(USNewsMag.com) – On April 10, another state lawmaker defected from the Democrats to the Republican Party, making this the third defector in the last thirty days.
The second Democrat to switch parties is Jeremy LaCombe in the Louisiana House this month, joining Francis Thompson in helping the Republicans achieve a supermajority. There was already a veto-proof majority of Republicans in the state senate.
LaCombe’s departure from the Democrat Party has not yet been explained.
He made his move on the opening day of Louisiana’s state legislative session. This was only days after the state representative from North Carolina, Tricia Cotham, similarly switched to the Republican Party, giving the GOP a supermajority in that state.
House Democrat Caucus Chair Representative Sam Jenkins promised to keep fighting for Louisiana’s working families. They want to work with Representative LaCombe this session to enact insurance reform to help families and also small companies in Louisiana by raising salaries, enhancing educational opportunities, and reducing expenses.
In the 2019 special election, LaCombe received 68 percent of the ballots and was subsequently re-elected to serve a complete term in office with 62% of the vote. LaCombe competed for a seat in the state senate during the 2022 campaign, but he lost to Caleb Kleinpeter, the Republican candidate, by an almost 9-point margin.
With LaCombe’s defection, the Democrats now have 32 of the House’s 105 seats. Now there are 71 Republicans and 2 independents. Seventy votes in the House are needed for tax initiatives, veto overrides, and other major decisions.
The newly declared Republican representative for the state’s 18th Assembly District is a Cancer Fund charity director, a former board member of the Chamber of Commerce, and a business entrepreneur.
The governorship, now held by Democrat John Bel Edwards, is term-limited. This will allow for the campaign for a new governor in the upcoming November election. Louisiana was originally governed by Democrats. Nevertheless, in the past few years, the Republican Party has gained a great advantage, and they view this as a chance to grab another seat and turn the state completely red.
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