Candidates for the state Senate District 24 seat face off Wednesday evening in a forum hosted by the Lafayette and St. Landry Parish Democratic Executive Committees. The event, which is free and open to the public, runs from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Clifton Chenier Center Auditorium at 221 West Willow Street. The candidates will field questions from a panel of television, print and radio reporters. All five candidates — Patricia Cravins, state Rep. Elbert Guillory, Quincy Richard Jr., Lincoln Savoie and Kelly Scott — have committed to attending. The forum will be taped by Acadidana Open Channel to be aired at a late date.
The District 24 seat was left vacant earlier this year following Don Cravins, Jr.’s resignation to take a staff position with the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. The special election is April 4, with a possible runoff May 2. Read about the longstanding rivalry that exists between the race’s two frontrunner candidates, Guillory and Cravins, in The Independent’s cover story, “Elbert vs. The Machine.”