LUY-Development

Tag: politics

  • Louisiana congressman Luke Letlow dead from COVID-19

    Louisiana congressman Luke Letlow dead from COVID-19

    BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Luke Letlow, Louisiana’s newest Republican member of the U.S. House, died Tuesday night from complications related to COVID-19 only days before being sworn into office. He was 41 years old.

    Letlow spokesman Andrew Bautsch confirmed the congressman-elect’s death at Ochsner-LSU Health Shreveport.

    “The family appreciates the numerous prayers and support over the past days but asks for privacy during this difficult and unexpected time,” Bautsch said in a statement. “A statement from the family along with funeral arrangements will be announced at a later time.”

    The incoming congressman, elected in a December runoff and set to take office in January, was admitted to a Monroe hospital on Dec. 19 after testing positive for the coronavirus disease. He was later transferred to the Shreveport facility and placed in intensive care.

    Letlow is survived by his wife, Julia Barnhill Letlow, and two children.

    By MELINDA DESLATTE

  • Kanye West makes presidential ballot in Mississippi

    Kanye West makes presidential ballot in Mississippi

    JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Kanye West will appear as a presidential candidate on Mississippi’s ballot in November, after being approved as a qualified candidate by the State Board of Election Commissioners on Tuesday.

    The rapper has already qualified to appear on the ballot as an independent candidate in several states, including Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Utah.

    To qualify in Mississippi, he was required to pay a $2,500 fee to the Secretary of State’s Office and get the signatures of at least 1,000 Mississippi voters.

    “It was interesting to see him pick Mississippi, and obviously it will be interesting to see what happens with that vote on Nov. 3,” Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson said after the board’s meeting. “But he did qualify.”

    West, who once backed Republican President Donald Trump, announced last month that he had broken with Trump and would launch his own presidential bid. His campaign filed paperwork July 15 with the Federal Election Commission.

  • Everything You Need To Know About Mississippi Primary Election Day

    Everything You Need To Know About Mississippi Primary Election Day

    Polls close at 7:00 p.m. this evening statewide.

    JACKSON, Miss. (AP) —Mississippi voters choose nominees for a U.S. Senate seat and four congressional seats today.  What’s at stake:

    U.S. SENATE

    The Democratic primary will determine whether Mississippi has a rematch of a hard-fought 2018 special election for U.S. Senate. In that race, Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith defeated Democrat Mike Espy.

    Now, Hyde-Smith is seeking a full six-year term, and she is unopposed for the GOP nomination. She was appointed to serve temporarily in the Senate in early 2018 when longtime Republican Sen. Thad Cochran retired. Hyde-Smith won the November 2018 special election against Espy to complete the six-year term Cochran started.

    Espy, a former Mississippi congressman, is one of three candidates seeking the Democratic nomination this year. His election in 1986 made him the state’s first African American congressman since Reconstruction. In 1993, President Bill Clinton named him agriculture secretary. Espy has raised the most money among the Democrats running for the seat this year.

    Espy competes Tuesday against Tobey Bernard Bartee and Jensen Bohren.

    Bartee is a former military intelligence officer who was eliminated in the first round of voting in the 2018 special election for Senate.

    Jensen Bohren is a former teacher who unsuccessfully challenged Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker in 2018.

    U.S. HOUSE — 1ST DISTRICT

    Republican U.S. Rep. Trent Kelly is unopposed for his party’s nomination. He has been in the House since winning a 2015 special election in north Mississippi’s 1st District.

    Antonia Eliason, a University of Mississippi law professor, is unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

    U.S. HOUSE — 2ND DISTRICT

    Democratic U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson faces one challenger in his party’s primary: Sonia Rathburn.

    Thompson has been in the House since winning a 1993 special election in the 2nd District, which stretches along the Mississippi River, through the Delta and into Jackson. He is chairman of the Homeland Security Committee.

    Rathburn owns a chiropractic business.

    Three candidates are running in the Republican primary. Thomas L. Carey is a retired real estate agent who ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 2014. Brian Flowers is a military veteran who works at Grand Gulf Nuclear Station. B.C. Hammond is a volunteer firefighter and has run unsuccessfully for state legislative seats.

    U.S. HOUSE — 3RD DISTRICT

    Republican U.S. Rep. Michael Guest faces one challenger in his party’s primary: James Tulp.

    Guest was first elected to the House in 2018 in the 3rd District in the central part of the state. Tulp hosts a talk show on a Jackson radio station.

    Two candidates are running in the Democratic primary. Dorothy “Dot” Benford has run unsuccessfully for several offices. Katelyn Lee is a first-time candidate who advocates universal healthcare and expansion of public housing.

    U.S. HOUSE — 4TH DISTRICT

    Republican U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo faces three challengers in his party’s primary: Carl Boyanton, Robert L. Deming III and Samuel Hickman.

    Palazzo was first elected to the House in 2010 in south Mississippi’s 4th District. Boyanton is a former owner of a produce business. Deming is a Biloxi City Council member. Hickman has worked for U.S. Rep. Trent Kelly.

    No Democrats are running in the 4th District.