As the battle over the U.S. House primary elections continues, the congressman whose district is at the heart of the case is urging people to get out and vote. Andrew Greenstein reports.
Cut 1 (35) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”
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Public discussion on a congressional map will take place at the end of the week at the state capitol. Jeff Palermo has the story.
Cut 2 (32) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”
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In a little less than two months, Louisiana Tech will officially be a member of the Sun Belt. Joe Gallinaro has more.
Cut 3 (32) “…I’m Joe Gallinaro.”
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A hearing is scheduled for May 14th in a Democratic lawsuit seeking to reinstate the U.S. House primary elections. Last week, Governor Landry suspended the election after the Supreme Court ruled the state’s map an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. Despite the suspension, the U.S. House races still appear on voting machines, and Congressman Cleo Fields, whose district is at the heart of the court case, says you should still indicate your choice.
Cut 4 (12) “…be suspended tomorrow.”
Over the weekend, Fields added his name to the lawsuit. He says Governor Landry halted the election after it was already underway.
Cut 5 (11) “…away those ballots.”
Fields had said Landry jumped the gun in calling off the U.S. House primaries, since there’s a mandatory waiting period with all Supreme Court rulings so that the losing party can file a petition for a re-hearing. But hours after Fields made that point, the high court bypassed that waiting period and ordered the immediate release of its ruling.
Fields pointed out that by the time Landry issued his executive order, ballots had already been cast.
Cut 6 (11) “…for our freedoms.”
Landry, who signed into law the map that was deemed unconstitutional, says in a statement that allowing the election to proceed under that map would undermine the integrity of the system and violate the rights of voters. Attorney General Liz Murrill rhetorically asked whether Louisiana should intentionally violate the rights of citizens under the current map.
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The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee will begin public discussion on a new congressional district map Friday. Chairman Caleb Kleinpeter says several proposals were previously filed in case the Supreme Court ruled during the legislative session that the current congressional map is unconstitutional. Kleinpeter says Friday’s meeting will give the public a chance to weigh in.
Kleinpeter has a bill that would revert the Congressional map back to the one approved by the legislature in 2022, featuring five Republican-leaning districts and one Democratic-leaning district. West Monroe Republican Jay Morris, meanwhile, has a bill that would eliminate both majority Black districts, while Gonzales Democrat Ed Price has a proposal that attempts to keep both of them.
Kleinpeter expects Senate Governmental Affairs to approve a new congressional district map early next week.
State lawmakers are facing a June 1st deadline, as that’s when the current legislative session must end. Kleinpeter says there are several factors to consider when drawing up a new congressional district map, and one of them is how the population in the state is shifting from 2020 to 2030.
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Two of the main candidates in the U.S. Senate Republican primary face off this morning on Moon Griffon’s statewide radio talk show. Incumbent Bill Cassidy is skipping the event; but his challengers, John Fleming and Julia Letlow, will debate for 90 minutes starting just after nine a-m. Griffon says there will be several ways that voters can watch and listen to his debate.
Griffon says each candidate will have two minutes to introduce themselves and will get two minutes to respond to questions from Griffon and KTBS-TV’s Jeff Beimfohr.
Cut 11 (12) “…that pretty much.”
Griffon says they plan to cover a wide variety of topics during the 90-minute debate.
Cut 12 (10) “…41-trillion in October?”
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Early voting is underway; and Senator Bill Cassidy is reminding you that even though the U.S. House election is currently on hold, all other races, including his own, are still on.
Cassidy says as such, you need to get to the polls and vote.
As for his own race, nearly all of Cassidy’s campaign messaging is targeting Julia Letlow, although a recent poll indicated John Fleming in the lead. Cassidy says there’s a reason behind his campaign strategy.
Cut 15 (07) “…focused our attention.”
While Fleming was the first to challenge Cassidy, Letlow was the last to enter the race after getting President Trump’s endorsement. That also had the effect of significantly thinning what was a large GOP field.
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ULM baseball will host Mississippi Valley State tonight. The Warhawks were swept by 12th ranked Southern Miss last weekend. In a couple of the losses, ULM held Southern Miss to three runs or less. Coach Ford Pemberton’s team has just two conference wins over the last three weekends, despite some good performances on the mound.
Cut 16 (14) “…into this thing.”
Ten teams make the Sun Belt Tournament; ULM is in a four-way tie for tenth place.
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The LSU Tigers take a four-game winning streak into tonight’s game against Tulane. Cade Arrambide has been swinging a hot bat since his four home run performance on Easter Sunday, but Arrambide credits the four freshmen — Omar Serna, Mason Braun, Jack Ruckert and William Patrick — for giving the team a lift.
Cut 17 (17) “…what we needed.”
Tulane is 23-and-26 and were swept last weekend by Charlotte. But last Tuesday, they beat 12th ranked Southern Miss at Turchin Stadium.
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Louisiana Tech’s 13-year relationship with Conference USA is winding down, as the Bulldogs are gearing up to join the Sun Belt on July 1st. Athletic Director Ryan Ivey says returning to having in-state rivals and other conference foes nearby is a big deal for the athletic department.
Cut 18 (13) “…standpoint as well.”
Ivey says the fan base is energized by the move from Conference USA to the Sun Belt, especially the older fans.
Cut 19 (12) “…are coming back.”
It’s been reported that Tech paid at least eight-million dollars to end its relationship with Conference USA. Financial terms have not been released, but Ivey says financially it’s a good move, as travel costs will be reduced.
Cut 20 (18) “…a net positive.”