The 2026 U.S. Senate Republican primary appears to be neck and neck, with two polls showing conflicting results. Sean Richardson has more.
Cut 1 (31) “…I’m Sean Richardson.”
_____________________________________________
Lake Charles will soon have a new mayor. Colleen Crain reports.
Cut 2 (33) “…I’m Colleen Crain.”
____________________________________________
If you expect to keep collecting unemployment benefits, you may soon be required to up your weekly job searches and keep your job interview appointments. Andrew Greenstein reports.
Cut 3 (35) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”
______________________________________________________
In the lead-up to the 2026 U.S. Senate race, Senator Bill Cassidy and State Treasurer John Fleming have polling data showing two different stories. Cassidy’s poll shows him with a double-digit lead over his Republican challengers, according to a Ragnar Research poll. Pearson Cross teaches political science at ULM and says it may be a closer race.
Cross says that a more recent poll conducted by JMC Analytics shows a much tighter race, with Fleming having a slight lead in some cases.
The latest campaign finance report shows Cassidy with 2.2 million dollars in cash on hand, while Cassidy has 7.5 million.
Cross says if Fleming has the money to compete with Cassidy on ads, then it will be a tight race…
Cut 6 (04) “…has an advantage.”
Cassidy just picked up an endorsement from Ruston Mayor Ronny Walker.
______________________________________________________
The entire state is under a flood watch. The watch starts for today and it continues for south Louisiana through Thursday. State Climatologist Jay Grymes says some severe weather is possible, but the major threat is heavy rain.
Cut 7 (08) “…higher than that.”
Grymes says the highest rainfall projections are for the Acadiana area…
Grymes says the flood watch means that excessive rainfall is possible, which could lead to flooding in low-lying areas, that includes rivers and creeks and we could see street flooding…
______________________________________________________
On July 1st, Lake Charles will have a new mayor, as Marshall Semien unseated two-term incumbent Nic Hunter over the weekend. Mayor-elect Semien says it was a hard-fought campaign, but Mayor Hunter was very gracious in defeat.
Cut 10 (12) “…without my input.”
In all hard-fought political campaigns, one of the first jobs after an election is to bring people together. Semien says this is no different.
Cut 11 (11) “…tent for everybody.”
Semien will begin his four-year term on July 1st, and one of his top priorities is to lead Lake Charles in a period of tremendous growth.
Semien will be the first Black mayor in Lake Charles’ history.
_____________________________________________
If you’re collecting unemployment, you might soon be required to increase your work searches and keep your job interview appointments in order to keep your benefits. The House has passed House Bill 153 by a vote of 73 to 24, with all but one of the “no” votes coming from Democrats. It’s written by Lafayette Republican Troy Hebert, who says he’d heard from employers who have been stood up for job interviews.
Cut 13 (13) “…there with unemployment.”
Hebert says his bill is not creating anything new; instead, it would be codifying a system that has been in place for a year. He did, however, say that the number of weekly job searches would increase on the advice of the Louisiana Workforce Commission.
Hebert says this process has worked well in the year since it was implemented.
Cut 15 (15) “…doing bad things.”
Hebert says the purpose of codifying the bill is so that it remains in place regardless of any future administration that enters office. Opponents of the bill say it’s a way to make it easier for people to be pushed off unemployment benefits. Hebert pointed out that in the year that the system has been in place, only one-percent of those collecting unemployment benefits were subsequently deemed ineligible. The bill now moves to the Senate.
_____________________________________________
The LSU Tigers are ranked in the top five in the major college baseball polls, but there are questions about the offense after scoring a total of seven runs in a series loss to Texas A-and-M. LSU’s bats also struggled the previous SEC road series, just eight runs against Auburn. Geaux 247 sports writer Glen West says there are several players who can perform better and the player on top of the list is shortstop Steven Milam, who is hitting .205.
It was a tough weekend for right-hander Zac Cowan in College Station. The Tigers most consistent bullpen arm was tagged with the loss in games one and three of the series. That included a three-run homer he gave up in the eighth inning. West says Cowan has been nearly perfect and eventually he would hit a rough patch.
LSU is 15-9 in the SEC and there are two more series left. The Tigers host Arkansas this weekend and then they travel to South Carolina. West says if LSU wins both series, they will likely wrap up a Top eight national seed.
Before LSU hosts Arkansas, they face Grambling State tonight, weather permitting.
__________________________________________________
The top safety in the spring transfer portal window has committed to LSU. A.J. Haulcy made his commitment public after visiting LSU this past weekend. The first-team All-Big 12 performer at Houston chose the Tigers over Miami, Ole Miss and SMU. On-3 sports-dot-com’s Matthew Brune says Haulcy is a senior, who has played a lot of football…
Haulcy is the 18th player that LSU has added through the transfer portal as the Tigers are in win now mode. LSU’s transfer class is ranked as high as number one as Brune says not only is there quantity, but there’s also quality…
Cut 20 (18) “…Monsoor Delane.”