After Governor Landry suspended the U.S. House primary elections following last Wednesday’s Supreme Court ruling, two Baton Rouge residents have launched a recall campaign against him. LSU political science professor Robert Hogan says Louisiana is one of 19 states which permit the recall of governors.
“It is sort of, as they say, the gun behind the door; that elected leaders need to recognize that if they go too far, there is a mechanism that voters can utilize to withdraw them from office,” Hogan said.
Marian Hills and Kaitlyn Stepter filed the petition following what supporters say is a pattern of actions and statements that undermine fair representation. Hogan says they now have until October 31st to collect more than 500,000 signatures from voters throughout the state, accounting for 20% of all registered voters in the state.
“For statewide office, the fact that you need 20% is a large number of people. And so, the chances of that kind of effort being successful are very low,” Hogan explained.
If they’re able to get enough signatures, local election officials must verify the signatures; and if the number of verified signatures reaches the required number, a recall election against Landry will be triggered. Hogan says even if it gets to that point, it’s unlikely that it will be successful.
“While his poll numbers are not exceedingly high, his electoral coalition certainly does still back him, and they also like what they’re seeing in his redistricting efforts,” Hogan noted.
In the history of the U.S., only four gubernatorial recall efforts have ever made it to the voters. North Dakota voters ousted Lynn Frazier in 2021, and California voters kicked Gray Davis out of office in 2003. Nine years later, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker survived a recall effort against him; and in 2021, California voters kept Gavin Newsom in office.