6 takeaways from the 5th Congressional District candidates’ forum

Candidates running for Congress in Louisiana’s crowded 5th District race had the sharpest disagreements over artificial intelligence regulation and economic development at a forum held Tuesday night at the University of Louisiana-Monroe.

Seven of the nine candidates on the ballot for the Nov. 3 primary election participated in the event sponsored by several Northeast Louisiana broadcasters, Monroe-area business groups and the university.

They are running to replace U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow of Baton Rouge, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate who is not running for reelection. The 5th District covers all or part of 24 parishes.

Here are six takeaways from the event:

1. Most candidates back AI rules but offer few specifics.

Six of the seven candidates said they think it’s appropriate for Congress to have some oversight of the burgeoning yet already powerful artificial intelligence industry. But most weren’t very specific about what restrictions they would like to see.

Democrat Dan McKay, an attorney from Bunkie, was the most precise of the group, calling for a moratorium on data center construction. Austin Magee, a Franklinton Republican who owns a welding business, also shared a similar skepticism about data centers, several of which are already under construction in the 5th District.

“I don’t necessarily like these data centers, solar farms, things like that, that really don’t create, in the end, very many jobs,” Magee said. “Maybe a lot of initial construction jobs, but at the end of the day, they don’t really improve our way of life.”

State Rep. Michael Echols, R-Monroe, said he would be in favor of some AI regulation, though he mentioned restrictions on which there is typically some agreement already. There should be laws passed to protect children from AI and to regulate “deepfakes,” which are AI content generated to mimic real people, he said.

State Rep. Gabe Firment, R-Pollock, said he was opposed to the government taking private property in order to facilitate powering the data centers that support the AI industry.

“We do not need to be seizing property to benefit private businesses,” Firment said.

State Sen. Stewart Cathey, R-Monroe, stood out as the candidate most wary of placing restrictions on AI. He said he worried that too many restrictions could push AI developers to other countries and create a national security crisis.

“I’d rather them be here in America than in China,” Cathey said.

2. Nuclear power could meet growing energy needs.

Cathey, Echols and Louisiana Board of Regents chair Misti Cordell, a Republican from Monroe, all mentioned nuclear power as a solution for meeting the AI industry’s enormous power needs.

“Nuclear is something that’s very effective, and it’s also clean,” Cordell said.

Echols and Cathey said they favor development of small nuclear reactors, which President Donald Trump has also pushed during his second term in office. As a legislator, Echols even sponsored a resolution in 2025 to study small nuclear reactors at the state level.

3. Prohibit farm sales to foreign countries.

All of the participants, seven Republicans and two Democrats, said they would support a ban on foreign countries owning U.S. farmland. This issue is particularly pertinent in the 5th District, where agriculture is a major industry.

4. Restrict members of Congress from trading stocks.

The candidates agreed there should be more restrictions on members of Congress trading stocks.

“All of our elected officials, from the top to the bottom, we should not be profiting from information that we receive,” state Rep. Pat Moore, D-Monroe, said.

Cathey and McKay said there could be some narrow allowances for mutual funds, blind trusts and other investing mechanisms where members of Congress don’t directly manage their trades. Magee said a “complete ban” on stock trading by lawmakers would be appropriate.

The topic is particularly relevant because Letlow has been criticized for trading Meta and AI-related stock after she signed a nondisclosure agreement related to the expansive data center project in Richland Parish. Letlow has said she was unaware the stocks were being traded on her behalf at the time.

5. Privatize Social Security for younger workers.

Every candidate at the forum said Congress needs to protect Social Security benefits for seniors when asked at the forum, while Echols and Firment said it would be appropriate to look at “private alternatives” for workers in their 20s and 30s.

Echols mentioned conservative mutual funds as an option.

“There needs to be … a bifurcated effort to make sure that we have some market-driven solutions, but then protect those that are receiving the benefit today,” Echols said.

6. Candidates mostly avoid Trump as a topic.

The candidates mostly avoided mentioning the president during the 75-minute forum.

The only Republican who said Trump’s name was Echols, who briefly said he had been in Washington, D.C., when the president signed a ratepayer protection pledge meant to protect consumers from paying for data center power usage. But he didn’t dwell on the president’s role in the issue.

Only McKay made a direct reference to Trump, saying he influenced his decision to seek the 5th District seat.

“One of my main goals in running, and one of my main goals in Congress, will be to get control of Donald Trump. He is the worst thing that has happened to this country, and I will fight him,” McKay said in his closing remarks.

The four Republicans who gave their closing remarks after McKay — Cathey, Cordell, Echols and Magee — did not respond to his attack on the president.

– Antonio Wilson, a Democrat from Tallulah, and Omar Dantzler, a Republican from Hammond, did not take part in the forum.