Congressional campaigns are filled with promises about what a candidate will do once entrusted with power. But when candidates already have decades of public life behind them, voters have something considerably more useful than promises: a public record of behavior and voting to examine.
Rick Edmonds wants Republican voters in Louisiana’s 6th Congressional District to send him to Washington as their representative. What many of those voters may not know is that Edmonds’ first failed campaign for public office was as a Democrat. In 1983, the Shreveport native ran for the Louisiana Legislature under the banner of the Democrat Party, as was reported in the Shreveport Times.
Blake Miguez has never been a Democrat.
In the years following, many politicians came to realize that running as a Democrat isn’t going to win in North Louisiana. Many, like Rick Edmonds, began to identify as Republicans, transitioning to the GOP. Yet what is routinely the case with many transrepublicans, some of his votes never completed the transition. Let’s look at just a few blatant examples from the 2026 session.
Edmonds voted in favor of HB1024, Rep. Ed Murray’s bill that created the Louisiana Democrat Party car license plate, which serves as a fundraiser for the Democrat Party for each license plate sold.
Blake Miguez voted against.
Edmonds voted in favor of HB1001, Rep. Denise Marcelle’s bill naming a portion of Highway 190 as Jesse Jackson Memorial Highway after the corporate racial extortionist.
Blake Miguez voted against.
Edmonds was ABSENT for the “food desert” bill vote to authorize finding areas to provide taxpayer state grant money for Mamdani government grocery stores. He took a walk instead of taking a stand.
Blake Miguez voted against. The government grocery store bill passed both chambers and was thankfully vetoed by Gov. Jeff Landry.
When Blake Miguez won the endorsement vote of the Louisiana Republican Party, Edmonds in a statement on Facebook smeared the LAGOP as California Democrats. I suppose Edmonds prefers Shreveport Democrats.
A majority of the Republican State Central Committee members from the 6th Congressional District signed letters supporting Blake Miguez, and the LAGOP Executive Committee followed the procedure they use when a candidate reaches the majority of signatures from that district; they called an election and voted to endorse Miguez after discussions making sure the proper procedure was followed.
Blake Miguez has spent more than a decade putting his conservatism on the record through making the tough votes on legislation and in political fights where there were consequences for taking a stand. As a founding member of the Louisiana Freedom Caucus, Blake was among the 19 who in 2023 famously voted against busting the constitutionally-set budget spending cap. Rick Edmonds voted to bust the spending cap and give Gov. John Bel Edwards control over billions more of your hard-earned tax dollars on projects he chose, always exercising the veto pen with glee punishing conservative Republicans.
Blake authored the constitutional amendment that voters passed to ban foreign countries from spending money to affect our elections. His bills have given us Constitutional Carry in Louisiana, banned sanctuary cities, prohibited ranked choice voting and even mandated work requirements for SNAP benefits and reporting to ICE any illegal aliens who apply for state benefits.
It is Blake Miguez’s experience, voting record and extensive history in the 6th Congressional district https://thehayride.com/2026/08/the-lagop-endorsed-blake-miguez-in-the-6th-district-congressional-race/
that make this choice so straightforward. If you want to send a Republican to Congress who has spent over twenty-five years of his life studying, working in and serving in the District, one who will stand up to the Democrats radical agenda, your choice is clear.
Connie Hair is the Louisiana State Director for the State Freedom Caucus Network and a veteran of national politics, media, and military service. She has worked on presidential and congressional campaigns, served in the U.S. Army Reserve, reported for Human Events on the Capitol Hill Press Corps, served as communications staff for a U.S. Senator and two U.S. Congressmen and spent twelve years as Chief of Staff to a Member of Congress.
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