Married with two children, Stuart Bishop says he wants to help forward Louisiana's increasingly business-friendly policies in Baton Rouge.
Lafayette businessman Stuart Bishop will likely announce a run for the District 43 state House of Representatives seat currently held by Rep. Page Cortez, R-Lafayette. Cortez is already raising funds for a run at state Sen. Mike Michot's District 23 seat, which is opening up due to Michot's term limit. Cortez, however, has not formally announced for the Senate, although his intention to run is widely known.
"I know Page is considering it," Bishop says. "And if Page does announce that he's going to run for Mike's seat, then I'll run for Page's seat."
The 35-year-old is an officer in his family-run concrete business, Baldwin Redi-Mix. A Republican and LSU alumnus, Bishop would be making his first run at elected office, although he acknowledges that he considered seeking the District 43 House seat last election cycle.
"I've looked at this seat since I move to Lafayette 14 years ago," he says. "I've always been interested in politics. You and I both know politics is about timing and opportunity, and just waiting for the right opportunity to present itself."
Married with two children, Bishop says he wants to help forward Louisiana's increasingly business-friendly policies in Baton Rouge.
"I truly believe that the way the state's going right now, being more pro-business, is something that I want to see continue," he says. "I'm a young business person that's always been interested in politics, and I believe that business is obviously the backbone of everything, and I'm going to be a pro-business politician by all means."
Bishop sits on the boards of the Lafayette Education Foundation, the Concrete and Aggregate Association of Louisiana, the National Redi-Mix Concrete Association and Downtown Lafayette Unlimited. He is also a graduate of Leadership Lafayette.
Assuming Cortez seeks Michot's Senate seat - almost a foregone conclusion at this point - qualifying for the House District 43 seat would be in late September with a primary election in October.
Read more about Cortez's interest in the state Senate here.