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March 24th, 2023 Political Note #549 Shawn Wilson Governor LouisianaGeneral Election
2023 Open Primary and Run Off
This November, three southern states will elect constitutional officers. Democrats have a chance to elect a governor in each of those states. (Count border state Kentucky as part of the south for this purpose.)
- Andy Beshear (Len’s Political Note #533) is the incumbent in Kentucky. He is running for reelection.
- Brandon Presley (Len’s Political Note #535), Elvis’s baby cousin, has been a member of Mississippi’s Public Service Commission – a three-member body which currently has two Democrats. These commissioners are not elected state-wide, but from large constituencies. There is a southern commissioner, a central commissioner, and a northern commissioner.
- Shawn Wilson has been Louisiana’s Department of Transportation and Development Secretary – an appointed position. He is looking to replace the termed out Democratic governor.
Can Shawn Wilson raise enough money? Will Shawn Wilson attract enough votes? We know Louisianans are capable of electing a Democratic governor. The current governor is a Democrat completing his second term and cannot run for a third. Will Louisianans elect an African-American Democrat as Governor?
In 2016, when 46 year old Shawn Wilson was appointed Secretary of Transportation and Development, The Baton Rouge Advocate described the Department as “one of the biggest lightning rods for criticism in state government.” It is hard to exaggerate how welcomed Shawn Wilson was in this new role; how surprising that welcome was because he was a fixture in the Department he was taking over.
He had begun at the Department in 2005 as the confidential secretary to the Secretary. The next Department Secretary appointed Shawn Wilson Chief of Staff. The following Department Secretary kept him in the same role with the same title. Shawn Wilson had become the person who talked to legislators, who made phone calls, who dealt with reporters, and who organized important events. His job, he explained, had been to “do the dirty work [to make] the Secretary “as successful as… could be.”
The lobbyist for the state’s Associated General Contractors described him as “a problem solver, first and foremost.” The lobbyist added “He is smart, he is articulate … knows DOTD business up and down for someone that I would consider an outsider.” Note that “outsider” description of Shawn Wilson who had been working closely with three Department Secretaries for more than 10 years.
A Republican State Senator from the Baton Rouge area predicted Shawn Wilson’s success in dealing with the state capital’s inadequate roads and consequent traffic tie ups. The Senator added that for him to be successful, we have to give him the tools and money to build some roads and repair some roads.” The lobbyist for the Good Roads and Transportation Association praised the aggressive stance anticipated from Shawn Wilson as he dealt with a backlog of unaddressed road repair. The Advocate projected $12 Billion worth of work had to be done.
Was Shawn Wilson successful? Did Governor John Bel Edwards get his new Transportation Secretary enough money to make a dent in that backlog? Was there even a hint of scandal in connection with all that spending? During his tenure as Transportation Secretary, Shawn Wilson has had $5.5 Billion to work with (all before the availability of federal infrastructure money) and has been spending that money for roads and bridges that cover 7,000 miles. There have been no claims of corruption.
His colleagues think Shawn Wilson has been making a dent. In November, 2021, he was elected the President of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). Being honored by your peers is no small matter.
When Shawn Wilson resigned from his position as Department Secretary in 2023, he did not announce his candidacy for Governor. He did not need to. His candidacy was anticipated. Governor John Bel Edwards, who will not make an endorsement in the race, responded to questions saying of Shawn Wilson that “He’s absolutely capable, eminently qualified and would do a great job. We would be very well served to have Shawn Wilson as our next governor.” Shawn Wilson chose a slogan that captures, in a double meaning, what he is good at: “Let’s Build Bridges.”
Shawn Wilson had originally considered becoming a nurse. He changed his major at University of Louisiana at Lafayette to urban and regional planning. He had personal plans, too. In 1991, he met his wife Rocki, now an assistant principal in the Lafayette Parish schools. He graduated in 1993 and continued his education at the Historically Black Southern University where he earned a Master’s Degree and a PhD. HIs doctoral dissertation was completed in 2015, the year before he became Secretary. He wrote about transportation decision-making by state and local officials.
Well liked. Highly respected. A builder of bridges. Can Shawn Wilson be elected Governor of Louisiana? Louisiana has an open primary system. The primary, which will include all candidates regardless of party, is scheduled for October 14. The run off, assuming that no one gets more than 50% of the vote, will happen on November 18.
Shawn Wilson is the only Democrat running. He is more than likely to be one of the two candidates to gain the run off. Like Edwards, he is a gun owner and supports the 2nd amendment. Is a Black gun owner received by Louisianans the same way as a white one? His approach to abortion is different from Edwards’ who made his name as an anti-abortion Democrat. Edwards told a personal story about rejecting a doctor’s advice to terminate a pregnancy and years later he and his wife planning for a wedding reception at the governor’s mansion for their daughter with spina bifida.
Shawn Wilson says he is personally anti-abortion but would not impose his views on others. Louisiana has changed from when John Bel Edwards first ran for governor. The chair of the Democratic Party says the Democrats are the pro-choice party. In 2016, a poll found that 40% of adult Louisianans thought abortion should be legal in all cases. A recent poll found that number was 46%. Among Democrats it was 76%. One third of Louisiana’s voters are Black; 80% of them are Democrats. More than 60% of Louisiana’s voters are white. 25% of them are Democrats. Shawn Wilson might get 40% of the vote from those who are or lean Democratic. Can he get a reasonable percentage of those who do not lean at all?
