The issue of appropriate minority representation in the legislative and judicial branches of Louisiana government is one that has been litigated for decades, and that litigation has surfaced again, in light of the US Supreme Court’s repealing one of the provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The repealed provision (also known as “Section 4”) […]
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RSS feed for this sectionBasic voter targeting – understanding your electorate
Introduction In any political campaign, there is one ultimate measure of success: did your candidate get more votes than your opponent(s) ? To accomplish this goal, staffers/consultants are hired to perform various tasks like media, communications, strategy, polling, and the like.
Massachusetts Senate Race – why lightning didn’t strike twice
The 2010 election cycle, which was one of the most favorable for the Republicans since 1994, had its genesis in heavily Democratic Massachusetts, when a little known state senator named Scott Brown upset the Democratic Attorney General 52-47%. Lightning didn’t strike twice last night: Rep. Ed Markey (a Democrat with 37 years’ seniority in the […]
2012 Louisiana Census Data
Recently, the US Census released interim population estimates showing population changes for all 50 states between April 2, 2010 (the date of the last Census) and July 1, 2012. While this interim count is an estimate, it is useful for tracking population changes throughout the decade to be able to predict future population/demographic changes.
(Proposed) Southeast Baton Rouge school district: can it get 70 votes ?
Background In our previous posting, we had noted that there were several hurdles that had to be cleared before voters could decide whether the southeastern portion of East Baton Rouge Parish would be able to form its own school district. We also noted that it was the House (not the Senate) where the bill has […]
(Proposed) Southeast Baton Rouge school district: what will it take to pass?
Background in Louisiana, school districts are usually synonymous with the parish lines, with five exceptions: Monroe, Bogalusa, Baker, Zachary, and Central – these are separate school districts within their respective parishes.
Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) vote in the Louisiana House of Representatives
When the Supreme Court essentially left the Affordable Care Act (i.e., “Obamacare”) intact last year in a 5-4 decision, it also allowed the states to choose whether they wanted to participate in the expansion of the Medicaid program. That created a situation where each state is is independently deciding whether to participate in this part of the […]
Decision 2014 – DefendLA poll on Obama approval, Landrieu re-elect, and gun legislation
One of the more closely watched US Senate races in 2014 will undoubtedly be in Louisiana, where three term Democratic incumbent Mary Landrieu will face Republican Congressman Bill Cassidy – she has never been elected or re-elected with more than 52% of the vote.
Tolls on the Crescent City Connection – a tale of “East” versus “West”
The presence of tolls on the Crescent City Connection Bridge in New Orleans, which had been in place since 1989, has been an emotional issue for Westbankers for some time, since the tolls were only collected for Westbankers commuting to work in New Orleans or other locations on the Eastbank (no tolls were collected for […]
Decision 2012: What went wrong for the GOP ?
Introduction The election results of the 2012 Presidential election have been subject to many different interpretations, with each interpretation’s being dependent on the observer’s partisan bent. The current (dominant) narrative is that President Obama was re-elected on the basis of minority voters, and that the Republican Party is no longer competitive nationally, because it has […]