Dan Richey - Political Overview

Political Overview

Richey was a Democratic member of the state House (1976–1980) and the Senate (1980–1984). He left the Democrats in 1984 because of the party's abortion stance, became an independent for a decade, and then switched to the Republican Party in 1994 when the party won majorities in the U.S. Congress. In 2004, Richey was elected to the Louisiana Republican State Central Committee from state Representative District 61 in East Baton Rouge Parish. He defeated the African American Kirt Bennett, 102-65, in a low-turnout closed primary. Bennett had been a candidate for in 2003 for lieutenant governor. Richey was reelected to the central committee in the closed primary for party offices held on February 9, 2008. He defeated Cyrus Greco, 414 (57 percent) to 313 (43 percent).