← Dec 9

Dec 11 →

The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022.

Review of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #46 of The Tap, which was published on December 17, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

The Results Are In

The final congressional races in 2016 came to a close in Louisiana.
In the Senate, John Kennedy (R) defeated Foster Campbell (D) in the runoff. The seat was open following incumbent David Vitter’s decision to retire. The election left the Republican Party with a 52-48 majority in the Senate.
In Louisiana’s 3rd Congressional District, Republican Clay Higgins defeated fellow Republican Scott Angelle in the runoff. The seat was open following incumbent Charles Boustany Jr.’s (R) unsuccessful U.S. Senate run.
In Louisiana’s 4th Congressional District, Mike Johnson (R) defeated Marshall Jones (D). The seat was open following incumbent John Fleming’s (R) unsuccessful U.S. Senate run.
With everything said and done, the Republican Party will hold a 241-194 majority in the House.

Additional Forces

Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced that the U.S. will deploy approximately 200 additional forces—including special operations forces, trainers, advisors, and explosive ordnance disposal teams—to fight the Islamic State in Syria. Carter said, “These uniquely skilled operators will join the 300 U.S. special operations forces already in Syria, to continue organizing, training, equipping and otherwise enabling capable, motivated, local forces to take the fight to ISIL, and also bringing down to bear the full weight of U.S. forces around the theater of operations like the funnel of a giant tornado. This latest commitment of additional forces within Syria is another important step in enabling our partners to deal ISIL a lasting defeat.”

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #45 of The Tap, which was published on December 10, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

2016 Elections Aren’t Over

Louisiana will hold congressional runoff elections in several races.
- In the Senate, John Kennedy (R) and Foster Campbell (D) will compete in the runoff. The seat is open following incumbent David Vitter’s decision to retire. The race is rated safely Republican, and Kennedy is expected to easily win election.
- In Louisiana’s 3rd Congressional District, Republicans Scott Angelle and Clay Higgins will compete in the runoff. The seat is open following incumbent Charles Boustany Jr.’s unsuccessful U.S. Senate run.
- In Louisiana’s 4th Congressional District, Mike Johnson (R) and Marshall Jones (D) will compete. The seat is open following incumbent John Fleming’s unsuccessful U.S. Senate run. This race is also rated safely Republican.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, will hold general elections for mayor and six city council seats. Sharon Weston Broome (D) and Bodi White (R) will compete to become the next mayor after the two were separated by less than 5,000 votes in the November primary. The only city council seat for which both a Democratic and Republican candidate are running is District 12, where Rose Williams Carey (D) faces Barbara Freiberg (R). Incumbents are running for re-election in four of the city council races. Baton Rouge is the 93rd-largest city in the United States by population and the second-largest in Louisiana.

Houston ISD will hold a runoff election for the District VII seat. Anne Sung was the top vote recipient on November 8 but did not receive a majority of the vote. She will face John Luman in the race to replace outgoing board member Harvin Moore. The school district served 204,245 students during the 2013-2014 school year, which was 4.02 percent of all public school students in Texas.
Mansfield City Councilman Mitch Lewis faces a recall vote in Louisiana. Lewis has been targeted for recall because of his support for Mayor Curtis McCoy's policies. McCoy previously faced recall petitions over abuse of power claims, but the effort failed due to a lack of signatures.