Newcomer to politics wins her race in District 66

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Republican Richie Edmonds was all geared up to take his father, Rick Edmonds’ seat in the state House of Representatives. He had just about every endorsement he could have asked for and still managed to be beat by fellow Republican Emily Chenevert.

“Definitely new to politics, I did not set out to run years ago to be honest. I think when you have children and you’re paying attention to what’s going on in the country and in the state, as a mom, as a wife, as someone who cares for and loves her country... there were some things that started to frustrate me I guess I should say,” said Chenevert.

The former WBRZ news producer with a background in film and advocacy says she got into the race because of the same issues on the minds of many of you, that being the economy, education, and crime. As a Baton Rouge native and LSU alumni, Chenevert says she believed she was able to defy the odds by being someone folks can relate to.

“And you’re meeting people face-to-face, and they see your family out there and all the hard work you’re putting in... I just think ordinary people that are willing to get up off the couch and say I’m tired of complaining and look I didn’t plan to do this years ago, and it was just being relatable,” Chenevert explained.

Now that she’ll be heading to her new job at the capitol, she tells me her biggest priorities will be finding what’s worked in other states that Louisiana could benefit from and making those changes a reality.

“Look I’m big on education, I’m big on the opportunity with education savings accounts, school choice, helping parents, empowering parents to make decision for their children when it comes to their education,” Chenevert continued.

To get a better idea of what voters saw in Chenevert over Edmonds, we knocked on a few doors in a neighborhood in their district. That’s where we met Olita Holloway who tells me it was time for a change.

“Emily came in and she brought her family, and we met each one of them and she was going door to door, so precious and nice, and I knew that whatever she was saying was true. I think most politicians are self-involved in what they can get out of it. And I don’t feel...I feel that she has a house full of kids and is looking forward to the future, the future for her children,” Holloway explained.

Olita tells us the thing she’s most concerned about is education and getting crime under control. Chenevert will begin her political career when the rest of the new legislature is sworn in come January.

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