry Lee.
Overshadowed by these big names was a little-known state senator from Franklin named Mike Foster.
Roemer, as the sole Republican, had a comfortable lead in all of the early polls. Embarrassed by his poor showing in 1991, the former governor was determined to win back the office he had vacated just four years earlier. He focused on running a more disciplined campaign and dedicated a greater effort to honing his message.
Hoping to recapture some of the grassroots magic of his earlier races, Roemer even began standing out in front of Wal-Marts around the state, hoping to get a few personal moments with voters as they shopped.
As the summer turned to fall, politicos, pollsters and pundits pegged Roemer as the secure frontrunner while the other candidates battled for the second runoff spot.
During qualifying, however, the race changed drastically.
Before filing, Foster decided to change parties and registered as a Republican. The abrupt switch garnered the nascent Foster campaign media coverage and their poll numbers surged.
With a conservative challenger to contend with, Roemer’s camp began hemorrhaging support amid a run of bad luck. For instance, when Foster touted his anti-gambling platform, Roemer bungled his response to questions about gambling legislation passed on his watch.
Roemer was also dealt a serious blow when Treen and Lee dropped out and publicly endorsed Foster. Even Democrats began ignoring Roemer during forums and debates.
With Foster gaining momentum, Roemer went negative in desperation. He ran TV spots statewide, focusing on a meeting Lee had set up with some major Democratic donors with connections to Edwards. The clumsy attempt to tie Foster to EWE went nowhere.
On Election Day, Foster headed to the runoff, while Roemer finished fourth with 19 percent.
They Said It
“It is not a budget I would vote for. However, it is a budget that is based in reality.”
—State Rep. Robert Johnson, D-Marksville, on Gov. John Bel Edwards’ proposed budget, in Avoylles Today
“He’s one of the coolest senators.”
—Calvin Franklin, a U.S. Capitol custodian and U.S. Sen. John Kennedy’s State of the Union guest, in The Washington Post
For more Louisiana political news, visit www.LaPolitics.com or follow Jeremy Alford on Twitter @LaPoliticsNow.
