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Wednesday is the deadline to register to vote for the March 24 election. On the ballot in East Baton Rouge Parish are the presidential preference primary, Baker municipal elections, Baker school system property tax, and a number of races for Republican and Democrat state central committee seats and parish executive committee seats. Office hours … Continue reading →
STEUBENVILLE, Ohio — Philosophical differences between the top two Republican presidential candidates are becoming starker as Rick Santorum drives harder on religious and social issues that Mitt Romney rarely discusses in detail. In recent days, Santorum has questioned the usefulness of public schools, criticized prenatal testing and said President Barack Obama’s … Continue reading →
WASHINGTON (AP) — A “super” political action committee supporting Republican Mitt Romney for president doubled its average fundraising haul last month, drawing upon repeat donations from wealthy business executives, according to financial reports the campaigns filed Monday with the government. The group, Restore Our Future, raised $6.6 million in January, and had more than $16 million available … Continue reading →
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mitt Romney and his under-funded opponents are taking advantage of a weeklong lull in the Republican presidential nomination fight to raise the money needed to carry out Super Tuesday strategies and compete in states beyond. Romney is the wealthiest candidate in the race with a big bank account and a personal fortune he could … Continue reading →
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two senators say the campaign finance system is so broken that a constitutional amendment is needed to rein in runaway spending in elections. Democrats Michael Bennet of Colorado and Tom Udall of New Mexico want to put Congress in charge of setting campaign contribution limits and regulating “super” political action committees. The two proposed the amendment late last year. … Continue reading →
LAS VEGAS (AP) — In a surprise twist, Donald Trump planned to endorse Mitt Romney — not Newt Gingrich — for the Republican presidential nomination Thursday, three Republican officials told The Associated Press. Gingrich’s camp had been so confident of winning the endorsement that it had leaked that Trump would support the former House speaker. Trump was … Continue reading →
BAKER — Pledging to focus on economic development if elected in the March 24 primary election, Leroy Davis is seeking to return to his old job of being mayor of Baker. Davis, a 67-year-old Democrat, served 3½ years as mayor and nine years as a Baker councilman, having been the first African-American candidate elected … Continue reading →
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Barreling out of Florida with money and momentum on his side, Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney said Wednesday that the bare-knuckled nomination fight thus far has toughened him up for contests to come. Chief rival Newt Gingrich is regrouping after a significant loss and faces serious disadvantages in the next states to vote. Continue reading →
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Mitt Romney routed Newt Gingrich in the Florida primary Tuesday night, rebounding smartly from an earlier defeat and taking a major step toward the Republican presidential nomination. Despite the one-sided setback, the former House speaker vowed to press on. Romney, talking unity like a nominee, said he was ready "to lead this … Continue reading →
Updated at 5:30 p.m. – WASHINGTON (AP) — American Crossroads, the Republican “super” political committee that plans to play a major role in this year’s presidential campaign, raised more than $51 million along with its nonprofit arm last year, The Associated Press has learned. The figures from Crossroads — the group backed by former George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove — are … Continue reading →
GONZALES — Jessie LeBlanc’s legal experience and service as a 23rd Judicial District court administrator and hearing officer make her qualified to be a state district judge, she said. LeBlanc, 42, a Republican lawyer from Gonzales, is seeking the vacant Division D seat in a March 24 special … Continue reading →
DORAL, Fla. (AP) — Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney pitched their ideas for reforming immigration law and pushing democracy into Cuba and across Latin America as the Republican presidential candidates vied for Hispanic votes Friday, entering the final, frenzied weekend before Florida’s primary. “We are not anti-immigrant, we are not anti-immigration” Romney said to applause, suggesting the … Continue reading →
TAMPA, Fla. — Republican presidential contenders Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich clashed repeatedly in heated, personal terms Monday night in a crackling campaign debate, the former Massachusetts governor tagging his rival as a Washington “influence peddler,” only to be accused in turn of spreading falsehoods over many years in politics. Continue reading →
WINNSBORO, S.C. (AP) — Mitt Romney tried doggedly Wednesday to sidestep the political furor he had started a day earlier by revealing he pays federal taxes at a rate of about 15 percent, less than millions of middle-income American families. Facing a new controversy, his campaign confirmed that Romney has money invested in the Cayman Islands but … Continue reading →
