The state of Louisiana has historically been a blue state, but in recent years it has progressively become more conservative. With the conservative majority in Congress and the rise of the Trump administration, Republicans have taken up all but one representative seat in our state. Voting time is coming, and there is only one Democratic candidate on the ballot in the 5th district: Jessee Fleenor. I had the opportunity to meet Jessee and speak with him over the phone about his campaign and his hopes for our state.
Jessee is a vegetable farmer and father of three from the small town of Loranger, Louisiana, where he says “there are more cattle than people.” He studied politics at LSU, but returned home to work on the farm with three generations of his family. When you first meet him he’s like every other down-home man from North Louisiana, deeply ingrained with his Southern values of kindness and taking care of those in your community. He believes in a brighter future for our beautiful state, and that if we all come together and start taking care of each other, we can head in the right direction.
Jessee’s decision to run for Congress stemmed from his discontentment with the lack of representation for the Democrats and the working class citizen. “Last cycle, I went to vote for my representative in Congress and we only had two Republicans running against each other to be my Congressman, so I basically didn’t have anyone to vote for.” This frustrated him not only as a Democrat, but as a citizen of Louisiana. He felt that people deserve to have options in a democracy, and that people should have to debate each other to defend their ideas.
“I promised myself that if it looked like it would be the same situation this time around that, even though I’m just a farmer and a regular guy, that I would go and throw my hat in the ring.” On the last day of qualifying, Jessee hopped in his truck and made the drive to Baton Rouge to run for Congress for our 5th district. He felt that people seeing a Democrat on the ballot would help rebuild the party in Louisiana and promote democracy in our communities.
One of the most important things to Jessee is improving civic discourse. He believes we all need to treat each other better, and find a way to come together and discuss the shared problems that we have without tearing each other down. Jessee says that rebuilding civic education will help create more social cohesion in our communities. Along with this, the policies that Jessee supports are those that would improve the lives of the most amount of people at a time. He believes that ideas such as increasing minimum wage and providing universal health care to all are avenues to achieve this goal. “People are basically sick and poor in the richest country in the world, and they can’t figure out how that came to be, so we need to reverse those trends.”
Jessee has a real love and care for the people of Louisiana that many Congressman seem to lack. He believes that we have something special to offer here, and the people in our state are the most warm and hospitable in the country. He knows the people in our state want someone in Congress who cares for the little guy, and he is just the man for the job.
I have always had a deep appreciation for politics and it is something I follow very closely, but I can honestly say I had never had real faith that a candidate cared about me or the people until I met Jessee Fleenor. He is a man with integrity, a kind heart, and big ideas on how to improve the lives of Louisiana citizens.
Voting day is November 6th, so don’t forget to cast your ballot in your district! If you’re interested in Jessee and his campaign, you can visit votejesse.com to learn more!