We’re only a few months away from another congressional election in Acadiana, where Rep. Clay Higgins is set to square off against a new field of candidates. 

It seems like just yesterday when I was tracking the 2016 election and watched as the numbers climbed for the St. Landry cop. Of course, the election of President Donald Trump overshadowed Higgins’ victory that night, but for many in Acadiana the two are almost inseparable. 

In the past two years Higgins bore his brunt of controversy, from sounding off against the NFL protests to posting jokes about millenials on Facebook for which some of his current opponents are attacking him. 

Politically, Higgins has kept his votes in line with the Trump agenda. FiveThirtyEight calculated that Higgins votes in line with Trump about 97 percent of the time, and in a state where Trump has a 23 net approval rating Higgins seems to be in a good position. 

But there are several already planning to contest the representative who seem to be riding a wave of Higgins opposition. It’s not hard to find satire pages of Higgins on Facebook and other social media outlets, after all, and I suppose we’ll find out how large that wave is in November. 

As a promoter of the Teche Area, I will say that Higgins has made himself accessible to rural Acadiana in ways that former representatives and senators have not. Higgins has shown up to Fourth of July events, symposiums on inmate rehabilitation and just plain old town halls. 

Even when we need attention the most, it’s often easy for rural Louisiana to get ignored in favor of the Lafayettes and Baton Rouges of the state. I’ve only met one other candidate so far besides Higgins, and that was Joshua Guillory — a Youngsville Republican who is also vying for the Congressional seat. 

As there are no well-known contenders in the race so far, those other candidates should be making their way down U.S. 90 pretty soon if they want a chance in this thing.

Speaking of elections, the seat race for District 49 currently occupied by Louisiana House Speaker Taylor Barras, R-New Iberia, is already beginning. 

Iberia Parish Councilman Ricky Gonsoulin announced his candidacy via social media last week. Barras, of course, will be termed out of office. 

The announcement does introduce the thought of what the Louisiana House will look like after Barras is gone from office. We’re smack in the middle of the legislative body’s feud with Gov. John Bel Edwards over the fiscal direction of Louisiana right now. 

But state pundits are already beginning to think about what Barras’ legacy will be. As Jeremy Alford pointed out in a recent column, the New Iberia native’s appointment could be one of the most significant moments in Louisiana history as it signaled the beginning of the House establishing itself as an independent entity separate from the governor. 

Whether or not you’ve agreed with their direction since then is up to you, but Barras’ departure will inevitably leave some pretty big shoes to fill for the next representative for District 49. 

 

COREY VAUGHN is the senior staff writer for The Daily Iberian.