Fields faces runoff challenge in new Black-majority LA 6th

By Christopher Tidmore
Contributing Writer

The 6th District congressional race is Cleo Fields’ to lose this autumn, yet Republicans nonetheless hope that low turnout in the December runoff might give former GOP state Sen. Elbert Guillory a chance.

African-American enthusiasm for the first Black female presidential candidate nominated by a major party might be enough to propel Democratic state Sen. Fields into a first primary victory on Tuesday, November 5, but he still faces three other Democrats that day vying for the new Black-majority congressional seat stretching from Baton Rouge to Lafayette to Opelousas to Alexandria to Shreveport – and just one Republican. These Dems are relative unknowns: Quentin Anthony Anderson, Wilken Jones Jr., and Peter Williams. Moreover, only Anderson can boast of a serious campaign website, anderson2024.org.

Still, Anderson came out swinging against Fields in the last two weeks, even after Fields won the endorsement of the Louisiana Democratic Party. Citing a grainy FBI video from 1997 showing Fields handling a bundle of money in former Gov. Edwin Edwards’ office – which was used as evidence in Edwards’ 2000 federal corruption trial – and noting the case named Fields as an unindicted co-conspirator, Anderson declared, “Do we want to harken back to the ‘vote for the crook’ era of Louisiana politics, or do we want to move forward?”

Anderson, the executive chairman of a social justice nonprofit, added that voters should consider “who we are as Louisiana” and “what politics we want to project on a national stage.” The comments could prove an early indication that Fields may not be able to coast to the easy victory that every pundit expected in Garrett Graves’ former district. Most expected such a result when Fields himself chaired the legislative committee which redrew in African-American registration in the 6th Congressional District from 24 percent to 54 percent of its electorate. Both critics and allies admitted that the Democratic state senator for Baton Rouge gerrymandered a district so geographically wide and varied that someone with Fields’ unique level of name recognition and stature would enjoy an overwhelming advantage.

Nevertheless, Anderson’s critiques obviously hit a nerve. The Fields Campaign shot back that their candidate “has been vetted by the voters of this state many times.” After all, the state senator has previously argued that he violated no laws, he returned the money, and that he was not serving in public office at the time of the recording.

Undoubtedly, Kamala Harris will drive African-American turnout to the polls on Nov. 5, yet if even a small percentage of that vote defects to another Black candidate, Fields may not achieve 50 percent. With the top two finishers then advancing to a Dec. 7 runoff, enough Republicans and conservative-leaning independents live in the 6th District to potentially guarantee Elbert Guillory that second slot. Donald Trump winning statewide provides enough coattails in the 6th to make that happen.

The 80-year-old African-American former state senator joined the GOP shortly before he left legislative office. Despite subsequent unsuccessful bids for Louisiana lieutenant governor in 2015 and for the 4th Congressional District in 2016 (his residency under the old maps), Guillory maintains close political alliances with the former chairmen of the LAGOP, Roger Villere and Louis Gurvich. Guillory equally enjoys an extensive fundraising network across the state; therefore, many Republicans see an opportunity in the December 7, 2024 runoff.

Even under ideal circumstances, minority turnout often falls drastically in any December runoff – when nothing else is on the ballot. Should Anderson’s character attacks hit home on Fields, damaging the latter’s public approval ratings, some senior Republicans confidentially shared their ambition with The Louisiana Weekly that Guillory might have a chance.

In an interview with KALB.com, Guillory answered critiques of his age and stamina, “I am in excellent physical and mental condition…But the young people who are running our politics right now have not done the job. We need more wisdom. I’m a former 230-pound linebacker. I’ve climbed the three tallest mountains in the 48 states. I was an Ironman triathlete. I’d get on a bicycle and go 100 miles. I will save my energy for the fight on the floor of the House in Washington, D.C.”

In seeming reply, Fields, the one time youngest state senator in Louisiana history (24) as well as youngest member of the 103rd Congress (29), argued that his 37 years in politics better prepares him to return to the U.S. House of Representatives. At least, so he said at his website Cleofields.com “I am running for congress – to take the experience of the working man to Congress, to plead the plight of the middle class, to bridge the divides, to harness our collective strength, and to champion the causes that matter most to all Louisianans. Together, we can advocate for a federal minimum wage increase, invest in our schools, revitalize rural economies, safeguard women’s rights, and ensure a brighter future for our children.”

Fields’ Republican opponent makes his case at elbertguilloryforcongress.com.

This article originally published in the August 5, 2024 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.