Today in our series of state legislative races we are analyzing for The Hayride this election season, this race is one of the crucial, must-win Senate races if Louisiana is to have any semblance of sanity and good governance coming out of the state Senate next term.

Most of you who are readers of The Hayride know the steadfast conservative running in Senate District 31 very well. Rep. Alan Seabaugh is a conservative champion in the legislature. As the founding Chairman of the Louisiana Freedom Caucus, his conservative credentials were hard confirmed by national Freedom Caucus standards. The vetting process of his entire voting record is something that is taken very seriously by the State Freedom Caucus Network. After that rigorous vetting, he was extended the invitation to not only be a founding member but to then lead the newly-minted Louisiana Freedom Caucus.

Seabaugh’s opponent, on the other hand, is a disaster in the making—another of the nice guy good old boys running for the legislature who are clueless. But that’s the way McConathy’s financiers like their candidates.

In a recent town hall debate luncheon in Bossier between Seabaugh and McConathy, there were some very uncomfortable moments where, “bless your heart” was about the nicest thing you could say of McConathy’s knowledge of anything remotely involved with basic civics and the legislative process.

Case in point:  The video of this McConathy train wreck can be viewed here on Facebook.   Check out this discussion of the court case where Louisiana may be forced into a do-over on redistricting for our Congressional House seats.  When asked in particular about Alabama’s U.S. Supreme Court-ordered redistricting, and how it could have an effect on Louisiana, this was McConathy’s response (at time code 1:15:47 in the linked video):

McConathy:  “Well, when your population is one-third minority and two thirds white, it stands to reason that it’s going to impact it. It’s going to go, in my mind, I think it will go where they recreate that district and I understand that.”

HUH? Bless your heart. Then Seabaugh’s response.

Seabaugh: “The Alabama and Louisiana situations are similar. The proportions are the same, the plaintiff’s arguments in both cases are the same, the defenses are different. Alabama is in a worse situation than we are because theirs is all pretty much concentrated around Birmingham. Louisiana is spread out so it’s going to be really hard to draw out two majority African-American districts in Louisiana without gerrymandering and making it look all crazy which was actually tried back in the 90s and the Supreme Court threw it out. So I think we are going to have to come back and look at it. I hope we don’t and it’s not definite yet. I’ve been through redistricting twice now. I was there in 2011 and in 2022 when we did it. The interesting thing is the map we passed in 2011 which was approved by the Obama Justice Department and Eric Holder is almost identical to the one we passed in 2022. I find it really hard to believe that it can somehow be racially discriminatory in 2022 when Obama and Holder approved it in 2011.  I think maybe some of the rules may have changed and I think we’re going to have to go back and look at it. I hope we don’t. I think it’s going to be exceedingly difficult to draw to majority African-American districts. I hope we don’t have to and I can tell you if we do, protecting Mike Johnson in this district is going to be my top priority to make sure that he gets taken care of.”

Well, okay then, Senate District 31, which of these two candidates would you like to have represent you in a redistricting battle?

Let’s do one more here from this town hall.  At 1:17:49 the question is on Constitutional Carry and Danny McCormick’s bill that will come up again next year when it is very likely to be signed into law by the incoming governor.

McConathy: “Well, the struggle with this is this, we live in an area that has eight rural parishes. We look at things a lot differently than a lot of others. That doesn’t mean anything but it does mean something. It’s a struggle but you know, Second Amendment rights, following that, being strong with that, at this point right now that’s something that I believe in. Now, you know, I’m strongly for that. And I would like to see us protecting everybody, because our law officers, the struggle that they’re having is that if someone is carrying a gun and they can’t see it… I’ve talked to Sheriffs and stuff and they’ve said it’s a real problem. Kids driving down the street on what do you call those little scooter deals… you know and they express a lot of concern over that. So, you know, you caught me off guard. And I can’t be caught off guard.

WHAT???  Now Seabaugh’s response.

Seabaugh:  “I’ve co-authored the Constitutional Carry bill every time it’s come up.  I even authored it myself 10-11 years ago, that’ll date me a little bit, but when I offered the bill in committee, this was back when we wore phones on clips on our hip, and I had my phone on my hip and let’s assume for this simulation my phone is a gun. And I took my coat off and you could see it… perfectly legal open carry is legal in Louisiana. Then I put my coat on. Now I’m a criminal. It’s not protecting anybody because open carry is completely legal. What we’re doing is taxing the wearing of a coat because essentially you have to get a permit and go through all of that procedure just to wear a jacket or to hide it. The right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed and I think that is an infringement. There are some issues and I know all law enforcement is not in lock step on that but people need to be able to protect themselves. Some people are not going to go through the process of getting a concealed carry permit. It’s fairly expensive, it’s cost prohibitive to people. You have training and the cost of the license itself.  You should have to pay a fee to be able to protect yourself. In this day and age with what’s going on in society, you probably all need to be carrying something.”

And again, which of these two candidates actually knows the issue and will represent your interests next year when we will finally have a Republican governor along with a Republican supermajority, or very near to it, in both the House and the Senate? Which one do you believe can get Constitutional Carry across the finish line?

It is VITAL that we have real, seasoned conservatives in the Senate where of late, all good things go to be corrupted, watered down or killed outright.

We need Alan Seabaugh in the Senate and part two of the analysis of this race will cover the MASSIVE amounts of trial lawyer money behind Mike McConathy so you can get a look at who is really in the pockets of those who are responsible for running up your insurance premiums.