BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana has long been reliably red. The Bayou State has voted for the Republican candidate in every presidential election since 2000, with residents overwhelmingly supporting Donald Trump during the past two, and the GOP has held a majority in the statehouse for years.
But policies in the state have veered even further right under the leadership of Republican Gov. Jeff Landry, who has carried out a sweeping conservative agenda in just six months on the job. This week he signed the nation’s first law requiring that the Ten Commandments be posted in every public classroom, a first-of-its-kind bill allowing judges to order the surgical castration of rapists who prey on children, and a Texas-style immigration measure that allows law enforcement to arrest and jail migrants who enter the U.S. illegally. He enacted a new law classifying abortion pills as dangerous controlled substances. He expanded death row execution methods and concealed carry of a gun without a permit.
The moves have made global headlines and firmly embedded Louisiana in the conservative movement on practically every issue animating the Republican base in 2024. Democrats are appalled at the message Landry is sending, but some conservatives in Louisiana see the moves as a bold and powerful step as he raises his national profile.
“From about 500 miles away, it certainly appears that he has been effective very quickly,” said Matt Mackowiak, a Texas-based GOP strategist who has worked for two Congress members and a governor. “He has hit the ground running, and the potential is really high.”
