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Louisiana Democrats rocked as longest-serving member switches to GOP, giving Republicans a supermajority in Baton Rouge for the first time ever

ByAlki David

Mar 19, 2023

In a stunning move that has sent shockwaves through the Louisiana political landscape, the longest-serving Democrat in the state’s legislature has announced that he is switching to the Republican Party. Francis Thompson’s decision gives the GOP a supermajority in Baton Rouge for the first time in history, with 70 of the legislature’s 105 seats now held by Republicans.

Thompson, who was first elected to the state legislature in 1975 as a Democrat, cited his values and principles as the driving force behind his decision to switch parties.

“I firmly hold onto certain values and principles that guide my decisions,” Thompson said in a statement. “My conservative voting record over my years in the Legislature speaks for itself.”

Thompson also pointed to what he sees as a push by Democratic leadership on both the national and state level to support certain issues that do not align with his Christian beliefs.

The news has left Louisiana Democrats reeling, with some wondering if more defections could be on the horizon. For now, though, Republicans are celebrating their newfound supermajority and the increased power it gives them in shaping Louisiana’s political landscape.

By Alki David

Alki David — Publisher, Media Architect, SIN Network Creator - live, direct-to-public communication, media infrastructure, accountability journalism, and independent distribution. Born in Lagos, Nigeria; educated in the United Kingdom and Switzerland; attended the Royal College of Art. Early internet broadcaster — participated in real-time public coverage during the 1997 Mars landing era using experimental online transmission from Beverly Hills. Founder of FilmOn, one of the earliest global internet television networks offering live and on-demand broadcasting outside legacy gatekeepers. Publisher of SHOCKYA — reporting since 2010 on systemic corruption inside the entertainment business and its expansion into law, finance, and regulation. Creator of the SIN Network (ShockYA Integrated Network), a federated media and civic-information infrastructure spanning investigative journalism, live TV, documentary, and court-record reporting. Lived and worked for over 40 years inside global media hubs including Malibu, Beverly Hills, London, Hong Kong and Gstaad. Early encounter with Julian Assange during the first Hologram USA operations proved a formative turning point — exposing the realities of lawfare, information suppression, and concentrated media power. Principal complainant and driving force behind what court filings describe as the largest consolidated media–legal accountability action on record, now before the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. Relocated to Antigua & Barbuda and entered sustained legal, civic, and informational confrontation over media power, safeguarding, and accountability at Commonwealth scale.