Chairs of both state political parties in Louisiana, under fire, facing calls to resign

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Prominent officials in each party want GOP chair Louis Gurvich and Democratic chair Katie Bernhardt to step down.

Traditionally, the role of party leadership is to recruit candidates, raise money and register voters – not necessarily to play kingmaker.

That explains why Gurvich is under attack for helping to engineer the Republican Party’s early endorsement of Attorney General Jeff Landry, in November, more than a year before election day.

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Bernhardt, meanwhile, is taking heavy flak for surprisingly starring in a TV ad airing this week that appears to be testing the waters on whether she ought to launch a campaign for governor – at a time when other prominent Democrats are publicly mulling the race.

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Critics note that Gurvich canceled a state central committee meeting that could have allowed for a public debate, instead secretly calling for a party executive committee meeting of seven members that approved the endorsement. Gurvich has refused to disclose the list of Landry supporters.

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Bernhardt is facing a different type of criticism after offering herself as a possible candidate with the 60-second ad airing this week in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette and Shreveport. The ad was financed by Anthony “AP” Marullo, a New Orleans-based real estate developer and restaurateur who said Bernhardt would make “a fantastic governor.”

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