US Senate candidate Luke Mixon (D)
Baton Rouge commercial pilot and Navy veteran Luke Mixon is running for Senate in an effort to unseat the state’s junior senator John Kennedy in 2022. Mixon said he’s frustrated with the partisan politics in DC and Louisiana is not getting their fair share of natural disaster assistance.
“I think the resources are not being provided to the residents here in Louisiana, because there’s so much partisan bickering. And we see the same thing with our infrastructure, our roads, our bridges are deteriorating and instead of solving the issues there’s just partisan bickering,” said Mixon.
42-year-old Mixon was raised in Avoyelles Parish and graduated from the naval academy graduate. He also completed four deployment supporting missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. Even though he’s running as a democrat, Mixon said he feels most voters are more concerned with the candidate versus party.
“I find that people aren’t really interested in are you a Republican, are you a Democrat, I think people just want responsible leadership, people with common sense who care about their country than their party,” said Mixon.
When asked about Senator Kennedy’s lack of support for the infrastructure bill, Mixon said it was a bipartisan bill where 69 senators compromised and developed a plan to help everyone not just their party.
“But Senator Kennedy voted against and that just doesn’t make any sense to me, and it’s not going to make sense to the people of Louisiana because there are really beneficial items in there. Things that can protect us from natural disasters and things that can help us rebound from natural disasters,” said Mixon.
Here is Senator Kennedy’s statement on why he didn’t vote for the infrastructure bill.
“The infrastructure bill will cost taxpayers $1.2 trillion, $550 billion in new spending. The bill is 2,700 pages—twice as long as the Bible. We were given only a few days to read it.
“This is not an infrastructure bill. It’s an infrastructure, Green New Deal and welfare bill. Only 23 percent of the new spending in the bill is for actual infrastructure.
“We were told the bill would be paid for. That’s not accurate. It would increase America’s deficit by at least $256 billion. That’s more than the entire GDP of Louisiana.
“We were told the bill does not raise taxes. That’s not accurate. It raises taxes on Louisiana industry specifically.
“It has been represented that Louisiana will receive $6 billion in new money for infrastructure. That’s not accurate. We would have received more than $4.8 billion anyway from the Federal Highway Trust Fund even if the infrastructure bill had not passed. Louisiana will only receive $1.1 billion in new money over 10 years, or about $110 million a year. That is less than 10 percent of the $12 billion that Sen. Schumer will get for a single tunnel in New York.
“Louisiana’s money is in effect coming from new taxes on Louisiana businesses. Louisiana petrochemical manufacturers will pay an estimated $1.3 billion in new taxes over 10 years, or $130 million a year—second only to Texas.
“So, Louisiana will receive $110 million a year in new road money and pay for it with roughly $130 million in new taxes that impact more than 100,000 chemical jobs. Louisiana is losing money on this deal.
“The infrastructure bill and the second bill right behind it—the $5.5 trillion tax-and-spending binge—are joined at the hip. President Biden, Sen. Schumer and Speaker Pelosi have all said we won’t have one without the other. The proponents of the infrastructure bill say it makes it harder to pass the tax-and-spending binge, so why is every Democrat in the Senate voting for the infrastructure bill?
“I also voted against the infrastructure bill because it provides no disaster aid for southwest Louisiana.
“Additionally, this bill is an inflation bomb. I don’t usually brag about the expensive places I go, but I just came back from the gas station. This bill is going to make prices worse.
“This bill shortchanges Louisiana and America. I support infrastructure, but not ‘at any cost.’ I support infrastructure, but not ‘no matter what.’ This is not really an infrastructure bill. It contains new taxes, and we will still have to borrow money to pay for the bill. It severely deepens the debt that we’re leaving for Louisiana’s children and grandchildren.
“The proponents of the infrastructure bill say that it shows that Washington works. It does not. It just shows that Washington can spend money that it doesn’t have.”
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