Republican Party Endorsements Expected Week of Sept. 17

BATON ROUGE — The Republican Party of East Baton Rouge Parish has scheduled Endorsement Meetings to consider supporting Republican candidates in the Nov. 6 election.

The meetings are as follows:

• Thursday, Sept. 13, 6 p.m. at Metro Council Chamber — Candidates for Louisiana Supreme Court and Court of Appeal.

• Monday, Sept. 17, 6 p.m. at Metro Council Chamber — Candidates for U. S. Congress, Public Service Commission, Metro Council, City Judge, City Constable, and Constable for Justice of the Peace Court

Endorsements are made by the 17-member East Baton Rouge Republican Parish Executive Committee.  The PEC was elected by Republican voters in the parish during the Presidential Primary in March.  The committee consists of five members elected at-large and one elected from each of the 12 Metro Council districts.  They serve a term of four years.

Under the Endorsement Procedures adopted by the PEC, a candidate must receive a majority of the votes cast by members who are present in person or by proxy.  Each candidate is voted on separately by the PEC. As a result, the PEC may endorse one or more candidates in a race.

One of the races that is attracting a lot of attention is the election of a new Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from the district that includes East Baton Rouge.  The vacancy resulted because of the resignation of Chief Justice Kitty Kimball.  Republican candidates expected to seek the party’s endorsement are Court of Appeal judges Toni Higginbotham, Jeff Hughes, and Duke Welch and District Court judges Tim Kelley and Bill Morvant.  The candidates have been asked to fill out a questionnaire on their judicial philosophy.

Endorsements will be announced during the week of Sept. 17.