Louisiana House candidate Elbert Guillory released an advertisement explaining his decision to switch from the Democratic to the Republican Party, arguing it is the GOP that has the history of championing the rights of the Black community.
“It was the right decision, not only for me, but for all my brothers and sisters in the Black community,” Guillory said in the ad, explaining his decision. “The Democratic Party has created the illusion that their agenda and their policies are what’s best for Black people. Somehow, it’s been forgotten that the Republican Party was founded in 1842 as an abolitionist movement.”
The ad comes just over a week before Guillory faces off with four other candidates in Louisiana’s primary election, with Guillory being the only Republican candidate in the field.
TRADITIONALLY DEM LEADERS IN KEY MICHIGAN VOTING BLOC DITCH HARRIS, ENDORSE TRUMP
Former Louisiana state Sen. Elbert Guillory is running for Congress. (Screen grab)
Louisiana uses a majority-vote system, with all candidates, regardless of party, competing in the same election. If a candidate is able to get over 50% of the vote, that candidate wins the election outright. If no candidate is able to achieve the 50% mark, the two top candidates will then compete in a runoff election the following month.
Guillory served in the Louisiana House from 2007 to 2009 and the state Senate from 2009 to 2016. He switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican during his time in the state Senate in 2013.
In his new ad, Guillory explained the decision as a simple one, arguing that Democrats have done little to actually help the Black community.
“The Democrats, on the other hand, were the party of Jim Crow. It was Democrats who defended the rights of slave owners,” Guillory said. “It was the Republican President Dwight Eisenhower who championed the Civil Rights Act of 1957, but it was the Democrats in the Senate who filibustered the bill.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower poses for a portrait before his inauguration to become president of Columbia University on June 1, 1948, in New York City. (Irving Haberman/IH Images/Getty Images)
FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: VOTER OUTREACH, BALLOT EFFICIENCY AND A LITTLE HOUSEKEEPING
Guillory is making the pitch to voters in a district that is now much more competitive for Democrats after the state’s maps were redrawn in 2022, with the Cook Political Report rating the race as “Solid Democratic” as of Oct. 22.
Nevertheless, Guillory is standing behind his decision to switch parties.
“At the heart of liberalism is the idea that only a great and powerful big government can be the benefactor of social justice for all Americans,” he said in the ad. “But the left is only concerned with one thing, control, and they disguise this control as charity programs such as welfare, food stamps.”
Voter services van in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“These programs aren’t designed to lift Americans out of poverty,” he continued, “They were always intended as a mechanism for politicians to control the Black community. The idea that Blacks, or anyone for that matter, need the government to get ahead in life is despicable.”
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Road crews may soon get a major assist from artificial intelligence. Researchers at Germany's Fraunhofer…
The holidays are supposed to be a season of generosity, family and giving back. For…
DENVER – Scams targeting older Americans are surging, and federal officials are warning that the…
Artificial intelligence can do a lot for us. Need to draft an email? AI has…
A Los Angeles-based aerospace startup called Inversion Space has unveiled Arc, its first flagship spacecraft…
Sometimes, data breaches result in more than just free credit monitoring. Recently, Facebook began paying…