Louisiana Governor — Jeff Landry
Jeff Landry is Louisiana's 57th governor, inaugurated January 8, 2024. A veteran of Operation Desert Storm, former police officer, and small business owner, Landry served one term in Congress and eight years as Louisiana Attorney General before winning the 2023 gubernatorial primary with 51.6% of the vote. He is leading a Republican trifecta government after eight years of divided governance.
Fight crime and reduce violent crime rates across Louisiana
Status: in-progress
Landry established Troop NOLA, a dedicated Louisiana State Police unit in New Orleans, in 2024. Violent crime in New Orleans dropped significantly: homicides fell 37-39% through late 2024, with armed robberies down 43% and assaults down 26%. In 2025, New Orleans saw 121 murders compared to 125 in 2024 (3% decline), and carjackings/armed robberies fell 28% and 35% respectively. Compared to 2022, New Orleans' homicide rate decreased 50-55%. However, rape cases rose 17% in some periods, and the crime decline began in mid-2023 before Landry took office, making attribution complex. Landry also reversed criminal justice reforms by rolling back 2017 Justice Reinvestment Initiative measures, eliminating parole and cutting good-behavior credits.
Improve education system and expand school choice
Status: in-progress
Landry signed the LA GATOR Scholarship Program in June 2024, making Louisiana the 12th state with universal school choice. The ESA program began accepting applications in spring 2025 with funds available August 2025. However, results are mixed: at Redemptorist St. Gerard Catholic school in Baton Rouge, only 8% of voucher students achieved 'mastery' on state tests in 2024, despite the school receiving nearly 40 new voucher students after earning an F rating in 2023. Senate President Cameron Henry scaled back funding to $50 million (serving 6,000 students) instead of Landry's requested $94 million (11,000 students). On traditional metrics, Landry claims Louisiana rose 11 spots on Nation's Report Card in 13 months and achieved highest student testing scores in a generation, though independent verification of these claims is limited.
Rebuild Louisiana's economy through tax reform and job creation
Status: in-progress
Landry enacted historic tax reforms reducing personal income tax from 4.25% to flat 3% and corporate income tax from 7.5% to 5.5%, cutting $1.3 billion in annual income tax revenue. The state sales tax rose from 4.45% to 5% to offset lost revenue, making Louisiana's combined state-local sales tax the highest in the nation (10.06%). Louisiana Economic Development reports companies planned to invest $61 billion in 2025 (vs. $16 billion in 2023-2024), and Landry claims over 124,000 new private-sector jobs. However, actual job creation through November 2025 was only 1.5% growth (29,000 jobs), matching national average. State unemployment ticked up to 4.3% from 4.2% when Landry took office. Critics note the tax shift is regressive: lowest-income 20% receive small tax increases despite income tax cuts; wealthy and large corporations see biggest dollar savings. Most investment gains will occur during construction phase of capital-intensive projects, not long-term permanent jobs.