Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville thinks a Trump-allied governor's day of reckoning is closer than many expect after a stunning election move.
On Friday's episode of "Politics War Room," Carville and co-host Al Hunt fielded a listener question about Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican who suspended the state's congressional primaries after the Supreme Court's ruling in Louisiana v. Callais. Asked whether Landry would ever be held accountable, Carville, a Louisiana native, said he was "beginning to think it might be sooner than most people think."
The question came from a listener in Prairieville, Louisiana, who said Landry declared a state of emergency, stopped the primary while voting was underway and then redrew the congressional map again.
"It seems illegal," the listener wrote. "Will this coward ever be held accountable?"
Carville said the governor's footing at home is already shaky.
"He's not very popular," Carville said. "He's taken on the entire city of New Orleans."
He then turned to a separate fight involving Louisiana State University and the Southeastern Conference, warning that the school is "on double secret probation with the SEC."
Carville said that if LSU were pushed out of the conference with Landry behind it, "it would be a catastrophe of the First Order. You don't even want to think about it."
He said he had no idea what Landry, the LSU board or the school's president were thinking. "They're playing with real fire out there," Carville said. "Real fire."
Hunt didn't hold back either. "What a terrible, terrible governor," he said.
Carville also warned Republicans not to coast in the state's Senate race, where Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA) faces Democrat Jamie Davis, a Black farmer from Tensas Parish. Carville cited a poll showing Davis down four points and said Letlow's campaign is "sleepwalking."
"You can't take people for granted," he said. "And clearly the Letlow people are taking people for granted."
"This cycle, if I was any Republican, I wouldn't treat anything cavalierly," Carville added.