The Louisiana Democratic State Central Committee voted Saturday to formalize its support for state Sen. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, in his bid to return to congress in the state’s new majority-Black 6th Congressional District. 

Fields got the state party’s official nod alongside U.S. Rep Troy Carter, who is running for his third term in the 2nd District, Louisiana’s other majority-Black seat. 

Also endorsed were Mel Manuel, running to unseat U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, in the 1st District, Sadi Summerlin, running against Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Lafayette, in the 3rd District and Nick Laborde, running for the open Public Service Commission District 2 seat. 

“I think that with the talent and the combination of excitement … I think we’re gonna be able to prepare all our candidates for victory in November,” Louisiana Democratic Party Chairman Randal Gaines said in an interview with the Illuminator. 

Fields previously served two terms in congress in the 1990s, when Louisiana had two majority-Black congressional districts until Fields’ district was thrown out as an unconstitutional gerrymander. 

Louisiana had a single majority Black district until earlier this year, when the Legislature drew another to comply with a federal court ruling that its congressional redistricting plan adopted in 2022 unconstitutionally discriminated against Black voters. 

If elected, Fields will replace U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge, who decided against running for re-election after the GOP-dominated Legislature chose his district as a sacrificial lamb to become the new majority-Black seat. 

Should he win the 6th District seat, Fields will be slightly senior to Carter in the U.S House, as Fields served two full terms while Carter has served less than a full year of his first term after winning a special election in April 2021 to replace former U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, who resigned to join President Joe Biden’s administration. 

Both will face Democratic opposition. 

Fields, Quentin Anderson and Peter Williams received nominations for the party endorsement, with Fields’ 95 supporters on the Democratic State Central Committee easily defeating Anderson’s 45 and Williams’ four. 

A fourth Democratic candidate, Wilken Jones, did not receive a nomination. 

Former state Sen. Elbert Guillory, a Democrat-turned-Republican from Opelousas who is also Black, is also running for the 6th District seat. He’s received the Louisiana GOP’s endorsement. 

Carter will face several Republican challengers as well as fellow Democrat Devin Davis, who received 21 votes for the endorsement to Carter’s 124. 

Davis alleged State Central Committee members were threatened with retaliation if they did not back Carter. In interviews after the meeting, several members disagreed with Davis’ assessment. 

Public Service Commissioner Davante Lewis said there were disagreements within the party leadership about how to handle endorsements, but there were no threats of retaliation. 

Though the state Democratic Party does not endorse judicial candidates, two candidates for a soon-to-be-vacant Louisiana Supreme Court seat stumped for votes. District 2 on the court was redrawn this year to be majority Black. 

Leslie Chambers, a first-time candidate who worked for former Gov. John Bel Edwards and for East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome, touted her bipartisanship working on criminal justice reforms in the Edwards administration. 

John Michael Guidry, a judge on Louisiana’s First Circuit Court of Appeals, is also running for the high court seat. He also noted his record of bipartisanship, touting endorsements from labor groups and EAST PAC, a political action committee affiliated with the conservative Louisiana Association of Business and Industry that frequently stymies Democratic priorities in the Legislature. 

A third Democrat in the race, Marcus Hunter, was not present. 

Elections for Congress, Public Service Commission and the Louisiana Supreme Court will be held Nov. 5. If no candidate receives a majority of votes, the two top vote-getters will meet in a Dec. 7 runoff. 

All of Louisiana’s Republican incumbents in Congress, except for U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, will face Democratic opposition.

The No. 1 overall prospect in the 2026 Recruiting Class resides down the rode from Brian Kelly and the LSU football staff with the program ramping up its push for Jahkeem Stewart.

The prized defensive lineman plays his high school ball at St. Augustine High School in New Orleans (La.) where the Bayou Bengals have certainly dipped their toes in over the years.

From Leonard Fournette to Tyrann Mathieu, there have been several LSU greats that have come from the impressive Catholic League high school.

Now, LSU has their sights set on the next great recruit out of St. Augustine in coveted prospect Jahkeem Stewart.

The No. 1 overall player in the country, Stewart is a physical specimen of a defensive lineman who has programs across America salivating at his ceiling.

With a myriad of programs in his ear, LSU defensive lineman Bo Davis and the Tigers have made sure to get in on the action as well.

On Friday, Stewart took an unofficial visit to Baton Rouge for LSU’s annual Bayou Splash recruiting event.

Stewart posted an update following the event that provided him an opportunity to have one-on-one time with LSU head coach Brian Kelly:

Stewart was accompanied by the top prospects in America with both the 2025 and 2026 classes well-represented.

For the program-changing prospect, he’s seen both USC and Ohio State turn up the heat, but LSU is making sure to work their magic in this one as they remain in constant contact.

It’s been an eye-opening offseason for Stewart as his recruitment picks up with several programs looking to separate themselves from the pack.

The 6-foot-5, 270-pound sophomore, who is prepping for his junior year with the Purple Knights, has taken the nation by storm with his stature and physical traits.

He looks and plays above his years, which also has recruiting experts and analysts believing there could be a chance he reclassifies into the 2025 cycle.

Stewart has teased the idea of graduating high school a year early, and with LSU lacking depth for the future at defensive line, it makes their push for Stewart that much more important.

Whether he reclassifies or not, he’s at the top LSU’s recruiting board in the 2026 cycle with Davis and Co. beginning to form a close relationship.

Now, he has another unofficial visit to LSU in the rearview mirror after taking the trip over to Baton Rouge to check in with the program.

It was a beneficial visit for the Tigers after Stewart met with Kelly, spoke with LSU recruiting guru Frank Wilson and had the opportunity to develop relationships with the top prospects both committed to the Tigers as well as players on their radar.

The Bayou Bengals will continue keeping their foot on the gas for the generational talent out of The Boot.

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Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and LSU Tigers On SI: @LSUTigersSI for all coverage surrounding the LSU program.

Louisiana’s major electric utilities are still pushing state regulators to allow them to charge customers for the costs of a new statewide energy efficiency program and for the electricity consumers will no longer need because of that program, Louisiana Illuminator reports. 

A large group that included Louisiana Public Service Commission staff, utility company executives, consumer advocates and other energy experts met Wednesday to evaluate bids from companies that want to oversee Louisiana’s new energy efficiency program. 

LPSC’s new energy efficiency program requires utility companies to meet certain energy savings targets the administrator sets. Hitting those targets could require big changes from utilities―such as systemwide upgrades―or smaller efforts like helping low-income customers insulate their homes. 

While the idea might seem like a solution to cut back on waste, utility company executives have been pushing back. In general, utility companies earn more profit when homes and businesses waste electricity. Less waste leads to lower electric bills, which could mean lower profits for the utilities. 

Entergy Louisiana and Cleco are two of the state’s utility providers that have vehemently opposed the idea and delayed its adoption for years. A consultant the commission hired to write the basic guidelines for the program spent 13 years and over $500,000 trying to appease utility companies with agreeable rules, Louisiana Illuminator reports. 

In an effort to end the delays, Commissioner Craig Greene, R-Baton Rouge, ended the stalemate in January and joined with the two Democrats on the commission in adopting what they say is a more consumer-friendly program what the utilities wanted. 

Though customers are covering all the costs of the program, the utility companies also want  customers to recover lost profits with “under-earning” fees. The utility companies lobbied the LPSC to keep a provision that allows them to tack on additional charges to make up for profits they miss out on when their customers no longer waste electricity.

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