Royce Duplessis hits Mandie Landry for obscure two legislative votes. She cries foul.

To most observers, little besides race and gender separates Royce Duplessis and Mandie Landry as the two liberal Democratic state representatives compete for a Louisiana Senate seat on Nov. 8.

Looking for an edge, Duplessis is now criticizing Landry in a TV ad over two obscure legislative votes that involve hot-button issues of race, redistricting and abortion.

Landry joined a handful of Democrats and all Republicans in defeating an effort to create a new Black-majority seat in northwest Louisiana by eviscerating the district held by Rep. Danny McCormick, R-Oil City, an ardent abortion foe.

“She cannot claim to be able to effectively represent Black people by taking votes like this,” Duplessis said in an interview.

Landry, who is arguably the Legislature’s most vocal supporter of abortion rights, said the ad is unfair and engages in race-baiting.

“The political grapevine says he’s terrified that he and the machine behind him are losing the election,” Landry said in an interview.

At issue was an effort by a Black state representative from Shreveport to create an additional Black-majority seat in Caddo Parish at the expense of McCormick.

The gambit failed badly. But even if it were approved, the effort on Feb. 14 by state Rep. Cedric Glover, D-Shreveport, would have barely dented the GOP’s large majority.

Under the new map that will take effect for next year’s legislative elections, the state House will have 29 Black-majority seats – the same as today. Glover’s effort would have made it 30 in the 105-member House.

Landry and Duplessis are vying to replace Karen Carter Peterson for a seat that represents Uptown, Broadmoor, the Central Business District and Hollygrove. It is the most liberal Senate district in the state.

Both Duplessis and Landry strongly favor abortion rights, stronger gun-safety laws and legalizing marijuana. During a “Hot Seat” debate earlier this month with Travers Mackel on WDSU-TV, the two offered identical views on virtually every issue.

So in a district that was drawn by legislators 10 years ago to elect a Black lawmaker – but now has racial parity because of gentrification – Duplessis is hitting Landry on an issue that involves race.

“Mandie Landry voted to limit minority districts,” Barbara Major, a civil rights activist, said during the 30-second ad.

Landry said she voted against Glover’s amendments to the House redistricting plan to be consistent with an unwritten agreement among House members not to create an unwinnable district for a legislator who was planning to run for re-election. Landry noted that she supported a Glover amendment minutes earlier that would have turned the district of Rep. Alan Seabaugh, R-Shreveport, into a Black-majority district since Seabaugh is term-limited and couldn’t run for re-election.

“His views are diametrically opposed to mine,” Landry said of McCormick. “But if we abided by that agreement for everyone else, then we should have abided by it for him. He was elected just like the rest of us.”

Duplessis’ ad, she added, “is attacking me on race and saying I’m racist. It is coded, and it is very obvious.”

Retorted Duplessis: “We’re calling out her voting record. These are just facts. She can’t defend it because it’s indefensible.”

In Duplessis’ view, Landry’s votes were especially egregious because McCormick authored a controversial bill later this year that would have allowed authorities to jail women who had abortions. House members killed the bill for being too extreme.

McCormick said he’s grateful that Landry supported him on the redistricting votes.

“I think she was honoring her word,” McCormick said in an interview. “We had said we wouldn’t vote to do away with a district of a House member who wasn’t term-limited.”

McCormick added, “She stands on the opposite side of the aisle from me. There’s no doubt about that. I’ve found her as a person with a different view who I can work with.”

Lost in the debate is a larger point Glover was trying to make: that the new legislative boundaries the House was about to approve pack so many White voters into some districts and Black voters into others that the lawmakers they elect will inevitably play to their most conservative or liberal supporters.

“We need to recognize our differences, but we also need to have the capacity to find the common ground that can lead us to the common good,” Glover told his colleagues in asking them to approve his proposed changes. “But you can’t do that when we end up packing districts in ways that don’t allow us to be able to see beyond that overwhelming majority of the folks that we have to answer to electorally.”

A parade of White Republicans spoke against Glover’s three attempts to turn a White Republican district into a Black-majority one.

Several Black legislators spoke in favor, including Duplessis.

“We have an opportunity in this process to take one small step toward where we should be in this state,” Duplessis said.

Landry’s vote had no impact on the result. Both Glover amendments lost 31-71.