The Louisiana Democratic Party says it will make sure the primary will not be Bill Cassidy’s only political fight next year, should he survive it. Colleen Crain reports.
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Candidates seeking to replace term-limited New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell can officially qualify today for the October 11th primary. Jeff Palermo reports.
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A delegation representing the Saints is visiting France this week. Andrew Greenstein reports.
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ULM has received the final nine million dollars in state funding required to complete the renovation of its Sugar Hall. Sugar Hall was opened in 1971 to house ULM’s College of Pharmacy before moving to the Bienville Campus in 2005. President Dr. Carrie Castille says Sugar Hall is ingrained in Louisiana healthcare.
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The renovation is scheduled to finish in the summer of 2026. Castille says the new-and-improved Sugar Hall will host occupational therapy, medical laboratory science, speech pathology and other College of Health Science programs.
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Castille says the facility will also function as community clinics for the school’s occupational therapy, speech-language, and dental hygiene programs.
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Bill Cassidy may be in for the fight of his political life next April with two prominent Republicans running against him for the party’s nomination in the state’s newly-closed primary election. But Louisiana Democratic Party Executive Director Dadrius (“Darius”) Lanus says if Cassidy survives, that won’t be his only fight next year.
Cut 7 (08) “…run against him.”
State Treasurer John Fleming and State Senator Blake Miguez have both announced primary challenges against Cassidy, with each citing his vote to convict then-former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial following the January 6th attack at the Capitol. Lanus says no matter how much Cassidy bows to Trump now that he’s President again, the damage is done, and it’s irreparable.
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Lanus says with the passage of what Republicans call the Big Beautiful Bill and what Democrats call the Big Ugly Bill, the gloves are off, and Democrats are coming out fighting in the midterms next year.
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While Louisiana currently has two Republicans in the Senate, it wasn’t too long ago that Louisiana had a Democrat in the Senate. Mary Landrieu served in the Senate until the start of 2015, when she was unseated by Cassidy. Louisiana, in fact, was represented by two Democrats as recently as the start of 2005,when David Vitter became the state’s first Republican senator since 1883.
(Note: 1883 is not a typo.)
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Qualifying begins today for the October 11th election and the biggest race in the state is the mayor’s race in New Orleans. Current mayor LaToya Cantrell is term limited and cannot seek a third term. UNO pollster Ed Chervenak expects several candidates will sign up to qualify over the next three days and as it stands now, four of them have a shot.
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Former Orleans Parish Criminal Court Judge Arthur Hunter, New Orleans City Council president Helena Moreno, city councilor Oliver Thomas and state senator Royce Duplessis have the highest name recognition. Chervenak says two polls have been conducted on the race and Moreno is the favorite.
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Duplessis announced his entrance into the race less than two weeks ago. He has been an outspoken state lawmaker since 2019 and Chervenak says Duplessis can use his experience as a legislator to his advantage.
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A delegation from the Saints, including owner Gayle Benson and linebacker Demario Davis, is on a relationship-building mission in France this week. Also among the delegation is Senior Vice President of Communications Greg Bensel; he says they will be launching flag football this Sunday with their European League of Football counterparts, the Paris Musketeers.
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With the heavy French influence on both New Orleans and Louisiana, it’s only fitting that the NFL granted the Saints international marketing rights to France. Bensel says team executives have taken several relationship-building trips to France over the years.
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Bensel says of course, the Saints are using this trip to grow the game of American football in France.
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The Paris Musketeers, by the way, have a direct lineage to the Saints. Their head coach is Jack Del Rio, who started his NFL career with the Saints, playing for them for two seasons.
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Haynesville safety and quarterback Isaiah Washington announced his commitment to LSU July 4th. The three-star prospect chose the Tigers over Arkansas, Tulane and Louisiana Tech. Haynesville football coach David Franklin says Washington will be an elite athlete in the LSU secondary.
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Washington is the number 23 prospect in Louisiana and the third-ranked safety in the state. Franklin says the Golden Hurricane had an opening at quarterback Washington’s freshman year.
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Washington joins the 2026 LSU recruiting class currently ranked eighth in the nation and featuring two five-star and nine four-star commits. Franklin says he’s had a lot of great athletes come through his program, but not all are built the same.
Cut 18 (16) “…all the tools.”