Qualifying for the U.S. Senate race got underway Wednesday morning and the first one to sign up, Republican Incumbent John Kennedy. Kennedy is finishing up his first term and believes his voting record represents the values of Louisiana.
“One of the biparisan group, I was named one of the ten most effective Republican Senators in the 116th,” said Kennedy.
According to his re-election campaign, Kennedy has had eight bills passed into law. No other first-term senator from Louisiana has had more bills signed into law than Sen. Kennedy.
Baton Rouge Activist Gary Chambers who’s best know for his campaign video that went viral where he’s smoking marijuana officially filed for to run for US Senate as a Democrat. Chambers argues Kennedy has not been an effective Senator for Louisiana.
“We rank number 48th in education, number 48 in health care, 49 in the economy and 50 in crime and John Kennedy talked about none of those numbers, because he can’t, because he’s done nothing to help the people of Louisiana to come out of the conditions that this state lives in,” said Chambers.
Political newcomer Luke Mixon also filed to run as a Democrat against Kennedy. Mixon who also took an oath to uphold the Constitution when he served in the military, says he’s often asked why he’s running against Kennedy.
“You’re going against a 30-year politician with a lot of money and a lot of name ID and my response to do that is that I do not care, there’s right and wrong and I will not stand by, while people spit in the face of democracy that my friends and I fought so hard to defend,” said Mixon.
The Bunkie native criticized Kennedy for voting against the infrastructure bill and while he supports the Second Amendment, Mixon believes there should be red flag gun laws to keep those with mental illness from hurting others and themselves.
Sylvia Taylor filed on behalf of her daughter Syrita Steib who is another Democrat hoping to unseat Kennedy. She is the executive director of a nonprofit that helps women reenter society after serving in prison. Stieb served over nine years in federal prison for her role in robbing and burning down a car dealership.
“To me she can serve as a beacon for other people in the community that you can even after obstacles that they can be overcome if you truly have the drive,” said Taylor.
Kennedy enjoys a huge advantage in fundraising. So far, in his campaign the U.S. Senator has raised a record-breaking $29 million and hopes to raise 40-million dollars before the November 8th election.
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