Louisiana 5th District candidates share views on abortion, redistricting

Four out of five candidates at a 5th Congressional District election forum Monday said they were opposed to abortion rights, while only one said he would oppose a national abortion ban if elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

“I’m a devout Christian who believes in the Bible, and I believe that life starts at conception,” state Rep. Gabe Firment, R-Pollock, said at a midday event the Baton Rouge Press Club hosted at Drusilla Seafood Restaurant. 

Firment appeared with fellow Republicans state Rep. Michael Echols of Monroe and welding business owner Austin Magee of Franklin as well as Democrats Dan McKay, a Bunkie attorney, and state Rep. Pat Moore of Monroe. 

Echols, Firment, Magee and Moore said they oppose abortion, while McKay said he supports access to what he considers part of reproductive care.

“The Bible does not prohibit abortion. That is healthcare. It’s good healthcare, and it is for a woman to decide in conversation with her healthcare professionals,” said McKay, who added that he attends an independent Baptist church.

Moore, who lost the Democratic Party nomination over her abortion stance, has a personal connection to the issue. Moore’s mother gave birth to her after being raped at the age of 14, she said.

“Life is not in the hands of us,” Moore told the lunchtime crowd.

But Moore said Republicans need to do more to help children born into difficult circumstances. In previous interviews, she has mentioned her pro-life stance includes supporting a robust safety net with Medicaid, food assistance and other government assistance. 

“[Republicans] want the baby to come into the world and after that, that’s it. That’s hypocritical,” she said.

Echols and Magee said they both support continued access to birth control as anti-abortion candidates.

“I believe that we should also make birth control as available as possible to also reduce the unwanted pregnancies because you can’t have your cake and eat it too,” Magee said. “If we’re going to take a hard stance on abortion, then we also need to take a hard stance on preventing pregnancies.” 

Candidates in the field who chose not to participate in Monday’s forum were state Sen. Stewart Cathey, R-Monroe, Board of Regents chair Misti Cordell, Hammond bail bondsman and retired police officer Omar Dantzler and Tallulah licensed contractor Antonio Wilson.  

Redistricting divide

The candidates also diverged on how political districts should be drawn in the future.

The U.S. Supreme Court upended the process of drawing district lines nationwide earlier this year when it removed protections offered in the Voting Rights Act. In Louisiana, the decision led Republican state lawmakers to approve a new U.S. House map that dropped the number of majority-Black seats from two to one out of six total.

Moore, the only Black candidate at Monday’s forum, said she strongly disagreed with the legislature’s decision to overturn Louisiana’s previous map with two majority-Black districts.

McKay, the other Democrat, said he thought the Supreme Court went “too far” with its redistricting ruling but also that “race-based districting” has its own problems. It results in Black voters being packed into fewer districts, which dilutes their voting power, he said.

Firment said he found the suggestion that he, as a white Republican, couldn’t represent a Black constituent personally offensive.

“The idea that people in my district somehow don’t have a voice because they’re different colors than me — that’s ridiculous,” he said. 

Magee, also a white Republican, said he thought GOP candidates need to do a better job of reaching out to Black voters.

“I have been to five forums where the crowd was a majority that had a different skin color than me, and I was the only Republican candidate who showed up,” he said.

In order to use a new U.S. House map this year, Gov. Jeff Landry canceled a May party primary election after thousands of absentee ballots had already been cast. Candidates in Louisiana’s six district races were forced to sign up again to run for office, some in a different district after the new congressional map was put in place.

Echols and Firment said they agreed with the governor’s decision to cancel the May primary election, even though voting was already underway.

“I do think the governor was justified in that because the court decision was out … We had to do something to make sure our election was fair,” Echols said. 

McKay and Moore said the U.S. House race should have been held under the old map — with one more majority-Black seat — because the election was already underway when the court decision came down.