A campaign detour for Blake Miguez just before the start of qualifying. The state senator from New Iberia announced on social media today that he’s ending his run for U.S. Senate and is instead running for U.S. House in the fifth district – the seat being vacated by Julia Letlow. Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says after President Trump endorsed Letlow last month, Miguez saw the writing on the wall.
“He was literally pushed out of the race by Julie Letlow, so the next option for him was to qualify and run for her seat,” Pinsonat explained.
Like the race for U.S. Senate, Miguez will face a crowded field in that congressional race as well, with Rick Edmonds, Misti Cordell and Dixon McMakin officially announcing runs for that seat, with several more expected to also enter. Pinsonat says this underscores how weird of an election cycle this has been for Louisiana.
“Lots of falling dominoes, lots of chess moves. And this is just another example of lots of moving parts in this race, and nobody knows who’s going to be doing what tomorrow,” Pinsonat said.
Miguez is the second candidate to drop out of the race for the Republican Senate nomination in the wake of Trump’s endorsement, following Julie Emerson’s withdrawal, and Pinsonat says he doubts Miguez will be the last.
“We’ll Cassidy stay in? Will Fleming stay in? I think both of those two are committed to it, but lots of moving parts, lots of pressure being put on candidates to follow the president’s lead,” Pinsonat said.
What’s notable is that Miguez doesn’t even live in the fifth district. Pinsonat says when it comes to the U.S. House, that doesn’t matter – the only thing that matters is that the candidate lives in the state.