We have completed the process of collecting the original ballots and tally sheets and have now certified the results. No outcomes changed as a result of this process. There was a seven way tie for the final two delegate spots in Congressional District 4. To break the tie, a drawing was held at the state party headquarters today in front of several witnesses.

The final winners are listed here. They are listed in the order of votes received.

In accordance with the convention rules, the delegates from each congressional district will meet via conference call on Saturday.  Conference calls for Congressional Districts 1, 2 and 3 will be held at 6 p.m. on Saturday. Congressional Districts 4, 5 and 6 will have their conference calls at 5 p.m. on Saturday. Each elected member of the delegation will be receiving more information about the conference calls tomorrow including the call-in number and PIN.

In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact our office.

Sincerely,
 

Jason Doré

Republican Legislators Lead Successful Effort to Defeat NPV in LA House

Yesterday, the Louisiana House of Representatives overwhelmingly turned back the effort to undermine the Electoral College. HB 1095 by Democrat State Representative Walt Leger sought to award Louisiana’s electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote regardless of which candidate garnered the support of Louisiana’s voters. Thanks to the leadership of Republican legislators, this measure was resoundingly defeated by a vote of 29 to 64.

“Our legislative leaders did a great job by eloquently standing up for the principles of America’s founding on the floor of the Louisiana House yesterday,” said LAGOP Chairman Roger Villere, Jr. “I am truly grateful that every Republican who was in attendance cast a vote against this awful legislation. It is truly a testament to our delegation and the thousands of conservative activists who reached out to their legislators on this issue.”

The National Popular Vote Initiative is a nationwide effort to essentially scrap the Electoral College system as it was set up by the Founders. This well funded movement is supported almost exclusively from left wing groups such as the Louisiana Democrat Party, Common Cause, and the American Civil Liberties Union. This is the second year organizers have sought to push the National Popular Vote compact through the Louisiana legislature.

The Pelican Institute for Public Policy, the Family Forum, numerous Tea Party groups, the Hayride and many other concerned groups such as Taxbusters joined with the Republican Party of Louisiana to oppose HB 1095.

“This successful effort shows what conservatives can do when we work together,” Villere said. “Thanks to conservatives from across the state who organized in opposition to this bill, we were able to overcome a large well funded organization that had several paid lobbyists working hard on its behalf. We’ll be ready if and when the liberals decide to push this idea next year.”

While only Democrats voted in support of the national popular vote, the opposition crossed party lines:

Voting in Favor:
29 Democrats

Voting Against:
54 Republicans
8 Democrats
2 Independents

Absent:
8 Democrats
4 Republicans

To view the final vote tally on HB 1095, click here

Louisiana Named Most Improved State for Business

CEOs nationwide ranked Louisiana as the “most improved state for business in the U.S.” according to the 2012 Chief Executive magazine’s Best/Worst States for business ranking.

“Governor Jindal and the legislature have worked tirelesly to grow Louisiana from the 27th ranked state to 13th in a year,” said Roger Villere. “It is definitely something to brag about.”

Since 2008, Louisiana has improved 32 spots to its current position among the leading business-friendly states in the nation.

“From the beginning of his first term, Jindal has made economic growth for Louisiana one of his main goals,” said Villere. “It is great to see that work starting to pay off even before the end of his second term.”

Chief Executive isn’t the only magazine to improve Louisiana’s business ranking. Site Selection magazine ranked Louisiana’s business climate 7th in November 2011, the highest-ever ranking. Southern Business & Development magazine named Louisiana State of the Year for 2011.

“The goal is to make Louisiana the go-to state for businesses and jobs,” said Villere. “We won’t stop until we are number one!”

About Chief Executive Magazine:
Chief Executive Magazine provides ideas, strategies and tactics for top executive leaders seeking to build more effective organizations. To learn more about the 2012 Best/Worst State for Business, visit www.chiefexecutive.net.

You can read an article by the Times-Picayune on the matter here:
http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2012/05/louisiana_named_most_improved.html

Happy Birthday Louisiana

Today marks the Bicentennial of Louisiana becoming the 18th state to join the Union. Louisiana was the first of 13 states to be added to the United States carved from the original Louisiana Territory.

“I am proud to call this great state my home,” said Roger Villere. “I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. The people, culture, and environment are unrivaled.”

As a result of quick negotiations, the United States paid France less than three cents an acre for 828,000 square miles of land resulting in a final sale price of $11,250,000. The Louisiana Purchase, as it would come to be known, was one of Thomas Jefferson’s most notable achievements as president.

“One of the greatest things about our State is its spirit.” Villere said. “Over the past ten years, Louisiana has endured hurricanes, the BP Oil Spill, an offshore drilling moratorium that kills our jobs, and Roger Goodell, yet Louisianans persevere.”

Happy Birthday Louisiana! May we continue to grow over the next 200 years and beyond.