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama’s campaign is buying advertising time in six states that will be critical to the president’s re-election effort, a sign that the presidential campaign is entering a new phase. A campaign official says the Obama campaign has bought ad time in Michigan, Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Iowa and on national … Continue reading →
Updated at 2:25 p.m. – FLORENCE, S.C. (AP) — Seeking to protect his standing here, Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney on Tuesday assailed challenger Rick Santorum’s record on voting rights for felons, an issue that resonates strongly with conservatives. Santorum accused the former Massachusetts governor of promoting lies about him as the two intensified their dispute from the previous night’s GOP debate. Continue reading →
Updated at 11:30 a.m. – MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) — Jon Huntsman abandoned his once-promising campaign for the Republican presidential nomination on Monday and endorsed Mitt Romney as the man “best equipped to defeat Barack Obama’” in the fall. The former Utah governor coupled his announcement with an appeal to the remaining contenders to stop attacking one another in television commercials. “At … Continue reading →
State election officials want to make it easier for voters to request absentee ballots. A proposal that would allow electronic applications via the Secretary of State’s website is headed to the 2012 Louisiana Legislature for approval. The idea is included in a proposed omnibus bill that seeks more than three dozen changes to the state laws … Continue reading →
Gov. Bobby Jindal took the oath of office for his second term Monday vowing to blur the divide between social classes that prevents many children from getting a solid education. In a historic setting on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River, Jindal cemented his conviction that improving the state’s public schools must be his primary focus over … Continue reading →
Updated at 5:50 p.m. – CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Mitt Romney battled his Republican presidential rivals and high expectations Tuesday in New Hampshire’s primary, first in the nation and well known for surprise endings. Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman and Rick Perry shared the ballot, competing for political standing as the GOP calendar turns to South Carolina, where the … Continue reading →
Inauguration 2012 will be chock full of events as Gov. Bobby Jindal, other statewide elected officials and legislators prepare to begin new terms of office. Events begin Saturday and continue after formal swearing-in ceremonies are over Monday. Jindal has a series of events on tap including a gala, a church service and a luncheon with lawmakers. … Continue reading →
Updated at 5:05 p.m. – MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Mitt Romney’s Republican presidential rivals repeatedly attacked him as a candidate of the status quo and a timid, less-than-reliable conservative Thursday as they simultaneously sought to slow his campaign momentum and personally audition for the role of conservative rival-in-chief. “Don’t settle for less than America needs,” said Rick Santorum, eager to capitalize on … Continue reading →
Gov. Bobby Jindal pledged Wednesday to continue to back Rick Perry’s White House aspirations despite the Texas governor’s distant finish in the Iowa Republican Caucus. “I’m proud to call Rick Perry a friend. I’m proud to have endorsed him months ago, and I continue to support him.,” Jindal said during a news conference at the Governor’s Mansion. Continue reading →
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A squeaker of an Iowa victory behind him, a smiling Mitt Romney jetted to New Hampshire insisting that his staying power sets him apart from caucus runners-up Rick Santorum and Ron Paul and the rest of the GOP presidential field. Michele Bachmann underscored his point by quitting the race, and Rick Perry wavered. Continue reading →
Below are the candidates who qualified Wednesday for various races on the March 24 ballot, according to the Louisiana Secretary of State Office’s website. Qualifying ends Friday. The runoff election is April 21. The list does not include candidates for the Democratic and Republican state central committees or the parties’ parish executive committees. D = … Continue reading →
Most of the major contenders – and some minor ones – for the 2012 presidential election signed up to run in Louisiana’s March 24 party primaries. In the Republican race, campaigns for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Texas Rep. Ron Paul, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney all submitted their paperwork on … Continue reading →
The seminal moment for Sam Jones came on the Thursday after the Monday that Hurricane Katrina came ashore in August 2005. Gov. Kathleen Blanco, for whom he worked as an adviser, was under attack — mostly by Republicans — for government’s poor response to the calamities caused by the hurricane. “I … Continue reading →
GONZALES — Three votes appear to be the difference in Saturday’s Parish Council District 4 runoff between Ascension Parish Planning and Zoning Commissioner Daniel “Doc” Satterlee and Pat Bell, the incumbent council chairman closely aligned with the parish administration. Complete but unofficial results show that Satterlee edged Bell 812 to 809 votes in an … Continue reading →
Though both chambers of the Louisiana Legislature remain securely with Republican majorities, Democratic Party legislative leaders say the results of this fall’s elections bode well for the minority party in state politics. State Rep. John Bel Edwards, who chairs the Democratic caucus in the Louisiana House of Representatives, said Monday that the Republican Party had predicted grabbing … Continue reading →