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 James Michael "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>
Jeffrey D. 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 Governor 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>{{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> Gatti opposes school choice initiatives, as does the governor.
==References==
[[Category:Louisiana People]]
[[Category:Lawyers]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:State Senators]]
[[Category:Republicans]]
[[Category:RINOs]]
[[Category:Baptists]]
[[Category:State Senators]]
[[Category:Politicians]]