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2une In Previews: Lt. Gov. Nungesser prepares to kick off Love the Boot Week
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BATON ROUGE — Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser told the Baton Rouge Press Club Monday he hopes the state Legislature gets rid of the new closed primary system after the midterm elections this year.
“This closed primary is costing Louisiana a little over $17 million,” Nungesser said, referring to its implementation this year. “And people are confused of who can vote where and what, and that’s going to be every year if we stay with a closed primary for every election.”
Earlier Monday, Nungesser appeared on WBRZ's 2uneIn show to promote his anti-littering initiative. Love the Boot Week opens April 18. It is an effort to keep communities across the state clean and beautiful and has grown into the state's largest litter removal and beautification initiative.
In 2025, nearly 27,000 volunteers spent more than 81,000 hours at over 1,400 events, removing 514 tons of litter across all 64 parishes. Nungesser and his team want to build on this momentum and make an even larger impact this year. Learn more about this year's events here.
Nungesser, a Republican, said Gov. Jeff Landry pushed for Louisiana to get rid of the open primary system, in which voters could vote for candidates in any party, in primary elections for Congress, statewide offices and some other races.
In the closed primaries, registered Republicans can only vote in the Republican primary, Democrats can only vote in the Democratic primary and voters who are not affiliated with one of the parties can vote in either one.
Polls show that 71% of Louisianians and 77% of Republicans would prefer to keep open primaries, according to Nungesser.
“A lot of people believe it was done to beat Bill Cassidy, and that kind of looks that way that it was implemented for that reason,” Nungesser said.
Some political analysts have said that supporters of President Trump wanted to make it easier to unseat Cassidy, a Republican senator who voted to convict the president after one of his impeachments, by keeping Democratic voters from crossing over to support Cassidy in an open primary.
Some state legislators have called for junking the closed primary system as soon as possible.
Nungesser also said Monday that Landry had cut $10 million from the lieutenant governor’s budget–all for maintaining state parks–when the governor released his latest state budget proposal in mid-February.
“I’ve been trying to get a meeting with the governor to discuss it,” Nungesser said. Referring to the fiscal year that starts July 1, he added: “The head of the House told me he’s going to work to get some of that money, at least get me through year-end, which is July.”
Nungesser, who is the state’s top tourism official, also on Monday reiterated that President Trump’s political attacks on Canada have hurt tourism in Louisiana.
Canada is Louisiana’s top tourism market, but after Trump’s comments about annexing Canada and his decisions to hit imported goods from Canada with tariffs, the state’s international tourism has taken a hit, Nungesser said.
“Our number one market is Canada,” he said. “It killed the events in Lafayette this year. We had 26 groups cancel.”
Nungesser said Canadian airlines told him they had to stop advertising flights to America because of the hate they received from Canadians. Nungesser warned that the president’s slights were reducing a key source of revenue for the state’s hospitality sector.
Despite this dent in tourism, projections for 2028 show that Louisiana’s international tourists will increase, especially with the International Passenger Week occurring in New Orleans next year. That is the largest international tourism show in the world.
Nungesser also criticized state Rep. Mike Echols, R-Monroe, a fellow Republican, alleging that the lawmaker’s push to name the Mississippi River bridge after President Trump was a calculated move aimed at boosting his campaign for Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District seat.
“We shouldn’t enact laws and do things because somebody’s running for office,” Nungesser said, adding that Louisiana law prohibits naming buildings and other infrastructure after living people. “We ought to do things because it’s the right thing to do.”
Nungesser’s outspoken criticism has reportedly drawn backlash within his own party. The Louisiana Republican Party had initially drafted a resolution to rebuke Nungesser for whether Trump’s immigration enforcement surge had hurt tourism in New Orleans.
Those comments were removed from the resolution after Rep. Mike Bayham, R-Chalmette, convinced other members that Nungesser, a former party chair who has been lieutenant governor since 2026, had supported many Republican causes.
The lieutenant governor has also been working on a set of initiatives to improve our state's tourist appeal. Among them is a renewed push, called Keep Louisiana Beautiful, to combat littering across the state. He asked that everyone participate in the movement by removing at least 250 pieces of litter by July 1.
Nungesser mentioned his partnership with the Sonic fast-food chain, which raises money through sales of a new drink for the Keep Louisiana Beautiful initiative.
“We’re looking for partners all over the state that will help keep Louisiana beautiful,” Nungesser said. “I look forward to the day when we don’t have to spend $100 million cleaning up the state. We can spend that money on better things.”
The state is escalating enforcement by issuing tickets for littering after sending out 870 warning letters to litterers last year.
The initiative also includes partnerships with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the Department of Transportation and Development to install cameras designed to catch offenders in the act.
Nungesser said his department is expanding access in state parks for individuals with disabilities.
He added they started doing this by introducing rentable track chairs to 11 of Louisiana’s state parks, which allow visitors with mobility challenges to navigate natural terrain better.
He also stated that all newly built cabins in Louisiana state parks will be fully accessible, reflecting a broader commitment to inclusivity in outdoor recreation.
In addition, Nungesser revealed efforts to attract private investment into the state park system. By encouraging private partners to help finance cabins and recreational facilities in the parks, he hopes to expand use of the parks while reducing the financial burden on the state and its taxpayers.
“I believe with an amount of years, we won’t need any tax dollars to run our parks,” Nungesser said. “They all can generate billions of dollars that we can use for culture, recreation and tourism.”
Nungesser also commended Cassidy for stepping in to prevent proposed federal funding cuts for Volunteer Louisiana, a program he described as vital to community engagement and service.
Nungesser, 67, said he plans to run again for lieutenant governor despite the backlash he has received from within his own party.
Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser visited 2une In on Monday ahead of next week's Love the Boot Week.
Love the Boot Week is an effort to keep communities across the state clean and beautiful and has grown into the state's largest litter removal and beautification initiative.
In 2025, nearly 27,000 volunteers spent more than 81,000 hours at over 1,400 events, removing 514 tons of litter across all 64 parishes. Nungesser and his team want to build on this momentum and make an even larger impact this year.
Love the Book Week officially kicks off on April 18 and runs through April 26. Learn more about this year's events here.
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