By Greg LaRose, LA Illuminator
Just a day after U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow announced her plans to challenge U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, a veteran state lawmaker has put his name up as her replacement in the House of Representatives.
Sen. Rick Edmonds, R-Baton Rouge, said in a statement he intends to run for the 5th Congressional District seat, which represents Northeast Louisiana and extends southward to include parts of the state capital.
Edmonds, 69, has held a seat in the Louisiana Legislature since 2016, taking a spot in the Senate in 2023 for a district that includes parts of East Baton Rouge, Livingston and St. Helena parishes. His career as a Southern Baptist pastor has included affiliation with multiple congregations.
“Today, our nation faces serious challenges. The rise of socialism is taking hold in many of our major cities and threatens the values that make Louisiana strong,” Edmonds said in a statement announcing his candidacy. “In our state, we believe in hard work, faith, family, and limited government — and we need leadership with a proven track record to defend those principles.”
In the Louisiana Senate, Edmonds chairs the education committee where he has backed school choice proposals. Most recently, he carried legislation for Gov. Jeff Landry to create the LA GATOR program that seeks to use state dollars to fund private school vouchers. His colleagues in the statehouse, which has a supermajority of Republicans, have yet to fund the program to the level the governor desires.
Edmonds also sits on the Senate Finance Committee, which has to clear the state budget annually, as well as panels on insurance and criminal justice.
On his Facebook page, Edmonds lists himself as vice president of the Louisiana Family Forum, a leading conservative organization that supports anti-abortion legislation and backs a new state law requiring displays of the Ten Commandments in school classrooms.
Candidates for the May 16 party primaries in this year’s congressional elections will officially qualify from Feb. 11-13. Any party runoffs will take place June 27, with winners meeting in the Nov. 3 general open primary.