Changes

Gatti graduated in 1992 from Airline High School in Bossier City. He was in [[Haiti]] on a mission trip at the time of his election to the state Senate. He ran unsuccessfully in 2003 for the state House of Representatives, losing to incumbent Republican [[Jane H. Smith|Jane Holland Smith]], a former Bossier Parish school superintendent.

Gatti graduated in 1992 from Airline High School in Bossier City. He was in [[Haiti]] on a mission trip at the time of his election to the state Senate. He ran unsuccessfully in 2003 for the state House of Representatives, losing to incumbent Republican [[Jane H. Smith|Jane Holland Smith]], a former Bossier Parish school superintendent.

In 2017, Gatti's brother, Robert Hal "Robbie" Gatti, Jr. (born March 1970), lost a special runoff election for the District 8 seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives to fill the seat vacated by U.S. Representative [[Mike Johnson]] of Benton, Louisiana. [[Raymond Crews]] was elected to succeed Johnson. He polled 3,845 votes (64 percent) to Gatti's 2,150 (36 percent).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/Graphical |title=Election Results|date=April 29, 2017|publisher= Louisiana Secretary of State|accessdate=May 2, 2017}}</ref>

In 2017, Gatti's brother, Robert Hal "Robbie" Gatti, Jr. (born March 1970), lost a special runoff election for the District 8 seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives to fill the seat vacated by U.S. Representative [[Mike Johnson]] of Benton, Louisiana. Conservative [[Raymond Crews]] was elected to succeed Johnson. He polled 3,845 votes (64 percent) to Gatti's 2,150 (36 percent).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/Graphical |title=Election Results|date=April 29, 2017|publisher= Louisiana Secretary of State|accessdate=May 2, 2017}}</ref>

Jeffrey Dennis Sadow, a political science professor at LSU in Shreveport who writes a column on state and local politics, questions Gatti's commitment to fiscal conservatism, noting the lawmaker's close friendship with John Bel Edwards. Sadow claims that in his successful race in 2015, Gatti "adopted the standard Democrat playbook to eke out his win: articulate conservative preferences on social issues to mask his other big government views."<ref name=jds>{{cite web|url=http://press-herald.com/gattis-record-may-hurt-his-reelection/|title=Gatti’s record may hurt his reelection|date=February 21, 2018|publisher=''Minden Press-Herald''|author=Jeffrey D. Sadow|accessdate=February 22, 2018}}</ref> Like the governor, Gatti opposes school choice initiatives popular with many conservatives. In 2016, Gatti scored the lowest of all Republican senators in regard to taxation, spending, and regulations, even lower than several Democratic colleagues. Then in 2017, Sadow noted that Gatti reversed course and scored among the highest of Republican senators on fiscal issues.<ref name=jds/>

Jeffrey Dennis Sadow, a political science professor at LSU in Shreveport who writes a column on state and local politics, questions Gatti's commitment to fiscal conservatism, noting the lawmaker's close friendship with John Bel Edwards. Sadow claims that in his successful race in 2015, Gatti "adopted the standard Democrat playbook to eke out his win: articulate conservative preferences on social issues to mask his other big government views."<ref name=jds>{{cite web|url=http://press-herald.com/gattis-record-may-hurt-his-reelection/|title=Gatti’s record may hurt his reelection|date=February 21, 2018|publisher=''Minden Press-Herald''|author=Jeffrey D. Sadow|accessdate=February 22, 2018}}</ref> Like the governor, Gatti opposes school choice initiatives popular with many conservatives. In 2016, Gatti scored the lowest of all Republican senators in regard to taxation, spending, and regulations, even lower than several Democratic colleagues. Then in 2017, Sadow noted that Gatti reversed course and scored among the highest of Republican senators on fiscal issues.<ref name=jds/>