Michael Bayham

Michael Bayham Jr. was born and raised in Chalmette, in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, and lived there all his life. He attended Holy Cross High School, at its Lower 9th Ward campus in New Orleans, and went on to Louisiana State University, where he earned a bachelor's degree with minors in journalism, political science and history.

He became interested in politics young and said he learned his conservative principles from following the career of President Ronald Reagan. He was first elected to the Republican State Central Committee in 1996, while still in his early twenties.

At the age of 26 Bayham became the youngest person elected to the St. Bernard Parish Council up to that time, representing District B from 2001 to 2004. He ran for the Louisiana House of Representatives in 2003 and again in 2011 without success. Over the years he worked as a legislative aide in the Louisiana State Senate, in the Louisiana Department of Revenue and in public affairs, oversaw the St. Bernard Parish public school bus system for a period and worked as a political consultant.

He stayed active in the Louisiana Republican Party for three decades. He served on the State Central Committee from 1996, was secretary of its executive committee from 2008 to 2012, and was a presidential elector in the Electoral College in 2008 and 2012. In 2022 he narrowly lost a bid to unseat the party chairman, Louis Gurvich.

On his third attempt he won the House seat for the 103rd district in 2023 and took office on 8 January 2024. He strongly opposed the Port of New Orleans plan to build a deep water container terminal in Violet, saying it would disrupt the way of life in his district. Working with Democratic Representative Mandie Landry, he secured the two thirds vote needed to put Amendment 4 on the ballot, and in November 2026 voters approved a lifetime limit of two terms for governors. In 2026 he also won approval for a law allowing the governor to designate 8 January as a holiday for the Battle of New Orleans, and for an LSU College World Series champions licence plate.

He served on the Battle of New Orleans Bicentennial Commission and chaired Louisiana's commission for the 250th anniversary of the United States.

Bayham was a devout Catholic, a proud LSU graduate and a lifelong New Orleans Saints fan. Friends liked to tell how, about 25 years before his death, he stood in for a friend to drive the former Archbishop Philip Hannan to a Saints game, and afterwards called it the greatest day of his life.

He was a keen student of history, particularly of the Battle of New Orleans fought in St. Bernard Parish in 1815. In 2026 he gave a speech in Quebec City in which he told his hosts that Chalmette was named after a settler from French Canada, and he helped organise a watch party at the American consulate there for the Saints game in Paris. His family asked for privacy during his final illness.

On 11 November 2026 his office announced that he was hospitalised and gravely ill and asked the community for prayers. Governor Jeff Landry posted that all of Louisiana was praying for him. Bayham died on the morning of Thursday 12 November 2026 at a hospital in Metairie, aged 52. He had been suffering from liver failure for several months.

The Louisiana House Republican Delegation announced his death, saying it was grateful for his service, dedication and contributions to the people of Louisiana. Its chairman, Representative Michael Echols, said: "Mike loved St. Bernard Parish and served its people with pride, from the parish council to the Louisiana House." He was the second Louisiana legislator to die in 2026 and the first House member to die in office since 2020. Funeral arrangements were pending when his death was reported.

Bayham is remembered as a skilled political operator, a fierce advocate for St. Bernard Parish and one of the Louisiana Legislature's most knowledgeable students of its history. His work with a Democratic colleague to limit governors to two terms, approved by voters a week before his death, and his law honouring the Battle of New Orleans are among the lasting marks of his short time in the House.