Raymond Crews
Raymond James Crews (born May 1966) is a former airline pilot from Bossier City in northwestern Louisiana, who is the District 8 Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for Bossier Parish. He has sixty Republican colleagues in the GOP-majority state House.
Crews won a special runoff election held on April 29, 2017, to choose the successor to U.S. James Michael "Mike" Johnson, who after less than two years in the state legislature was elected in 2016 to fill Louisiana's 4th congressional district vacated by John Fleming, an unsuccessful candidate for the United States Senate. Crews defeated fellow Republican Robert Hal "Robbie" Gatti, Jr. (born March 1970), the brother of Louisiana state Senator Ryan Gatti, a Bossier City lawyer who is a confidant of Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards. In a 21 percent turnout of fewer than 6,000 voters of a qualified electorate of nearly 29,000, Crews polled 3,845 votes (64 percent) to Gatti's 2,150 (36 percent).[1]
A 17-year veteran of the United States Air Force, Crews said that his victory is proof that district voters want a "true conservative" in the mold of Mike Johnson, who endorsed Crews as his state House successor.[2]
In the first round of balloting on March 25, Crews finished first in a four-candidate all-Republican field, with 2,144 votes (41 percent), followed by Gatti, who received 1,947 votes (37 percent). In third place was Michael Durrell "Duke" Lowrie (born April 1970) of Benton,[3] who ran unsuccessfully for the seat in 2011 against fellow Republican Jefferson Rowe "Jeff" Thompson of Bossier City.
Crews carried the backing of U.S. Senator John Neely Kennedy and Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry.
References
- ↑ Election Results. Louisiana Secretary of State (April 29, 2017). Retrieved on May 2, 2017.
- ↑ Barbara Leader (April 30, 2017). Crews wins District 8 House race. The Shreveport Times. Retrieved on May 1, 2017.
- ↑ State Representative - 8th District. Louisiana Secretary of State. Retrieved on March 26, 2017.