Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Jamie Davis rallied educators, union leaders and public school advocates in Baton Rouge Sunday evening, making a final appeal to voters just two days before an increasingly competitive election against Republican Congresswoman Julia Letlow.
The gathering, held at IBEW Local 995, brought together prominent labor and education advocates who have endorsed Davis, including leaders of the Louisiana AFL-CIO, Louisiana Association of Educators and Louisiana Federation of Teachers. The event was part of the campaign’s final push ahead of Tuesday’s election, with speakers emphasizing higher teacher pay, stronger public schools and the importance of turning out voters.
The rally came amid signs that Louisiana’s Senate contest has tightened considerably in its closing weeks. A Hart Research poll commissioned by the Davis campaign and released Friday showed Davis and Letlow tied at 45 percent among 500 likely voters, with 10 percent undecided. The survey, conducted October 28-29, carried a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.
The increasingly competitive race has also attracted renewed attention from the White House. President Donald Trump, who has endorsed Letlow, announced plans to host a virtual “tele-rally” on Monday evening alongside House Speaker Mike Johnson, giving the Republican nominee a high-profile boost just hours before polls open.
For Davis, Sunday’s gathering provided an opportunity to emphasize the coalition of labor organizations and education advocates that has rallied behind his candidacy.
Matt Wood, president of the Louisiana AFL-CIO, told attendees that the organization’s endorsement reflected Davis’ commitment to working families, collective bargaining and better-paying jobs.
“Jamie is the future of Louisiana,” Wood said, arguing that the Democratic nominee has demonstrated an ability to bring together Louisianans across political and geographic divides.
Other speakers included Maria Harmon, executive director of Step Up Louisiana, whose political advocacy organization, Step Up for Action, has endorsed Davis, and D’Shay Oaks, president of the Louisiana Association of Educators.
Toni Ventroy, a retired educator and leader with the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, emphasized the state’s struggle to retain experienced teachers when salaries remain comparatively low.
“Louisiana has made significant academic gains nationally, but our teacher pay remains near the bottom,” Ventroy said. “Our educators are helping students move forward, and their compensation needs to move forward too.”
When Davis took the stage, he drew on his own childhood attending public school in Waterproof, a small town in Tensas Parish, describing the lasting influence teachers had on his life and the central role schools played in rural communities.
He used those experiences to make the case for increased federal investment in public education while criticizing efforts to redirect public funding toward private schools.
“I oppose things that divert our tax dollars into private schools while leaving neighborhood schools with fewer resources,” Davis said, adding that charter schools should be held to the same standards of transparency, civil rights protections and accountability as other public schools.
He also pledged to support greater federal investment in educator compensation, protect collective bargaining rights, expand early childhood education and strengthen career and technical training programs.
Davis broadened his remarks beyond education to address rising utility costs and the expansion of large data centers in Louisiana, arguing that corporations should bear the infrastructure costs associated with their projects rather than passing those expenses on to residential customers and public institutions.
“Louisiana families, small businesses, and public schools should not be handed higher utility bills to subsidize corporate expansion,” he said.
The Democrat also reiterated his opposition to congressional stock trading and corporate influence in politics, touting his campaign’s reliance on smaller individual contributions.
As the event concluded, Davis turned his attention to the final task facing his campaign: getting supporters to the polls.
He encouraged attendees to confirm their polling locations, make plans to vote Tuesday morning in anticipation of possible afternoon storms, and bring family members, neighbors and coworkers with them.
The final appeals from both campaigns underscore the stakes of Tuesday’s contest. Letlow is seeking to keep the seat in Republican hands with the backing of Trump and national GOP leaders, while Davis is attempting to translate grassroots organizing, organized labor support and a tightening race into a statewide Democratic victory.
“The farmer from Tensas is asking for your vote,” Davis told supporters. “Now let’s go be the engineers of our own future.”
