Stephen Waguespack (left) and Rep Richard Nelson (right) at the Louisiana Secretary of State's Office qualifying for the 2023 governor's race August 10, 2023.
Today is the final day to qualify for governor and two more Republicans joined the race, bringing the total number of main candidates to seven. Former Louisiana Association of Business and Industry president Stephen Waguespack is considered a long shot because the Republican Party is backing Jeff Landry. But Waguespack said party leaders will not elect our next governor…
“The people of this state, you know what, they don’t want the smoke-filled room to tell them what to do, they don’t want the political towers up in the ivory tower to dictate their lives. They want to choose the governor that they best resonate with,” said Waguespack.
Stephen Waguespack poses with family after qualifying for the 2023 governor’s race. August 10, 2023.
Waguespack is hoping the candidates run a clean race and he already takes issue with a mailer from a political action committee that attacks him…
“You want to beat me, beat me with your message, beat me with your money, beat me any way you want. But if it takes lies and scandal that is made up out of pure fiction to come after me, and you’ve got to hide behind other identities to do it. I think the people are going to see that man,” said Waguespack.
Mandeville Representative Richard Nelson is the youngest candidate in the race at 37. The Republican said among his top priorities are to change the state’s tax structure, recruiting and retaining qualified teachers. Nelson said he’d call a special session immediately to find solutions for the insurance crisis.
“I think we have to address that insurance crisis, that will be one of the first priorities I have as governor. I think if the people can’t afford their houses everything else becomes somewhat moot,” said Nelson.
Mandeville Representative Richard Nelson also qualified today. Nelson is a big proponent of tax reform, including eliminating the state income tax and making up for the revenue loss with higher property taxes, and the elimination of certain sales tax deductions…
Rep Richard Nelson with his family after qualifying. August 10, 2023.
“I think once you have a competitive tax structure, you have good roads, good schools, and low crime, that’s how you solve the problem. But I think it’s really systemic and really foundational and that’s what we’re trying to fix,” said Nelson.
Nelson said too many businesses and residents are moving to neighboring states and the next governor needs to make significant changes to keep that from happening.
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