Congressman Ralph Abraham announced Wednesday that he will not seek a fourth term in office this fall, keeping a campaign promise of only serving three terms. The 5th Congressional district Republican’s decision comes months after his unsuccessful run for governor. ULM Political Science Professor Joshua Stockley says the announcement is not a surprise.
“He never seemed to be completely enthused by his years of service in Washington DC so I think many of us expected that his tenure would be relatively brief,” said Stockley
Stockley says Abraham, a physician by practice, has been always been a visible community figure in Northeast Louisiana and he doesn’t see that changing.
“Either remain active in the community or remain active in his medical practice,” said Stockley.
As for Abraham’s replacement, Stockley says expects to see a diverse field of Republicans enter the race.
“Everybody knows that the best time to run for Congress is when there is an open seat. I could easily see a dozen or so different candidates stepping into this race,” said Stockley.
Stockley says it would be difficult for a Democrat to win the seat. The district covers all of northeast Louisiana, a portion of central Louisiana and the district also runs north of Lafayette and over to the Florida parishes.
Republican Ouachita Parish Police Juror Scotty Robinson and Democrat Sandy “Candy” Christophe of Alexandria have expressed they will run for the district seat. While Abraham’s chief of staff Republican Luke Letlow is a possible candidate.
Qualifying for the race is July 15th to the 17th. The primary is November 3rd.