LOUISIANA, La. (KLFY) -- Running for Louisiana's 6th Congressional District, Republican candidate Elbert Guillory believes the American people need a "country boy with country-boy common sense" to help get things back on track.

Guillory has more than 50 years of experience as a criminal defense attorney and has served in the Louisiana House of Representatives and Louisiana Senate.

In an interview with KLFY, Guillory said the American government is not investing in itself and could use common sense.

"People who are coming into this country illegally get free food, free phones, free housing, free everything; and we have old people who are scrambling to try to pay for their food. We have veterans sleeping under bridges... Our roads and bridges are crumbling while we are throwing billions of dollars away in other countries. So, we need some common sense," he said.

"There are too many couyons in Washington D.C. We need a country boy with country-boy common sense to go and help get them on track," he continued.

Guillory, who was born and raised in Opelousas, said he was brought up on Christian values and developed a love for people which turned into a passion for civil rights after he was arrested at a public library for trying to check out a book.

Guillory joined the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War and was accepted into several of the nation's top law schools, according to his website. He later graduated from Rutgers Law School and taught at Rutgers Law.

In the world of politics, Guillory said he worked for the Nixon administration for a couple of years and worked for government agencies in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Illinois, Washington state, and New Jersey.

He previously ran for the 4th Congressional District in 2016 and has two unsuccessful bids for lieutenant governor in 2015 and 2023.

Guillory said one of his main concerns is federal spending. He also wants to work on improving the education system.

He believes his education and experience are factors that set him apart from his opponents.

"Education, wisdom and experience. The experience that I have is incomparable. The wisdom that I've gained through all of those years of experience from the day that that little boy was arrested until this day. I have the scars on my body, but not on my soul," he said.

"I've built on each of those experiences to become stronger and wiser and that is one of the things that I have now before me. I am wise and seasoned and experienced in government, law and politics," he continued.

Election day is Nov. 5.

BRProud reporter Shannon Heckt contributed to this report.

Latest News