Cleo Fields, Elbert Guillory, and Quentin Anthony Anderson Enter Race for Louisiana’s 6th Congressional District

BATON ROUGE, La. — Former Congressman Cleo Fields, ex-state Senator Elbert Guillory, and newcomer Quentin Anthony Anderson have officially entered the race for Louisiana's newly drawn, majority-Black 6th Congressional District seat.

Cleo Fields, 61, a seasoned Baton Rouge state senator, is the frontrunner. The Black Democrat, who played a key role in defining the district's boundaries as a state legislator, previously represented a similar district in Congress from 1993 to 1997.

Elbert Guillory, 80, a Black Republican attorney from Opelousas, recently secured the endorsement of the state GOP. Despite the district's Democratic leanings, Guillory is undeterred. He has previously run for lieutenant governor in 2015 and 2023 and for Congress in 2016. Guillory served as a state representative from 2007 to 2009 and as a state senator from 2009 to 2016.

Quentin Anthony Anderson, a 35-year-old Democrat from Baton Rouge, owns a small marketing firm and is involved with the Justice Alliance, a progressive advocacy group. Anderson ran for the East Baton Rouge Metro Council in 2020.

Fields has prioritized lowering prescription drug prices and expanding broadband internet access. He also aims to secure more federal infrastructure funding for smaller towns in the 6th District.

Guillory's campaign focuses on reducing crime, addressing immigration, and curbing federal spending.

Anderson, aligning with Fields on crime and infrastructure, advocates a rehabilitative approach to criminal justice and supports raising the minimum wage.

Fields, confident in his chances, aims to win the primary outright on November 5 to avoid a December runoff. Both Fields and Anderson support President Joe Biden for re-election, though Anderson has called for discussions about Biden's fitness for office following a recent debate performance.

The newly configured 6th Congressional District, spanning from Baton Rouge to Shreveport, was created after a federal court mandated another majority-Black district. This shift aims to better represent Louisiana's Black population, which constitutes 33% of the state's residents but previously controlled only one of six congressional seats.

The current 6th District incumbent, U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, opted not to run for re-election following the redistricting.

The legal status of the new district remains uncertain, with a lawsuit challenging its legality on racial grounds. Fields previously faced a similar challenge when the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated the boundaries of his former district for racial gerrymandering.

Additional Congressional Races:

• 1st District: U.S. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, filed for re-election. His opponents include Randall Arrington, a Republican, and Mel Manuel, a Democrat.
• 2nd District: Incumbent Troy Carter, a Democrat from Algiers, filed for re-election, facing Republicans Devin Lance Graham and Shondrell Perrilloux.
• 3rd District: Republican Congressman Clay Higgins filed for re-election. Opponents include Democrats Priscilla Gonzalez and Sadi Summerlin, and Republican "Xan" John.
• 4th District: U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Bossier City, plans to have his daughter submit his qualifying documents. Republican Joshua Morott has also entered the race.
• 5th District: No candidates had qualified as of Wednesday, though Rep. Julia Letlow, R-Start, is expected to run.

The qualifying period for the election runs through Friday.