Only two or three empty spaces were left in the parking lot of the East Regional Library. The line of early voters extended out the door but was moving fast. Mid-term elections in Louisiana were in full swing with the start of early in-person voting. The process was quick, simple and, because we briefly visited with people we knew, pleasant. We get a sticker after casting our ballot. This year’s sticker showcases Louisiana with a nod to Mardi Gras, jazz and magnolias. I use these stickers to decorate the cases on my laptop and tablet rather than slap it on my chest as a badge of honor.
Watching the evening news during campaign season has confirmed my belief that campaign finance outweighs any meaningful connection with the electorate. We’re bombarded by ads and ill-thought-out claims by Congressman Clay Higgins and Senate hopeful Julia Letlow that showcase the disconnect between politicians and voters.
The amount of money spent on these political campaigns has grown by leaps and bounds. The real aim of these ads comes across as disturbingly partisan rather than public service. Nationally, it’s clear that both Democrats and Republicans are more interested in maintaining control of Congress than actually representing Americans. Despite it all, pundits seem to think Louisiana has a chance to, at the very least, turn purple.
Louisiana’s 3rd Congressional District could not be a safer bet . . . ever. Incumbent congressman Clay Higgins is in a sure-to-win position yet he uses his platform to sow division and partisan propaganda. His latest ad is a collage of old video footage mixed in with shrouded images of him punching a bag. If that wasn’t enough, the voice over was clearly a regurgitation of his old message known all to well by those of us familiar with Clay Higgins in a deputy uniform – hatred. In the final seconds of the campaign ad, Higgins talks about communists invading the United States over footage of New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani and Abdul El-Sayed, the U. S. Senate hopeful from Michigan. No mention of Louisianians or the issues impacting his constituents.
Although I could not determine any allocation of RNC dollars to the Higgins campaign, he’d reportedly raised more than $820,000 for the 2026 midterms by July of 2026. That is a significant amount of money to devote to issues that directly impact voters in his district. Instead, his instinct is to malign politicians in other states. I can’t ignore the fact that his attacks seem to focus on and equate these Americans practicing the Muslim faith with communism and terrorism infiltrating the United States.
Julia Letlow, on the other hand, is working with just over $6 million dollars and vists by the President to win her seat in the U. S. Senate. While she brings her latest message a little closer to home, it is as vague as could be. Letlow talks about holding FEMA and insurance companies accountable. She just never says how she will do that. She only perpetuates a fear many already know or know of . . . losing everything with no safety net.
These two candidates have one thing in common – their intent on frightening the Louisiana electorate. Using Muslim politicians’ faith to scare voters, especially when they’re not Louisiana politicians and in different states, comes across as purely racist. It forces me to wrestle with my own definition and views about racism and terrorism.
On the other hand, scaring Louisiana residents with the threat of no relief from the Federal Emergency Management Agency after your party summarily gutted the agency in the name of waste, fraud and abuse is inexcusable. Again, I am forced to wrestle with my own realities. Having spent more than three decades as a public servant in agencies of the Department of Treasury and the Department of Homeland Security means I understand government from the inside outward. Proclamations such as Letlow’s maligns the character and committment of federal workers simply to make a partisan statement.
If I may quote Eddie Glaude, Jr’s paraphrase of Ralph Ellison, author of The Invisible Man, “. . . democracy at its best is a disinterested form of love”. What these two politicians can’t grasp is that we don’t all have to be members of the Republican party, practice the same religion or look like them in order for them to have every constituent’s interests in mind. Both should want all Louisianians to flourish.
Maybe they don’t believe that our vote counts as much as theirs.
