Katie Bernhardt’s tenure as Louisiana Democratic Party Chair was marked by accusations of inefficiency and incompetence. It ended Saturday in a catastrophic procedural failure.
Months after its endorsed candidate suffered a spectacular loss in the 2023 gubernatorial election, the Louisiana Democratic State Central Committee (DSCC) met at the Laborers’ International Union Hall and ousted the party chair in an equally remarkable fashion.
Bernhardt’s final moments as chair passed in turmoil after nobody nominated the sitting chair, who had lost her own DSCC seat last month. Amid shouts, grumbles and glares, the Bernhardt wing of the party, bolstered by Democratic powerhouses from New Orleans, attempted to save their candidate. A motion to reopen nominations to include Bernhardt failed overwhelmingly, and nothing more could be done.
Randal Gaines, a former state representative from LaPlace, won the chairmanship by default.
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“We have a talented group of leaders, and I think we have some eager, more extreme members of the party, and they need to take this opportunity to come together if we’re ever gonna see the success we want,” Bernhardt said in an interview after the meeting.
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Some said Bernhardt’s nomination failure was emblematic of her tenure, during which she oversaw an overwhelming loss of ground for Democrats at all levels of government. She was chosen chairman with then-Gov. John Bel Edwards’ backing in 2020 to replace Sen. Karen Carter Peterson, who was later jailed for pilfering from the state party and her election campaign fund to support her gambling addiction.
Bernhardt’s task was to restore confidence in the state party among major Democratic donors while developing candidates for statewide elections and local offices of note.
Public Service Commissioner Davante Lewis was among those calling for Bernhardt’s ouster.
“I think the end of this meeting demonstrates what the Democratic Party has dealt with for the last four years and competency, lack of clarity and no leadership and so I’m not surprised that this meeting started off rough and it started off wild…” Lewis said in an interview after the vote. “But in the end, Democrats from all walks of life, all political values in a big vote decided it is time to move in another direction.”
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Gaines had the backing of the reform-minded Blue Reboot caucus, a group that won several DSCC seats, including Bernhardt’s. His supporters also included party veterans, with several sitting state representatives among them.
After Bernhardt failed to get a nomination from the floor, as is required by the bylaws, she took the microphone to pitch her candidacy anyway, which was met with outrage from members who wanted her replaced.
The packed Union Hall fell into chaos. Executive committee members initially claimed Bernhardt had been nominated but could not name who had done so when pressed by members.
Lafayette DSCC member Jackson Voss asked the nominator to identify themselves. No one did so, and a motion to close nominations had already passed without objection.
After further shouting, state Rep. Kyle Green, D-Marrero, took the mic.
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“I’m embarrassed by what’s happening here,” Green said before calling for nominations to be reopened.
His motion failed, 98-61.
Lewis disagreed with Green’s assessment. Passionate discourse is not embarrassing, he said, but what happens when a diverse group of people come together.
“Democracy is messy,” Lewis said in an interview. “While this is not what I think any of us wanted to do, how we wanted to conduct this meeting, we had to do it in a fair and just way, and I think that’s what prevailed.”
After eight years of holding the governor’s mansion, the Democratic Party no longer has a single statewide elected official. Bernhardt and Edwards were criticized for being insufficiently supportive of Democratic candidates last year, including former state Transportation Secretary Shawn Wilson, who lost in a blowout to then-Attorney General Jeff Landry in the primary election.
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Low turnout contributed to Landry’s win that helped him avoid a November runoff. There were more than 1.1 million registered Democrats in Louisiana as of last October’s election, and only 36.3% cast ballots. Turnout among Republicans, who exceeded 1 million, was nearly 47%.
Following the resounding loss, many Louisiana Democrats, including Wilson, called for a shakeup in party leadership.
In a statement to the Illuminator, Wilson congratulated Gaines and Blue Reboot for their work to bring about change within the party.
“Building on the momentum this hard fought change has created, I believe citizens in every one of our 64 parishes will see positive change within the party,” Wilson said.
Despite the backlash against Bernhardt, who many blamed for Wilson’s loss, her fate remained up in the air until Saturday.
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In the final days leading up to the meeting, U.S. Rep. Troy Carter and his predecessor, Cedric Richmond, called DSCC members to whip votes for Bernhardt, several committee members told the Illuminator.
The body was made to leave by the union before all election results could be announced. Those announced include first vice chair Katie Darling, second vice chair Kyle Grace, vice chair for elected officials Rep. Denise Marcelle, D-Baton Rouge and treasurer Dustin Granger.
Bernhardt said she anticipates remaining involved in Democratic politics.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
A Pentecostal pastor in Louisiana charged with sexually molesting a teenage girl in his church has been convicted of indecent behavior with a juvenile – but was acquitted of the more serious crime of statutory rape.
Milton Otto Martin III, 58, faces up to seven years in prison and must register as a sex offender after a three-day trial in Chalmette, Louisiana, resulted in a guilty verdict against him on Thursday. His sentencing hearing is tentatively set for 15 January in the latest high-profile instance of religious abuse in the New Orleans area.
