The Republicans' Startling Losses In Louisiana Yesterday— That's MAGA Mike And Trump Territory

AOC’s Brand Of Economic Populism Is Smelling Good To Voters

Louisiana was one of the most MAGA states for the 2024 presidential election. Only 38.2% of voters opted for Kamala, one of her worst performances in America. Of Louisiana’s 64 parishes, Trump won 57. In fact 3 parishes that Biden won in 2020 flipped to Trump and Trump was the first Republican to win in some African-American majority parishes in decades. A year earlier Louisiana turned out for Jeff Landry in the gubernatorial election in a big way— winning outright in a 15-man race with no need for a runoff. 

Saturday, though, Louisiana voters pulled back on the MAGA chain. All four constitutional amendments promoted by Landry and the Republican legislature were soundly defeated, opposed by around two-thirds of the voters! Trump’s name wasn’t on the ballot, nor was Musk’s, Vance’s, MAGA Mike’s, Hegseth’s or even Landry’s. But they didn’t have to be. I doubt many people even read the amendments (Amendment 2 alone over 100 pages). They just knew they were Republican amendments. That was enough at this fraught moment in American history.

Landry’s reaction to his stunning defeat? Blame the voters. Blame the leftists. Blame the Jews. “The primary goal of Amendment 2 was to create a better opportunity for our citizens. To work towards inviting people into our State rather than have them leave. Unfortunately, Soros and far left liberals poured millions into Louisiana with propaganda and outright lies about Amendment 2. Although we are disappointed in tonight’s results, we do not see this as a failure. We realize how hard positive change can be to implement in a State that is conditioned for failure. We will continue working to give our citizens more opportunities to keep more of their hard-earned money and provide a better future for Louisianians. This is not the end for us, and we will continue to fight to make the generational changes for Louisiana to succeed.” 

Landry and the other Republican officials in the state should be thanking their lucky stars that their offices weren’t on the ballot yesterday.

Landry’s silly, even slanderous claim that Soros and “far-left liberals” provided significant financial backing to oppose his amendments and that this funding fueled a campaign of “propaganda and outright lies” that led to its rejection. Soros’ Open Society Foundations donated $1.25 million in 2023 the Vera Institute of Justice, a group focused on reducing incarceration. Vera was active in opposing Amendment 3 (the fascistic juvenile justice measure), but not the other amendments and not this year or even last year. This $1.25 million is a small fraction of Vera’s $260 million annual revenue and  and Landry’s claim of “millions” directly from Soros into Louisiana is just a flat out anti-Semitic lie.

Campaign finance reports show about $509,000 was spent by groups opposing all four amendments, with a focus on defeating Amendment 3. The non-partisan Vera Institute and Southern Poverty Law Center both contributed to efforts that targeted Amendment 3, not Landry’s beloved Amendment 2. Meanwhile, supporters of Amendment 2, including Landry’s Make Louisiana Great Again PAC ($292,000), his shady dark money Protect Louisiana Values operation, the Kochs’ Americans for Prosperity ($157,000), and others, spent at least $588,000— outpacing the opposition. This pro-Amendment 2 side had far more financial muscle, putting the lie to the claim that it was overwhelmed by “far-left” money.

What really happened here is that even conservative voters rejected complex, top-down proposals in the midst of the current barrage of the unpopular Trump-Musk upheaval. Amendment 2’s more than 100 pages of tax changes were insanely hard to digest, and critics— including some right-leaning voices like Chris Alexander of the Louisiana Citizen Advocacy Group— warned it could harm nonprofits or raise future taxes. Complexity and fear of unintended consequences likely trumped partisan loyalty. And the “No on All” campaign united left-leaning groups with conservative skeptics, amplifying turnout among Democrats. Amendment 3’s harsh juvenile injustice stance galvanized national anti-incarceration groups, probably spilling over to tank all amendments.

Landry’s a hardline MAGA wing-nut, who over-played his hand, the way MAGAts are all over the country. His “strong-arm tactics” in the legislature and tying teacher pay to Amendment 2 (risking cuts if it failed) alienated voters. With around two-thirds of voters rejecting his agenda, this was a referendum on his and the GOP’s leadership and a signal of early discontent the Republicans are taking the country in. 

Obviously, yesterday’s failure doesn’t flip the state blue— it’s still right-wing. But it shows voters won’t rubber-stamp every extremist proposal, especially if unclear and divisive. Landry’s influence is going to weaken now, probably making his next moves— budget fights— trickier. This loss isn’t fatal but dents his early tenure. It’s a reminder that ideology doesn’t always predict outcomes.

If Democrats win in Florida and Wisconsin Tuesday, the losses in Louisiana yesterday will be part of the narrative of Trump and the GOP being rejected, even by conservative voters. As Michelle Cottle wrote this morning, AOC is taking of the mantle of anti-Trump energy and economic populism like few others. For movement building, AOC’s more personal style of public engagement seems designed for an era of institutional distrust, in which many Americans have little use for party politics. As Ro Khanna noted, “She connects with her life experiences in a way with young people and people who don’t follow all the details of politics by drawing them in.”

Cottle wrote that “The ‘life experiences’ issue is a hot topic, as Democrats grapple with having become identified as the party of the elite… ‘I think that people need to see some of us who’ve actually made it from really tough backgrounds and have really seen some things in their lives and not just heard about things in their lives. Because it’s visceral. To actually know what it’s like to come home to an apartment and the lights are off, to actually know what it’s like to not be able to afford a prescription, is something that can be really felt.’”