Roger F. Villere, Jr.
Chairman

Republican Party of Louisiana Releases 2012 Preliminary Caucus Results

Louisiana Republicans caucused across the state this morning, electing 150 delegates to the 2012 Louisiana Republican State Convention. Complete but unofficial returns, compiled from caucus leaders telephoning results into State Party Headquarters, are detailed below. Preliminary winners are highlighted in yellow and those who are currently tied with a possibility of winning a delegate or alternate spot are highlighted in red. If the candidates remain tied once the results are deemed official, the LAGOP Executive Committee will conduct a drawing to determine the winners. The LAGOP staff will be working throughout the week to verify these results. Once the results are official, they will be posted on lagop.com and lacaucus2012.com.

Congressional District 1:

District 1 Caucus Results

Congressional District 2:

District 2 Caucus Results

Congressional District 3:

District 3 Caucus Results

Congressional District 4:

District 4 Caucus Results

Congressional District 5:

District 5 Caucus Results

Congressional District 6:

District 6 Caucus Results

Stop Obamacare in Louisiana

Fellow Conservatives –

Yesterday, State Senators in the Insurance Committee voted for Obamacare.

Senate Bill 744 by Senator Karen Carter Peterson is designed not only to begin implementing Obamacare in Louisiana, but to also force Louisiana to pay for it.

Obamacare is bad public policy, but this bill makes it even worse.

If SB 744 is enacted, Louisiana will have little if any control over the implementation of a health care exchange du to miles of red tape and regulations put in place by Washington bureaucrats.  But it gets worse.  Louisiana would be forced to pay tens of millions of dollars every year for the privilege of Washington dictating state policy.

While the constitutionality of Obamacare is before the Supreme Court, Louisiana should not be rushing to spend our tax dollars on one of Washington’s most egregious mistakes.

It’s critical that we get engaged now and stop this legislation.

You can look up your Senator here, find their contact info here, or call the Senate switchboard at 225-342-2040.

Please contact your Senator and tell them to vote NO on SB 744.

Sincerely,

Jason Doré
Executive Director

Louisiana Republicans Qualify for State Convention Delegate Elections

Caucus Slate Filing is Wednesday

More than 600 Louisiana Republicans have qualified to run for delegate to the 2012 Republican State Convention, a record number under the current system according to Republican Party of Louisiana Chairman Roger F. Villere Jr.

Republicans across the state will elect 150 delegates and 72 alternates on April 28th at 30 sites. A complete listing of voting locations is available at www.lacaucus2012.com.  Polls will be open from 8:30 am – noon. Anyone registered as Republican as of December 15, 2011 is eligible to participate. Voters need not stay for a meeting in order to cast a ballot.

On Wednesday, April 18, 2012, anyone wishing to endorse a slate of candidates in one or more congressional districts may supply the names of the candidates whom he/she is endorsing and pay a fee of $500 at Republican Party of Louisiana Headquarters in Baton Rouge between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Each slate will be assigned a number. Slates will be listed on the ballot by number. Slate names or names of presidential candidates will not be listed. Candidates endorsed by multiple slates will be listed on each slate.

A complete list of candidates and other information is available to the public on www.lagop.com and  www.lacaucus2012.com.

Today, the Louisiana Democrat Party announced its support of Governor Bobby Jindal for Vice President. Given that the Louisiana Democrat Party has been an utter failure at electing Democrats to office, it is not a surprise to see it wading into the Republican race.

See the below background report on the steady decline of the Louisiana Democrat Party over the past eight years.

8 Years of Republican Gains In Louisiana

During the last 8 years, Republicans have made tremendous gains in Louisiana. In the previous 100 years, there had been 3 Republican governors of Louisiana and there had never been a Republican majority in the State House, State Senate, nor on the state education board. Today, Republicans hold every statewide elected office and have their first elected majorities in the State House and State Senate in more than 100 years, and on BESE. Democrat registration is falling and Republican registration is rising. Louisiana Republicans are no longer a permanent minority – they are the governing party of Louisiana.

Statewide Offices

• After the elections in 2003, Republicans held 1 of 7 non-federal statewide offices.
• After the elections in 2007, Republicans held 5 of 7 non-federal statewide offices.
• After the elections in 2011, Republicans hold 7 of 7 non-federal statewide offices.

Board of Elementary & Secondary Education

• After the elections in 2003, Republicans held 2 of 8 elected seats on BESE.
• After the elections in 2007, Republicans held 2 of 8 elected seats on BESE.
• After the elections of 2011, Republicans hold 6 of 8 elected seats on BESE.

State Senate

• After the elections in 2003, Republicans held 15 of 39 seats in the State Senate.
• After the elections in 2007, Republicans held 16 of 39 seats in the State Senate.
• After the elections in 2011, Republicans hold 24 of 39 seats in the State Senate.

House of Representatives

• After the elections in 2003, Republicans held 37 of 105 seats in the State House.
• After the elections in 2007, Republicans held 50 of 105 seats in the State House.
• After the elections in 2011, Republicans hold 58 of 105 seats in the State House.

Voter Registration

• At the end of 2003, there were 1,580,178 registered Democrats. In April of 2012, there were 1,401,850 registered Democrats. From 2003 to April 2012 there was a net decrease in Democrat registration of 12%.
• At the end of 2003, there were 652,804 registered Republicans. In April of 2012, there were 779,812 registered Republicans. From 2003 to April 2012 there was a net increase in Republican voter registration of 19%.