Beau Beaullieu

Gerald Alphonse "Beau" Beaullieu, IV​​​
Louisiana State Representative for District 48 (Iberia, St. Martin, and St. Mary parishes) ​​​
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 13, 2020​​
Preceded by	Taylor Barras​​​
Born	May 12, 1975​ New Iberia, Louisiana​
Political party	Republican​​​
Spouse(s)	Kaci Smith Beaullieu​​ ​(married 1998)
Children	​​​Four children
Residence	​New Iberia
Alma mater	Catholic High School (New Iberia)​ Louisiana State University​​ ​ University of Louisiana at Lafayette ​
Occupation	​​Business consultant​
Religion	Roman Catholic​

Gerald Alphonse Beaullieu, IV, known as Beau Beaullieu (born May 12, 1975),^[1] is a Republican state representative from his native New Iberia, Louisiana. He succeeded the term-limited Republican Representative Taylor Barras effective January 13, 2020. Barras was also the House Speaker from 2016 to 2020. To win his seat, Beaullieu defeated another Republican, Ricky Gonsoulin, in the runoff election held on November 16, 2019. He polled 9,586 votes (57 percent) to Gonsoulin's 7,229 (43 percent).^[2]

A financial consultant, Beaullieu graduated from Catholic High School in New Iberia and then received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1997 from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. In 2001, he obtained a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. In 2014, he was named one of the "Top 20 under (the age of) 40" in Acadiana. Beaullieu has made it his life's work to build secure financial futures for thousands in south Louisiana. In 2017, he was named "Kiwanian" of the Year by the Kiwanis Club. In 2018, he received the Greater Iberia Chamber of Commerce Civic Service Award.^[3]

For seven years, including a stint as chairman, Beaullieu served on the Iberia Parish Republican Executive Committee. He is a life-long Republican. He takes what he calls "very conservative" positions on matters of public interest, including religious liberty, the Second Amendment, border security, the death penalty, and photo identification of voters.^[4]

Beaullieu and his wife, the former Kaci Smith, have four children, Mary-Alizabeth, Emma, Beau, and Thomas. The couple is Roman Catholic. He is a former chairman of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish Council and his local Knights of Columbus men's organization.^[3]

On January 13, 2020, his first day as a state representative, Beaullieu was among twenty-three Republican lawmakers, known as the Fraud Squad, who voted for the Moderate Republican Clay Schexnayder of Ascension Parish, whose election as Speaker depended heavily on the votes of thirty-five Democratic lawmakers, two Independents, and the Republican dissenters.^[5]

In the Louisiana primary election held on October 14, 2023, Representative Beaullieu, with 85 percent of the vote, won reelection over the Democrat David Levy. No other Republicans contested his seat despite Beaullieu being part of the Fraud Squad.^[6]

Statewide radio commentator Moon Griffon calls Beaullieu "Bogus Beaulieu" because of the lawmaker's tendency to side with Democrats in high-profile moments. Griffon predicted that Beaullieu will later run for governor and could be a formidable candidate because of his excessive cordiality toward colleagues who are unable to discern Beaullieu's lack of reliability. Beaullieu is a fraternity brother of House Speaker Phillip DeVillier, who has also shown liberal tendencies in deferring to Democrats.^[7]