Undeterred Democrats qualify for La. congressional races favoring GOP candidates 

A new congressional district map in Louisiana is expected to further tilt its U.S. House delegation toward Republicans in 2027. But the new political landscape has not discouraged some Democrats from qualifying for races on the Nov. 3 ballot in which they will be considered extreme long shots. 

Two Democrats added their name to the slate of candidates in the 6th District, which GOP legislators reconfigured in May to unseat incumbent U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, and replace him with a Republican.

Lindsay “Rubia” Garcia of Walker and former state official Pat Forbes of Baton Rouge joined the 6th District field Thursday that already has four Republicans in it. 

Garcia, a former teacher and Southern University law school graduate, qualified in February for the race in the old 5th District before it was cancelled. She is a plaintiff in a stalled federal lawsuit challenging Gov. Jeff Landry’s executive order that called off the May 15 closed party primary elections and allowed the Republican-dominated legislature to alter the state’s congressional district lines.  

The Louisiana Democratic Party had endorsed Garcia as their 5th District choice even though she had only joined its ranks just before qualifying for the May election. She previously had no party affiliation. 

Garcia said she expects to receive the party’s backing again when its executive committee makes its congressional selections later this month. But as an underdog in what’s now a GOP-friendly district, she said her campaign will stress issues with broad appeal. 

“We want healthcare. We don’t want to go bankrupt whenever we have some kind of health crisis. We want roads and bridges. We want our air and our water and the land in order to be protected …” Garcia said. “I think they’re nonpartisan issues.”

An engineer by training, Forbes worked for the administrations of former Govs. Kathleen Blanco, Bobby Jindal and John Bel Edwards, spending much of that time in charge of the Office of Community Development. His chief task at the agency was helping dispense more than $13 billion in federal block grant funds that followed hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. 

Forbes told reporters he didn’t plan to run for Congress until Republican lawmakers updated the U.S. House district lines in May, adding that he would not have entered the 6th District race if Fields was seeking re-election. The sitting congressman has said he intends to seek his former seat in the Louisiana Senate, which he’s held on two separate occasions dating back to 1988.  

“It’s because of the redistricting and the gerrymandering that I’m in this race,” Forbes said. “It’s because politicians are trying to pick their voters instead of the other way around.”

After he qualified, Forbes shared that he had gained the endorsement of his former boss, Edwards, who issued a statement on his decision first reported by Greg Hilburn of the USA Today Network.

“Pat has spent his career partnering with Republicans and Democrats in some of the most challenging situations. That bipartisan approach to governing is exactly what Washington, D.C. needs right now,” Edwards said, in part.

Garcia was unfazed by Forbes’ announcement and said she welcomed another Democrat in the race.

“We will let the voters decide who they want to represent them,” she said.

Congressman Clay Higgins, R-Lafayette, drew two Democratic challengers in the 3rd Congressional District during Thursday’s qualifying. 

Lafayette attorney Priscilla Gonzalez also ran against Higgins in 2024 and received 19% of the vote in a four-person field. She did not previously qualify in the cancelled race this year. She declined to speak with reporters after she qualified Thursday. Caleb Walker of Lafayette, a retail chain department manager, had signed up to run for the 3rd District in February before the election was moved. He qualified again today. 

The four Democratic qualifiers from Thursday join three others who signed up Wednesday.

Metairie teacher Lauren Jewett will challenge House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who is expected to qualify for re-election Friday, in the 1st Congressional District. Scalise is seeking his 11th term in office. 

Conrad Cable, a farmer from Farmerville who previously qualified for the cancelled race, faces long odds against U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, in the 4th District. Bunkie lawyer Dan McKay so far is the only Democrat in the 5th District field.

U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans, who is heavily favored to keep his seat in the majority-Black 2nd District, also qualified Wednesday.

The only other candidate to qualify Thursday was Oscar “Omar” Dantzler, a Republican from Hammond who entered the 5th District race. He has a background in law enforcement and worked as a school bus driver in Tangipahoa Parish. Dantzler previously ran for the seat in 2022 as a Democrat and finished second with 16% of the vote against incumbent U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow. 

Still silent on his election plans is state Sen. Blake Miguez, R-New Iberia. He gained President Donald Trump’s endorsement in the 5th District race before a landmark Supreme Court redistricting ruling in April led the governor to postpone the U.S. House party primaries.

Miguez has not responded to calls and text messages this week asking him about his plans. He is sitting on $2 million in his campaign account, largely built on contributions that resulted from Trump’s support.

Miguez chose to run in the 5th District earlier this year even though he represents a state Senate district in the Acadiana region, which is far away from the 5th District. Congressional rules don’t require representatives to live in their districts, though it’s widely considered to put their campaigns at a logistical and political disadvantage.

Miguez bought a home in Baton Rouge in March that was in the 5th District and is now part of the new 6th District, and he hasn’t indicated if or where he might mount a congressional campaign.