Central Lifts Hughes to Supreme Court

Jeff Hughes Will Give Republicans 4-3 Majority on La. Highest Court

CENTRAL — Republican Judge Jeff Hughes was elected to the Louisiana Supreme Court by a 53-47 margin over Democrat Judge John Guidry in Saturday’s runoff election.  Hughes becomes the first Republican elected to the court from the Baton Rouge area and gives Republicans a 4-3 majority on the court for the first time ever.

Hughes won strong majorities in Central, Livingston, Ascension, and Southeast Baton Rouge, while narrowly losing the rest of the district.  The district includes Ascension, East and West Baton Rouge, East and West Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, and Pointe Coupee parishes.

Hughes lost East Baton Rouge by 5,577 votes, but carried Livingston by 10,659 votes and Ascension by 2,243 votes.  According to pollster John Couvillion, in East Baton Rouge, Hughes received 45 percent of the votes cast — not bad for a staunch conservative.  Hughes swept Central with a 2,746-vote margin, or 86 percent of the votes cast.  He carried Southeast Baton Rouge with 69 percent and, surprisingly, the Highland/Perkins area with 52 percent.  Even the Garden District, a hotbed of more liberal whites, delivered good news for Hughes.  He received 49 percent and barely lost the Garden District.

The suburban areas in the Capital region both inside and outside East Baton Rouge Parish clearly out-voted the City of Baton Rouge and handed Hughes an historic victory.

According to the Louisiana Secretary of State, the parish-by-parish results were as follows:

Parish Guidry Hughes

Ascension 3,495 5,738

EBR 31,160 25,583

E Feliciana 1,831 1,825

Iberville 3,926 3,136

Livingston 1,512 12,171

P. Coupee 1,623 1,380

WBR 2,888 2,301

W Feliciana 824 805

Total 47,259 52,939

Percentage 47.2% 52.8%

Hughes ran on a strongly conservative platform that emphasized his support for the right to life, the right to keep and bear arms, and support for traditional marriage between one man and one woman.

On the other hand, Guidry declined to state his position on controversial issues.  Prior to 2003, the Canon of Ethics issued by the State Supreme Court in many states prohibited candidates for judgeships from stating their position on controversial political or legal issues.  However, in 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that judicial candidates have freedom of speech and may speak on any topic.  Nevertheless, since that decision, few judicial candidates around the nation have taken advantage of the opportunity to state their views publicly.

According to a spokesman for the Louisiana Supreme Court, sitting judges are prohibited only from commenting on cases currently pending in a Louisiana court.

When Guidry served in the Louisiana House and Senate, he had a very liberal voting record.  However, as a judge, he has cultivated a more moderate image.

In this election, he put together an unusual coalition of the Democratic Party, black churches, paid election day workers, the Louisiana Association of Business & Industry, and some oil and gas PAC’s.

On the other hand, Hughes was supported by the Louisiana Republican Party, the Republican Party of East Baton Rouge and Ascension parishes, the Tea Party of Louisiana, and a long list of elected officials, primarily from Livingston, Ascension, and Central.

With a turnout which had been projected at 20 percent, both candidates knew that turning out their voters was the key to victory.  In the end, Hughes did the better job.

Both candidates suffered from divisions within their ranks.  Hughes suffered from LABI’s support of Guidry but more than made up for it by outspending Guidry three to one, if independent expenditures made on his behalf are included.  Judge Guidry also suffered from divisions within his ranks because of lack of support from former Sen. Cleo Fields and several other black leaders.  Fields reportedly “went fishing” and didn’t help Guidry.  Several years ago, Guidry ruled against Fields in a suit on whether Fields was eligible to seek another term in the State Senate.  After the decision, Guidry drew opposition for reelection to the Court of Appeal from Cleo Fields’ brother, District Judge Wilson Fields.

In some recent elections, the cast of characters supporting or opposing the various candidates has seemed to have little to do with the party affiliation, political philosophy, or voting record of the candidate.  Rather, when one special interest weighs into a race on behalf of a candidate, groups opposed to the first group weigh in to support his opponent.

In the Nov. 6 primary for the Supreme Court, LABI endorsed Judge Bill Morvant.  Immediately, trial lawyers opposed to LABI policies, weighed in to support of “anyone but Morvant.”

When Judge Morvant lost in the primary, LABI switched its support to Guidry, and some trial lawyers rushed to support Hughes, the only non-Guidry candidates.  Ironically, the groups seemed to line up for or against the candidates despite no commitment from Guidry or Hughes on their issues.

Hughes is expected to be sworn in on or about Jan. 29, 2013.