Acadiana Rep. Julie Emerson Becomes Gov. Landry’s New Chief of Staff

LAFAYETTE, La. (KPEL News) — Gov. Jeff Landry announced Tuesday that state Rep. Julie Emerson will become his new chief of staff next week.

The Carencro lawmaker is leaving her job as chair of the House Ways and Means Committee to take over for Kyle Ruckert, who's moving to lead a political action committee working to get Landry reelected next year.

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What This Means for Acadiana

This puts someone from Acadiana in the governor's office for the first time in years. When Landry makes big decisions, Emerson will be in the room.

Her new job means House District 39 — which covers Carencro, Scott, Ossun, and parts of St. Landry Parish — will sit empty during the upcoming legislative session. It takes time to schedule a special election.

Emerson said she'll still help anyone who needs it while the seat is vacant, and the district office will stay open.

What Emerson's Done in the Legislature

Emerson has spent the past two years running the House Ways and Means Committee, which handles all tax legislation. She's the first woman to chair a finance committee in Louisiana history.

She was the legislator who pushed Landry's tax overhaul through the House last year. That package cut personal and corporate income taxes while raising the sales tax for five years. It also eliminated the corporate franchise tax.

According to the governor's office, Emerson also wrote the law that created the LA GATOR school choice program and the bill that changed Louisiana's federal election system to closed primaries starting this year.

"Julie Emerson is a proven leader with a deep understanding of Louisiana's people, our State legislature, and the work that needs to be done to move Louisiana forward," Landry said. "Her experience and commitment to conservative reform makes her the perfect person to help lead this administration."

Why She Dropped Her Senate Race

Emerson had been running for U.S. Senate for about three months before she pulled the plug last month.

The reason? U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow jumped into the race with President Donald Trump's backing. At that point, Emerson said she didn't see a path to win.

READ MORE: Julie Emerson Withdraws from Senate Campaign, Cites Trump Endorsement of Letlow

She had been positioning herself as a young conservative alternative to Sen. Bill Cassidy, who some Republicans are still mad at for voting to impeach Trump after January 6th. State Treasurer John Fleming is also running against Cassidy.

Emerson's Background

Emerson grew up in Carencro after being born in Homer. She went to Westminster Christian Academy in Opelousas, then got her bachelor's degree from UL Lafayette and an MBA from South Carolina.

She started her own PR and political consulting firm in 2011 called Lagniappe Communications Group. When U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins ran for Congress in 2016, she was one of his key advisers.

Emerson won her House seat in 2015 at age 27 by beating a Democratic incumbent. That made her the youngest Republican woman ever elected to the Louisiana Legislature.

She's got a 100% rating from Louisiana Right to Life and an A from the NRA. Police and firefighters groups have named her "Legislator of the Year."

What Happens to Her House Seat

Republicans still hold huge majorities in both the House and Senate even with Emerson leaving. They've got more than two-thirds of the seats.

House Speaker Phillip DeVillier will need to pick someone new to run the Ways and Means Committee before the regular legislative session starts.

A special election will be scheduled to fill Emerson's seat.

Who Emerson's Replacing

Kyle Ruckert ran Landry's staff for the governor's first two years. Before that, he was chief of staff to former U.S. Sen. David Vitter and worked on Republican campaigns all over Louisiana.

Now he's taking over Protect Louisiana Values, the PAC that paid to bring a live tiger to the LSU-Alabama game last fall. According to The Advocate, the group also dropped $300,000 trying to get people to vote for constitutional amendments Landry wanted last year.

Emerson starts her new job next week.