Who Is Jeff Landry, the Newly-Elected, Antigay Louisiana Governor?
Source: The Advocate
Who Is Jeff Landry, the Newly-Elected, Antigay Louisiana Governor?
Landry, currently the state's attorney general, has opposed LGBTQ+ rights even though he has a gay brother, and he pushed for Louisiana's ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth.
BY TRUDY RING
OCTOBER 16 2023 3:59 PM EST
Jeff Landry, Louisianas newly elected Republican governor, has an intensely anti-LGBTQ+ record, having opposed antidiscrimination protections even though he has a gay brother and pushed the states ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth.
Landry, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, was elected governor Saturday. Under the states election system, all candidates run against each other in a primary, regardless of party, and if no candidate wins a majority, the top two advance to a runoff. However, Landry received 52 percent of the vote Saturday, so there is no need for a further vote. Democrat Shawn Wilson, a former Louisiana transportation secretary, was his closest competitor among 10 other candidates, with 26 percent of the vote.
Landry, who will take office January 8, will succeed Democrat John Bel Edwards, who is term-limited. Edwards, although conservative by Democratic standards, has fought against the states anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, vetoing some bills and letting others become law without his signature.
Landry has been Louisiana attorney general since 2016 and was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013, having been elected in the Tea Party wave. He received a zero on the Human Rights Campaigns Congressional Scorecard for his single term.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.advocate.com/politics/jeff-landry-homophobic-louisiana-governor