Authorities who investigated Martin, the pastor of Chalmette’s First Pentecostal Church, spoke with several alleged molestation victims of his. But the jury in his case heard from just two of them, and the charges on which he was tried pertained to only one.
That victim’s attorneys – John Denenea, Richard Trahant and Soren Gisleson – lauded their client for testifying against Martin even as members of the institution’s congregation showed up in large numbers to support him throughout the trial.
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“That was the most courageous thing I’ve ever seen a young woman do,” the lawyers remarked in a statement, with Denenea saying it was the first time in his career he and a client of his needed deputies to escort them out the courthouse. “She not only made sure he was accountable for his crimes – she has also protected many other young women from this convicted predator.”
Neither Martin’s attorney, Jeff Hufft, nor his church immediately responded to requests for comment.
The documents containing Martin’s criminal charges alleged that he committed felony carnal knowledge, Louisiana’s formal name for statutory rape, by engaging in oral sex with Denenea’s client when she was 16 in about 2011. The indecent behavior was inflicted on her when she was between the ages of 15 and 17, the charging documents maintained.
A civil lawsuit filed against Martin in parallel detailed how he would allegedly bring the victim – one of his congregants – out on four-wheeler rides and sexually abuse her during breaks that they took during the excursions.
The accuser, now about 30, reported Martin to Louisiana state police before he was arrested in March 2023. Other accusers subsequently came forward with similar allegations dating back further. Martin made bail, pleaded not guilty and underwent trial beginning on Tuesday in front of state court judge Darren Roy.
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Denenea said he believed his client’s testimony on Wednesday was pivotal in Martin’s conviction, which was obtained by prosecutors Barry Milligan and Erica Moore of the Louisiana attorney general’s office, according to the agency.
As Denenea put it, it seemed to him Martin’s acquittal stemmed from uncertainty over whether the accuser initially reported being 16 at the time of the alleged carnal knowledge.
State attorney general Liz Murrill said in a statement that it was “great work” my Milligan and Moore “getting justice for this victim”.
“We will never stop fighting to protect the children of Louisiana,” Murrill said.
Martin was remanded without bail to the custody of the local sheriff’s office to await sentencing after the verdict.
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The lawsuit that Denenea’s client filed against Martin was stayed while the criminal case was unresolved. It can now proceed, with the plaintiff accusing the First Pentecostal church of doing nothing to investigate earlier sexual abuse claims against Martin.
The plaintiff also accused the Worldwide Pentecostal Fellowships to which the Chalmette church belonged of failing to properly supervise Martin around children, and her lawsuit demands damages from both institutions.
Martin’s prosecution is unrelated to the clergy molestation scandal that drove the Roman Catholic archdiocese of nearby New Orleans into federal bankruptcy court in 2020 – but the two cases do share a few links.
State police detective Scott Rodrigue investigated Martin after also pursuing the retired New Orleans Catholic priest Lawrence Hecker, a serial child molester who had been shielded by his church superiors for decades. Rodrigue’s investigation led to Hecker’s arrest, conviction and life sentence for child rape – shortly before his death in December 2024.
Furthermore, Denenea, Trahant and Gisleson were also the civil attorneys for the victim in Hecker’s criminal case.
Newlab New Orleans is deepening its energy-tech ambitions with a new partnership alongside JERA, Japan’s largest power generator, to accelerate next-generation carbon capture solutions for heavy industries across Louisiana and the Gulf Coast, The Center Square writes.
The collaboration brings JERA Ventures into Newlab’s public-private innovation hub, where startups gain access to lab space and high-end machinery to commercialize technologies aimed at cutting emissions and improving industrial efficiency.
The move builds momentum as Newlab prepares to open its fifth global hub next fall at the former Naval Support Activity site, adding New Orleans to a network that includes Riyadh and Detroit. JERA’s footprint in Louisiana is already growing—from a joint venture on CF Industries’ planned $4 billion low-carbon ammonia plant to investments in solar generation and Haynesville shale assets—positioning the company as a significant player in the state’s clean-energy transition.
Federal immigration authorities are keeping a tight lid on key details as “Catahoula Crunch” closes its first week in southeast Louisiana, Verite writes.
The operation—one of Department of Homeland Security’s largest recent urban crackdowns—began with raids at home-improvement stores and aims for 5,000 arrests, according to plans previously reviewed by the Associated Press. While DHS publicly highlighted arrests of immigrants with violent criminal records, AP data shows fewer than one-third of the 38 detainees in the first two days had prior convictions.
Meanwhile, advocacy groups report widespread fear in Hispanic communities, with residents avoiding hospitals, schools, workplaces and even grocery stores amid sightings of federal agents.
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Business impacts are already visible: restaurants and Hispanic-serving corridors like Broad Street appear unusually quiet, with staff shortages forcing menu cuts and temporary closures. School absenteeism has doubled in Jefferson Parish, and protests have spread across New Orleans and surrounding suburbs as local leaders demand transparency around federal tactics.
