Democratic Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell and Republican State Treasurer John Kennedy are battling it out for the Louisiana Senate runoff on Dec. 10. The Daily Reveille sent a questionnaire to the two candidates on a variety of issues. Their responses can be found below.
1. In a state that’s dependent on oil and gas, how do you plan to boost declining industry revenues?

Campbell: “Cross utilization and investments in new industries can help us anticipate future dips in the oil industry. I will fight for increased investment in diverse educational, training and job opportunities. One major way to recover from the decline caused by the decreased price of oil is to invest in infrastructure. I’ll fight for infrastructure funding to create new jobs. The expansion of Medicaid, which was the right decision, will also create a healthier workforce and more jobs in the medical industry.”
Kennedy: “Our energy industry here in Louisiana is subject to more job-killing regulations than any other state in the nation, according to a recent study. The fact remains that you can’t tax, spend, and regulate America into prosperity. We have to move the federal bureaucracy out of the way to get our oil and gas families back to work, and I’ll do that as Senator.”
2. How do you plan to work with the federal government to improve coastal restoration efforts?
Campbell: “Louisiana is America’s gas station. We’ve been fueling the whole country, and what have we gotten in return? Our coastline has been ruined by environmental disasters and is eroding into the Gulf. I’ll work to bring our tax dollars back home to fund the Master Coastal Restoration Plan, and I’ll work with colleagues from across our country to invest in Louisiana’s coast–because it’s a national treasure.”
Kennedy: “We already have the funds to begin restoring our coast, but too much of it goes to consultants and endless studies that are forever examining the problem but doing little to solve it. As Senator, I’ll support fast-tracking projects that are shovel ready and fighting the waste and delays that are hampering progress.”
3. How do you plan to bridge divides among lawmakers in Washington, particularly following a hotly contested presidential election in which President-elect Donald Trump lost the popular vote but won the electoral college?
Campbell: “There’s no divides when you’re doing the right thing for the people–or at least there shouldn’t be. President-elect Trump says he wants to improve infrastructure, and I support that. I’ll work with him and lawmakers from any party to fix Louisiana’s roads and bridges. I also agree with him that we need term limits and a 10 year ban on lobbying for former members of Congress.”
Kennedy: “The first thing I want to do if elected is take my colleagues from both parties out to lunch. Maybe it’s the Louisiana in me, but I just think the best way to get to know a person is to break bread with them.”
4. How do you plan to work with legislators during a time when many are unsure of the nation’s future?
Campbell: “If elected, the people of Louisiana are sending me to do a job in Washington. They aren’t sending me to play partisan politics. From day one, I’ll work with other lawmakers who also have that same goal: to serve the people and not themselves. There’s no wrong way to do the right thing.”
Kennedy: “I can work with anybody, but I won’t compromise my beliefs and principles to do so. I am all for finding common ground, but at the end of the day I’m going to stand by the conservative values that Louisianians hold dear.”
5. Why didn’t a debate between Senate candidates happen before the runoff? Do you think a debate could have affected voter participation?
Campbell: “John Neely Kennedy was too scared to show up to a debate in front of voters. After backing out of two of the three debates we agreed to, his campaign flat out refused to participate in discussions on the debate format with my campaign and Nexstar/WVLA organizers for the third debate. Maybe Neely Kennedy is afraid to talk about how he sold us out to Wall Street to help Bobby Jindal. He’ll make time to talk to deep-pocketed, corporate lobbyists, but he won’t make time to talk to the people of Louisiana. He’s chicken.”
Kennedy: “I’ve attended dozens of forums across the state, participated in two live televised debates, and agreed to two other televised debates. My opponent wouldn’t agree to debate me – probably because he didn’t want to defend his liberal views in front of Louisiana voters – but I was fully prepared to discuss the issues during this runoff.”