The Stealth Campaign of Schroder Can Schroder do what Dardenne could not? Perhaps, if Jason Williams doesn’t run for governor
12th June 2023 · 0 Comments
By Christopher Tidmore
Contributing Writer
Outgoing Louisiana Treasurer John Schroder was practically the first gubernatorial candidate out of the gate, spending $500,000 on advertising in just the first quarter of 2023. Nevertheless, his polling continues to lag behind GOP frontrunner Attorney General Jeff Landry and the sole Democratic candidate La. Transportation Secretary Shawn Wilson – both at approximately 35 percent in the polls.
However, as Schroder’s very public television campaign has dominated the airwaves, he also has conducted a much more subtle exercise in retail politics – attempting to woo disaffected Democrats into a bipartisan coalition with anti-Landry Republicans – seeking to replicate the fusion campaign of Jay Dardenne eight years ago.
However, given Landry’s strength with rank-and-file Republicans, Schroeder would only have an opening if another notable Democrat divided Shawn Wilson’s core support. Two weeks ago, rumors abounded that New Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams might be that candidate. The daily paper went so far as to proclaim him leaning towards a run. With another African-American elected official in the gubernatorial field, Schröder might have a chance.
By Thursday, June 1, Williams commented on the race, citing his antipathy for Landry in a lengthy press release. However, the DA remained ambiguous as to whether or not he would actually qualify by August 10 for governor’s race: “I am honored that well-respected people throughout the State are urging me to consider this post at such a critical moment. I was certainly not thinking about running, given my full docket and the progress of my office early in this term. These debates, however, would be very different were I to join the race; and being in a contest with a candidate who is publicly working harder to ban more books than high-powered assault weapons has some appeal. Jeff Landry has shown his priorities are purely political, and I’m not going to let the City of New Orleans be a pawn in his self-serving aspirations.”
In other words, “wait and see.” Schroder, meanwhile, made some inroads on his “moderate” strategy if Williams does decide to run – and consequently divides the democratic vote, so that a candidate at 20 percent in the polls could theoretically make a runoff with Landry.
The GOP treasurer has courted prominent La. African-American leaders over the last few months, and former SCLC President Byron Clay of Kenner showed his appreciation with an email that went out to the media on May 19: “I am happy to announce my endorsement and full support of John Schroder for Governor of the State of Louisiana. He is a man and Public Servant of great integrity and impeccable character. He is a man of respect and fairness who will serve all the citizens of Louisiana. God Bless Everyone, the Rev. Byron Clay.”
The former head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference is not the only Black leader being wooed. For example, on February 3, Schroder made a high-profile visit to Dillard University, strolling along the oaks with President Rochelle Ford and Southern Strategy Group head Rodney Braxton, to promise help to HBCUs – and Dillard’s campus in particular – one of many historically Black Colleges which he has visited in the last year.
Hardly a major La. African-American leader has managed to avoid a call from Schroder of late, asking for support and pledging his – if the treasurer should win the governorship. In fact, most major Democratic Party officials have spoken to him in the last few months. Meanwhile, Schroder has kept up his conservative credentials, opposing the Edwards’ administration’s efforts to break the legislative spending caps to fund a trend of infrastructure investment, yet he has also avoided the “culture wars” rhetoric which Landry employs. The treasurer does not seek to take library books off of shelves, nor engage in bearhugs with Donald Trump like the attorney general.
This moderate course aims to navigate Schroder into the runoff, stealing disaffected Republicans from Landry and moderate Democrats from Wilson. Such a “Fusion” candidacy (to use Gov. Henry Clay Warmoth’s expression), theoretically could draw enough support in October to earn a slot in the November elections, and due to a wider breadth of support, would defeat whichever other candidate made the runoff. Such a strategy has been tried before, just eight years ago, and it failed – sort of.
Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne literally had La. Democratic Party Chair Karen Carter-Peterson and former U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu asking the Democratic candidate state Rep. John Bel Edwards to drop out of the governor’s race and endorse Dardenne – so acute was the fear of a Vitter administration eight years ago. At the time, Dardenne enjoyed extensive bipartisan support, from Black leaders to many of the stalwarts of Democratic interest groups. Edwards, though, believed that he could beat Vitter and refused to demur. The power of being the sole major Democrat did prove enough to propel the State Representative into a runoff with the U.S. senator. After his primary defeat, Dardenne endorsed Edwards, which convinced many Republicans to vote Democratic a month later. Ultimately, the lieutenant governor went on to work for Edwards as his most influential advisor, his Commissioner of Administration.
Fundamentally, though, Dardenne’s strategy failed. He did not make the runoff. Perhaps, more importantly, Edwards uniquely stood as a Democrat which many Republicans could support, a pro-life, pro-gun West Point grad who commanded an airborne division and was the son and brother of a rural Sheriff. Wilson faces a bigger challenge. Race still plays a role, and an African-American candidate remains less likely to gain crossover votes. Nor does the former La. transportation secretary look likely to drop out. He is well-financed, thanks to high profile support from Gov. John Bel Edwards, and has a firm likelihood of making a runoff. As conservative of a state as Louisiana has become, it still remains true that 30 percent of the electorate will only vote for a Democrat. In fact, to this day in many Black precincts, when two Republicans lead the ballot, the votes often number fewer in that contest than many down-ticket races, so impossible is the idea to many core Democratic voters to cast a ballot for a GOP contender – even with no other choice.
Some have suggested that Schroder’s “moderate” strategy is so impossible to pull off that – if Landry does not experience some last minute scandal – the treasurer should reverse course and qualify to run for another term in his current office. Schroder has so far rejected such advice. He, historically, has faced uphill electoral battles. In 2007, Schroder beat the favorite for the 77th House District, Colleen Hawley, by just 219 votes. Few gave the East Jefferson High School grad much of a chance in the Covington legislative seat against the daughter of prominent CPA magnate Jack Dienes, herself a key player in economic development circles, yet Schroder nonetheless won.
Attempting to construct a bipartisan, biracial coalition, he seeks to triumph again against the odds in this year’s governor’s race. Other Republicans besides Landry, including state Sen. Sharon Hewitt and State Rep. Richard Nelson, do stand in the way. Not to mention the fact that Shawn Wilson does not plan to drop out anytime soon. Nevertheless, some prominent Republicans believe that Schroder can triumph. His financial contributions come from some of the party’s luminaries including Baton Rouge real estate developer Mike Wampold, the owners of the Diaz Market convenience stores, the Winnfield-based nursing home group Central Management Co., the Lauricella Land Co. development firm in Jefferson Parish, and CRES PAC, a conservative environmental organization.
As for Williams’ bid for governor which would be key to all of this? Well, another option for statewide office came available on the same day that Orleans DA released his press release. The sole Democratic candidate for attorney general, Lincoln & Union Parishes District Attorney John Belton, dropped out of the race. That would give the New Orleans district attorney another option for higher office in August, whilst still leaving Democratic standard-bearer Shawn Wilson a clear shot at making the runoff against Jeff Landry.
This article originally published in the June 12, 2023 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
