On Saturday, Louisiana Republicans achieved a significant victory by securing their first gubernatorial election win in the state since 2011, as State Attorney General Jeff Landry emerged victorious over his Democratic opponent. Notably, Landry secured over 50 percent of the vote, thereby avoiding a runoff election, making this achievement even more remarkable. However, major national news networks, including ABC’s “Good Morning America,” CBS’s “Sunday Morning,” and NBC’s “Sunday Today,” chose not to report on this Republican win, instead focusing on other news items.
ABC, for example, utilized airtime to report on Best Buy’s decision to discontinue the sale of DVDs. Meanwhile, CBS featured an interview with The Rolling Stones, and NBC conducted an interview with Jack Antonoff, Taylor Swift’s manager. This conspicuous absence of coverage for a significant political event raised eyebrows among conservative observers.
Former President Donald Trump supported Landry during the election, and he will succeed Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards, who did not seek re-election due to term limits. Landry managed to avoid a runoff election thanks to Louisiana’s unique “jungle primary” system, where winning over 50 percent of the votes is required to secure an outright victory, a rarity in Louisiana politics.
Jeff Landry’s platform aligns with conservative values, as he supports various Louisiana laws that include abortion restrictions, regulations against explicit books in school libraries, and bans on transgender puberty blockers and hormones for minors. While the results of a gubernatorial election in Louisiana might not seem significant on a national scale, state policies can have far-reaching implications at the federal level. Furthermore, had the election outcome favored the Democrats, it is likely that major news networks would have provided extensive coverage of the results.