By Julie O’Donoghue | Louisiana Illuminator
The Louisiana Democratic Party voted over the weekend to oppose a constitutional amendment to prohibit governors from running for office again after they have served more than one and a half terms, equal to six years.
Proposed Amendment 4 will appear on the Nov. 3 election ballot that also features the U.S. Senate and congressional races. The Democratic State Central Committee approved a campaign against the measure at its meeting Saturday, chairman Randal Gaines said.
“I think it limits the democratic rights and choices of voters,” Gaines said in an interview Monday.
The amendment would only prevent former Govs. Bobby Jindal and John Bel Edwards from running for office again because all other former Louisiana governors are deceased. It could also impact Gov. Jeff Landy if he wins a second term next year, in addition to any future governor elected to two terms.
Several Democrats have said they believe the amendment is aimed at Edwards, the two-term Democrat who left office in 2024. He is often mentioned as a potential candidate who could take on Landry, though Edwards has not said he is seriously considering running again.
“It’s evident that it is targeting John Bel Edwards. I think it is a self-serving proposal by this administration,” Gaines said in an interview Monday.
Unlike most legislation, Landry did not get to formally weigh in on this proposal. Constitutional amendments don’t go to the governor’s desk for a signature or veto before they end up on the voters’ ballot.
Only one governor has served more than two terms since Louisiana’s present constitution was approved in 1974. Edwin Edwards, not related to John Bel Edwards, served four terms: 1972-76, 1976-80, 1984-88 and 1992-96. He died in 2021.
The amendment’s sponsor in the legislature, state Rep. Mike Bayham, R-Chalmette, said it isn’t meant to target John Bel Edwards.
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“This is about the future. This is not about the past,” Bayham said in an interview Monday. ”I view this as a nonpartisan issue.”
Through a spokesperson, Edwards declined to comment Monday. Shortly after the legislature approved Bayham’s bill in May, he shared his thoughts about it on social media.
“I think this is what the kids call ‘living in somebody’s head rent free,’” Edwards wrote on X about the proposal.
Bayham said he offered to create an exemption for governors who had already served in office within the amendment, such that it wouldn’t affect Edwards, Jindal or Landry. People close to Edwards declined to take him up on the offer, Bayham said.
The Chalmette legislator said he hopes the amendment will allow “new blood” to enter the upper echelons of Louisiana politics. When the same people run for governor over and over again, it can be hard for new candidates to raise the money to get elected, he said.
“When a former governor gets in a race, what does that do to new candidates who don’t have a machine behind them? Who don’t have $10 million or $20 million behind them? That keeps them from being able to run,” Bayham said during a legislation committee hearing on amendment in May.
If the amendment passes and is used to prevent Jindal, Edwards or Landry from running for a third term, it could face some legal challenges. During discussions over the bill in the legislative session, Democrats suggested it could not apply retroactively for constitutional reasons.
“It would only apply to the future,” state Sen. Jay Luneau, D-Alexandria, said about the amendment on the Senate floor right before a vote on the legislation.
The Louisiana House voted 73-25 for the proposal, with a handful of Democrats in support and state Rep. Mandie Landry, D-New Orleans, as its House cosponsor. The Senate voted 28-10, with all Democrats in opposition.
The amendment needed two-thirds of members in each legislative chamber to get on the ballot. A simple majority of voters have to approve it Nov. 3 for the law to take effect.