6th District race gets heated as Edmonds, Miguez lob residency accusation at each other

Two Republican state senators competing for a Baton Rouge-based congressional seat lobbed hefty allegations at one another Wednesday involving their residency and one candidate’s unpaid taxes. 

Sen. Rick Edmonds of Baton Rouge said a New Iberia resident has filed a complaint with Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill that claims Sen. Blake Miguez does not live in his state Senate district that covers portions of Iberia, Lafayette and St. Martin parishes. 

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives are not required to live in their district, but there is a residency requirement for Louisiana state lawmakers. If they move out of their district, their seat becomes vacated according to provisions of Article III of the state constitution. 

That could happen to Miguez if the complaint is found to be accurate, Edmonds said at a news conference where he publicized the complaint. 

“Blake has been caught in a lie regardless of the outcome,” Edmonds said. “Blake Miguez has repeatedly claimed that he lived in Baton Rouge since 1999. … Either his statements that he’s made to the Congressional District 6 voters in this district are misleading, or there are serious questions about where he has satisfied the requirements for representing State Senate District 22.” 

The complaint was filed by David Levy, according to a copy of the document the Illuminator received through a public records request. Levy is a former Democratic candidate for the Louisiana House of Representatives. 

“Senator Blake Miguez cannot have it both ways,” Levy wrote. “The Louisiana Constitution does not allow it. His domicile is either in New Iberia or in Baton Rouge.” 

“This isn’t about party,” Levy said in a statement to the Illuminator. “It’s about whether the people of District 22 have a senator who actually lives among them. Every district in this state is entitled to that.” 

Though Miguez maintains he lives in New Iberia, he has confirmed he has kept a house in Baton Rouge. Miguez lived in Baton Rouge when he attended LSU and earned his law degree at Southern University. 

According to Miguez’s team, it’s Edmonds’ residency that should be questioned. 

Miguez has previously alleged Edmonds lives in Mississippi, where he is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church of McComb. Edmonds has asserted that he lives in Baton Rouge and commutes to the Mississippi church on Sundays to preach. 

“We haven’t seen the complaint, but if Mississippi Pastor Rick Edmonds wants to pick us up a copy the next time he heads home to Mississippi, we’d be happy to take a look,” Miguez spokesman Chris Pack said in a statement. “While he’s home, maybe he can check to see if he has any more Mississippi tax liens to pay off from unpaid income taxes.” 

Edmonds does have an unpaid tax lien in the state of Mississippi, according to the Mississippi Department of Revenue’s website, though the lien has a Baton Rouge address on it. The lien, totaling $5,243.25, is related to income from his job at the McComb church. 

Edmonds spokeswoman Delia Taylor said Edmonds will address the lien, which is dated June 22. A lien notice was sent to Edmonds’ previous address in Baton Rouge, which is why he was unaware of it, Taylor said. 

Taylor said that while Edmonds has lived in Baton Rouge for many years, his wife Cindy is a real estate agent and home “flipper” who briefly owned a house in McComb that she renovated and sold. Taylor said the couple never lived in the house.