U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham, R-La., will run against Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards in 2019, he said in a press release Thursday (Dec. 6). “I’m running for Governor, and I intend to win,” Abraham said in a written statement.Rispone is more or less a vanity candidate. And even though Lane Grigsby has been talking him up, I would expect he's probably not going to raise or spend a whole lot of money that isn't his own. So Ralph is making an early bid to pile up the real stuff. Other Republican B-listers like Sharon Hewitt are thinking about getting in as well. But without Kennedy or Landry, it's likely these campaigns will be more about building resumes than they will be about winning the governorship. 
Word from Abraham comes three days after U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said Kennedy would not run in the election. Many had assumed Kennedy would join the race and be the GOP frontrunner before he declared otherwise. Now the field is considered wide open, with a chance for lesser-known Republicans to gain traction.
Businessman Eddie Rispone, a Republican who has never held elected office, has already said he intends to qualify for the governor’s race.
Of course, this is Louisiana and anything can happen. We talked about this last week already. But, presently, the conventional wisdom indicates that John Bel is a relatively safe bet for reelection. I say relatively safe, not so much because this is supposed to be a "red" state as we're told over and over, but because John Bel tends to play just about everything safe. A little too safe, maybe, which can cause problems
Take minimum wage for example. An extremely conservative estimate this year puts the minimum living wage on which a family of three could expect to barely scrape by at something like $23 an hour. But Louisiana lawmakers are resistant to even $15. This has to do, in part, with the degree to which your typical state legislator is in the pocket of business interests. But it also has a lot to do with the Governor's failure to lead.
This year, voters in Missouri and Arkansas passed ballot measures that phase in raises to (still quite insufficient) $11 and $12 wages in a few years. Edwards, who himself has only ever asked for is a gradual raise to $8.50, took that as cover to meekly chime in, on the need for a "modest increase" in Louisiana. John Bel is a former high school quarterback and veteran of the US Army's 82nd Airborne Division so it wouldn't make any sense for us to call him a wimp. Instead we're just not convinced he cares all that much that the minimum wage is a true living wage. If he did, he might take a harder line in negotiations.
Maybe the Governor needs to take a cue from LaToya Cantrell here. This fall the mayor has been fighting publicly with the tourism Brahmins over the hotel/motel tax. New Orleanians have complained for years that revenue generated by the tourism economy which could be used for the greater benefit of the city is mostly funneled back into the hands of a few state boards controlled by the owners of that industry's profits. In recent years, those complaints have finally reached the ears of politicians. Some of us never would have dreamed we'd see the Mayor of New Orleans take this matter on with any degree of seriousness. But here we are.
Cantrell began by criticizing a Convention Center plan to subsidize a private hotel development. But even as the Governor stepped in to try and quiet her down, she upping her demand that a greater share of the hotel/motel tax revenue be dedicated to critical city infrastructure. Then, even as the tourism agencies themselves offered an alternative plan, Latoya made sure to let them know that wasn't going to be good enough.
The announcement appeared to be an effort to mollify Cantrell as she seeks to convince state leaders to redirect some of the $200 million in tax money collected in New Orleans that now goes to the Convention Center, Superdome and tourism promotion groups including New Orleans & Co., the new name for the former Convention and Visitors Bureau.Now, I fully expect that, if LaToya does wring some money out of the tourism cabal, it's still not going to be "all that (we) deserve." But at least she is on a path to get us more than the inadequate $6.7 million currently on offer. This is not only because what they're volunteering isn't good enough but also because it's less than they can afford to give. Always reject the first offer, right?
But the announcement appeared to just provide more ammunition for Cantrell, who so far has been largely unsuccessful in convincing state officials to back her plan.
“We’re not asking anybody for a favor. Last year, our people generated more than $200 million in hospitality revenue — but less than 10 percent of that came to the city. Seventy percent of that $200 million went to just four hospitality agencies,” the mayor said in a news release.
“I will continue to fight to get our people all that they deserve,” she said.
All John Bel can say to the first offer is, thank you.
Thank you @OchsnerHealth! https://t.co/MHrGRUjkGB— John Bel Edwards (@LouisianaGov) December 6, 2018
The Governor doesn't even have to be aggressive about it if that isn't his style. All he has to say to Ochsner is, "That's much better but, hey, why not $25?" Seems a modest enough ask of the state's largest employer. At least Ochsner holds that distinction during non-election years, anyway. Maybe if a few more Republican candidates jump in the race, the numbers might change.
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