Although somewhat less wacky
than the eruptions rocking Louisiana’s Fifth Congressional District contest,
northeast Louisianans also saw some changes wash over the state’s District 5 Public
Service Commission race as qualifying occurs this week for both.
For the House of Representatives, Republican state Sen. Blake Miguez’s shuffle out of the U.S. Senate field, essentially leaving a three-way battle among GOP incumbent Bill Cassidy, the current CD 5 Republican Rep. Julia Letlow, and GOP state Treas. John Fleming where any two of these three could make the nomination runoff and the winner therefore winning the office later this fall, shook up a passel of candidates who sprung out of the woodwork after Letlow with little warning entered the Senate race, propelled by an endorsement from Republican Pres. Donald Trump. Then immediately after Miguez said he had switched, Trump endorsed him.
With the millions of dollars already committed to his previous federal contest that he can transfer and the imprimatur of Trump, Miguez becomes the favorite to succeed Letlow, despite the fact that he doesn’t live near the district (no district residency requirement is imposed constitutionally, only state residency). The move doesn’t look accidental, and possibly it was triggered by Trump-aligned backers who didn’t want to see Miguez’s momentum they had helped build go to waste. With the U.S. Supreme Court poised to give the state a fourth district map in five elections, Miguez if elected would be able to have a new map and/or undertake a change in address putting him in the district to defend it in 2028.