If Shawn Wilson is going to be elected Governor, he needs Democrats and independents who are on both sides of cultural issues. Professor Albert Samuels of Southern University is not optimistic. He says “white voters [in Louisiana] don’t vote for Black candidates. It’s as simple as that.” Samuels knows Louisiana a lot better than most of us. But the world may have changed a little bit.
John Bel Edwards was elected governor in 2015 because his opponent had a serious weakness. David Witter, then one of Louisiana’s US Senators, was hampered by a scandal when his name was discovered on a list of clients for prostitutes. In addition to his conservative positions on cultural issues, which he shared with Witter, John Bel Edwards was able to present himself as scandal-free. Like Shawn Wilson, John Bel Edwards supported a minimum wage increase, raises for teachers, and held other views popular among Democrats. With people focused on Witter’s scandal, Edwards escaped criticism.
Shawn Wilson will probably face Attorney General Jeff Landry in a run off. Journalist Lamar White’s 2021 piece about Landry is titled “The Brazen Cajun.” He describes Landry running for Congress and attacking his opponent Huntington Downer, Louisiana’s Speaker of the House and a Major General, for his politics and his military record. Downer was once a registered Democrat, like most Louisiana politicians of his age. Landry claimed his opponent was a radical liberal. And he claimed the General had used political connections to get his promotions and mocked his service. Landry left the impression that he himself had been in Operation Desert Storm as a member of the National Guard when his service in that operation was as a driver for a General – in Fort Hood Texas.
Landry won the election, but did not stay in Congress. When redistricting consolidated his district with another, he lost the runoff to a moderate Republican who prepared himself for Landry’s campaigning. Landry was not finished with politics. He ran for Attorney General attracting Democratic voters by endorsing John Bel Edwards for Governor. He gained the endorsement of the African American candidate who had come in third in the multi-party primary. When Landry won the election, he found a spot for that candidate’s daughter in the Attorney General’s office.
Will Shawn Wilson be prepared for an agile and scorched earth politician whose anti-establishment attitude can attract Trumpers and Democrats? Would Shawn Wilson be better off or worse off if the Chamber of Commerce oriented Stephen Waguespack were the other finalist? Would Shawn Wilson be better off running against State Treasurer John Schroder who took the state’s money out of BlackRock because right wingers complain these investment bankers have social goals?
The state senators who are running seem less likely to be Shawn Wilson’s opponent. Richard Nelson, high school valedictorian, top of his class in college and law school, former diplomat, and proponent of eliminating Louisiana’s income tax seems like the kind of person Louisiana Republicans would like on their Supreme Court. Sharon Hewitt, on the other hand, would probably be Shawn Wilson’s nightmare of an opponent. Tough enough to have managed a team of 150 offshore workers for Gulf Oil, she has also won a lifetime award from the national Parent Teachers Association. She chairs the Republican delegation in the State Senate, volunteers (like Jimmy Carter) with Habitat for Humanity, and has been an advocate for education as well as a the oil and gas industry in the State Senate. At 64, she is looking for a job that would complete her career.
If Shawn Wilson is going to have a chance against any of these candidates, he will need resources. Help him out. We need him.
Wisconsin
April 4 is coming. Donate to achieve important Democratic wins.
Wisconsin Supreme Court
Liberal-leaning County Judge Janet Protasiewicz was the highest vote getter on February 21 in the non-partisan primary for a seat on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court. She received 46% of the vote. Criticized for indicating how she was likely to vote on issues like women’s reproductive rights and redistricting, the voters appeared to be glad to have the information. Former Supreme Court member Daniel Kelly, who lost his seat in the 2020 election, was the second highest vote getter with 24% of the vote. A conservative activist, Kelly leaves no doubt about where he would vote on controversial social and cultural issues.
Currently, Wisconsin’s Supreme Court has 3 members whose lean can be identified as progressive, 2 members whose lean can be identified as conservative, and one member who usually votes with the conservatives. A victory for Janet Protasiewicz on April 4 would likely transform the Wisconsin political landscape – affecting decisions on abortion, on redistricting the state legislature which is overwhelmingly Republican despite the state’s even divide. People who spend more money on elections than most of the readers of this newsletter will spend a lot of money on this campaign. Smaller donors count. Support Janet Protasiewicz. For more information, see Len’s Political Note #528.
Wisconsin State Senate District 08
Environmental attorney Jodi Habush Sinykin was the only serious Democratic candidate in the February 21 primary. The Republicans had a choice of three. They chose State Rep Dan Knodl. In the primary, he defeated a Trump acolyte so extreme and so problematic for House Speaker Robin Vos that Wisconsin Republicans banned her from their caucus. Knodl emphasizes reducing spending, cutting taxes, and public safety. He would be a reliable conservative vote against abortion and on other cultural issues. Wisconsin Republicans are talking about their ability, with a two-thirds supermajority in each body of the legislature, to impeach and remove any state official. The Republicans in the state House of Representatives are two seats away from gaining a two-thirds supermajority. Jodi Habush Sinykin’s election would flip a Republican seat and prevent the State Senate from having a two-thirds supermajority. See Len’s Political Note #529 for more information about Jodi Habush Sinykin.
Error Message
I am grateful to the reader who pointed out that in one instance in Political Note #548 I referred to Andrea Salinas, the recently elected Member of Congress for Oregon’s new Sixth Congressional District as if she were from the state of Washington. Andrea Salinas represents Oregon and I am embarrassed about my error.