Katie Bernhardt has weathered a self-inflicted wound to her political standing and is no longer facing an effort to remove her as chair of the Louisiana Democratic Party.
Bernhardt oversaw an uneventful meeting of Democrats on Saturday and offered good news, telling party activists that the party’s finances are stronger and that she is attempting to recruit candidates in all 64 parishes this election year.
“We’re building a sustainable model,” Bernhardt told 100 members of the party’s state central committee at a Baton Rouge union hall.
Bernhardt created a storm of protest earlier this year by appearing in a TV ad that tested the waters for a potential run for governor. Facing calls that she should focus only on helping elect Democrats, Bernhardt didn’t join the race and is backing the main Democratic candidate, former transportation secretary Shawn Wilson.
On Saturday, Bernhardt said she and other leaders are rebuilding trust with donors after her predecessor, Karen Carter Peterson, pleaded guilty last year to stealing more than $140,000 from party coffers. Bernhardt, who replaced Peterson in September 2020, said the party raised $1.5 million in 2022, up from $500,000 in 2021.
Bernhardt said the U.S. Supreme Court decision that made abortion unconstitutional has created an opportunity for Democrats to register pro-abortion rights women voters in particular.
To be sure, Democrats face major challenges in Louisiana.
State Rep. Francis Thompson of Delhi switched to the Republican Party last month, giving the GOP a two-thirds super-majority in the House. That could allow Republicans on a party-line vote to override any vetoes by Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, in the 60-day legislative session that begins on April 10. Republicans already have a two-thirds majority in the Senate.
Meanwhile, Republicans have continued to make steady gains on Democrats in party registration statewide, even as many Democrats vote Republican.
Besides Wilson, Democrats have only one announced candidate for statewide office, with Dustin Granger of Lake Charles running to be treasurer.
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