State Sen. Rick Ward (R-Port Allen), guest speaker at the Baton Rouge Press Club on Monday, October 18, 2021, appears to be appreciative of Sound Off Louisiana‘s question regarding a potential Ward run for Governor of Louisiana in 2023.
When political analyst and pollster John Couvillon was the guest speaker at the Baton Rouge Press Club (BRPC) on September 27, 2021, he seemed very excited to pounce on our question about the 2023 Louisiana Governor’s race. We asked him if he saw any potential contenders beyond the obvious GOP contenders (who have all-but announced full-blown pursuit of the Governor’s Mansion in 2023) of Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser and Attorney General Jeff Landry. We also asked him if he’d care to speculate on who the Democratic standard bearer in 2023 may be.
Couvillon’s response on the Democratic side was very specific in naming Louisiana State Sen. Gary Smith (D-Norco) as a very likely candidate in 2023. On the GOP side, however, he was much more vague. He stressed that a sitting Congressman would have a built-in advantage on name recognition and the fact that such elected officials routinely have to appear on camera to address national issues as they apply to Louisiana, thus in essence obtaining free media coverage to help boost a campaign. Even when pressed with a follow-up question by another member of the BRPC; however, Couvillon declined to name any other potential GOP contender.
Couvillon’s refraining from referencing one name in particular, State Sen. Rick Ward (R-Port Allen) did surprise us at Sound Off Louisiana. Why? Because some folk in whom we have the utmost confidence to be “in the know” on Louisiana Republican politics, have told us that Louisiana trial lawyers are gearing up for a major push to both fund and ultimately elect Ward as Louisiana’s next Governor.
That’s an important development because, as Couvillon explained on the video at the first link of this feature, any member of the Louisiana Legislature has an uphill battle to broaden and expand his or her name recognition beyond home base to spread name recognition across the State of Louisiana.
That’s where the massive funding of Louisiana’s trial lawyers can be a huge shot in the arm for any contender for Governor. We all recall 2015 when it was no secret whatsoever who the trial lawyers preferred for Governor. Further, by funding ads like the “prostitutes over patriots” ad (we’d provide a link, but the ad has since been taken down, mission accomplished we assume!), the trial lawyers pulled off one heck of a feat!
They managed to single-handedly pull off what, at the outset of 2015, seemed almost impossible! By exploiting the negative Vitter ads, they managed to convince Louisiana voters to elect a then-barely-known at all Louisiana State Representative by the name of John Bel Edwards! Not only did they convince voters to elect John Bel Edwards, but they got him over the top by a very wide margin and, with more funding in the primary, there may not have been need to even have a runoff! We’re willing to bet that even Edwards’ own campaign was stunned on primary night when they saw the wide gulf between him as # 1 and then-U. S. Sen. David Vitter as a very distant # 2!
So, if that doesn’t demonstrate the clout trial lawyers have been able to garner in Louisiana elections, then we don’t know what does. That’s why it is a very, very significant development that Louisiana trial lawyers may be (and we’ve been told ARE) lining up behind Ward to be Louisiana’s next Governor.
With that in mind, Sound Off Louisiana‘s founder, Robert Burns, asked Ward, who was the guest speaker at today’s (Monday, October 18, 2021) meeting of the BRPC, to address his prospects for running for Governor in 2023 and the talk that the trial lawyers are preparing to heavily fund and support his run for Governor. Here is Ward’s response to the question, which he seemed to enjoy providing, particularly his final commentary, for which everyone in the room enjoyed a good laugh:
Sen. Ward addresses Sound Off Louisiana‘s question of prospective Louisiana trial lawyers preparing to support a quest on Ward’s part to become Louisiana’s next Governor.
Yes, the race for Louisiana Governor is still two years away, but we believe it’s never too early to start sizing up the field. There’s one other major GOP name we’re hearing who is giving off strong vibes that he (we’ll reveal the gender) may likely pursue the Governor’s Mansion in 2023. If the BRPC invites him to speak in coming weeks, we’ll be more than happy to ask him if he is gearing up for just such a run. At any rate, we feel it’s safe to say Couvillon is right in his assessment that Nungesser and Landry aren’t going to be the only GOP candidates for Governor of Louisiana in 2023, and that’s something we are VERY thrilled to hear!
CLICK HERE to view Sen. Ward’s presentation to the BRPC in its entirety.
If you would like to be added to our Sound Off Louisiana email list to be notified of future posts, simply go to our home page and scroll to the bottom (mobile devices) or to the top of the right-hand column (desktops). Supply your email address within the subscribe box. You’ll then receive an automated email from Word Press, and all you have to do is click on the blue “confirm follow” bar contained within that email, and you’ll begin receiving great posts such as the preceding one above.