Jamie Davis and Julia Letlow are the frontrunners in the United States Senate race in Louisiana. In an effort to increase political participation among college students, the University organized a town hall for Davis to speak with the community.
The Political Science Department reached out to Letlow’s campaign with the same offer, but has not received a response at the time of writing. More details on Davis’ campaign can be found at jamieforlouisiana.com, while details for Letlow’s can be found at julialetlow.com.
Cameron Robin, a junior dual majoring in political science and French, moderated the first portion, asking how Davis’ personal life affected his policy priorities. The audience then asked further questions in the second half.
Davis’ campaign website emphasizes adopting a living minimum wage, lowering the cost of insurance and healthcare, protecting environmental regulations and holding data centers accountable to the communities they impact.
Davis also supports education and mental health reforms, the LGBTQ+ community and a promise to never sign a non-disclosure agreement with private corporations while in office.
When asked about his motivation for running, Davis spoke on his family’s support and the economic challenges of running his family farm in Tensas Parish. In order to counter affordability issues and help small farmers live sustainably, Davis said the government should end tariffs and, “let people be able to market their goods the way they need to market and quit keeping their hand on it.”
Davis supports passing a Farmers’ Farm Bill to protect Louisiana farmers and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). He elaborated on expanding SNAP benefits when Ja’Kya Thomas, a junior political science major, asked about addressing food insecurity.
Davis supports mending current SNAP policies to allow “families that cannot afford to buy food vouchers to buy food from farmers markets.”
Davis said that one of the first pieces of legislation he would work on is “a national ban on partisan gerrymandering,” citing concerns about voting rights and how Louisiana redraws its congressional districts.
Ashley Allen, a senior political science major, asked, “What can you do to bring awareness to the damage Cancer Alley does to its residents?” referencing the region between Baton Rouge and New Orleans where approximately 200 oil, gas and petrochemical plants pose a significant risk to local public health.
In response, Davis said he would fund the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “at full force in a way that the staff is back in to make sure that the rules and guidelines are being upheld.” Allen said that her family’s experience dealing with cancer along the river led her to ask the question. She later responded over email, “I wish Davis mentioned a specific policy he has thought about. However, I like how he recognized the EPA.”
Louisiana hasn’t sent a Democrat to the Senate since 2008, and the two polls that have been done placed Davis 4% behind Letlow. However, Davis said that this is because he has much lower name recognition.
Town Halls aren’t designed as partisan campaign rallies, but to inspire non-voters to care about policies impacting everyone. Robin wrote over email, “I know many college students who tune out all politics simply because they are too overwhelmed and cannot handle the stress that can sometimes come with being informed. Events like this allow students to just simply come and listen.”