December 12th: the Lousiana congressional general election
November 3rd was a landslide for Democrats, winning over 40 seats and taking over control of the House. But it’s not over yet. There are races still uncalled and 1 election still to be held - Louisiana.
Background: In April, the SCOTUS issued a ruling in the Calais vs Louisiana case that allowed for racially based gerrymanders. The Louisiana primary was scheduled for May 16th and early voting had already begun. In a shocking move, the governor and attorney general cancelled the congressional primary election to allow the legislature to draw a new congressional map. For many years, LA has had 2 all black democratic districts, designated and previously protected by the Voting Rights Act. This new map was drawn to eliminate an all black district, LA-06, making it an R+30 district. The primary was rescheduled on the national election day, November 3rd, as an open primary. If a candidate received over 50% of the vote, they would be declared the winner. Races where no one received 50% of the vote would move to a December 12th run off election between the top 2 vote getters. LA 01, 02, 03, and 04 were decided on November 3rd. No candidate received over 50% of the vote in LA 05 and 06 and those districts have moved to the December runoff. Although seen as strong Republican districts, the midterm election in similar districts resulted in Democratic wins and these races will likely be competitive. Both candidates are African American women, experienced local politicians, and were the leading vote getters in the primary.
The Candidates
LA 05: Pat Moore: Pat has been a member of the LA state legislature for 7 years.
LA 06 Chauna Banks: Chauna was a recent member of the Baton Rouge City Council where she served for over 10 years.
Volunteer Opportunities
PHONEBANK: these are joint phonebanks for both candidates
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