Louisiana Senate candidate Jamie Davis came through Alexandria on Sunday, July 12, as part of the Louisiana Democratic Party's "No More Silence Tour." Davis won the Democratic nomination in the June 27 runoff and will face Julia Letlow in November.

The conversation turned to the party's lack of support for the energized, highly motivated protestors at the No Kings rallies. Party leaders have not shown up for the people hitting the street for change, and plenty of us have noticed. So the question was put to him directly: what can you do about it?

He pointed to his attendance at one of the weekly "Honk for Change" rallies, held every Tuesday at BREC's Perkins Road Community Park and led largely by Indivisible Baton Rouge (indivisiblebr.org). That's encouraging. There is a lot of untapped energy among those attendees, and the Democratic Party should be leading that charge, not watching from the sidelines.

Davis (call me Jamie) made a largely positive impression. He spoke about the everyday struggles of Louisianans whose lives have been made harder by this administration's policies. Like many of us, he framed the next election as existential, recognizing that our right to choose our own leadership is being chiseled away.

He was well received. He also has an uphill battle, and he cannot win it alone. It will take the effort of every voter who shares his concerns to give him a chance.

We do not have to accept the premise that Louisiana cannot be changed for the better. We do not have to accept a state that works only for the monied, the well connected, and those who believe we owe nothing to the people struggling at the bottom. We can build a state that works for all of us. But only if we show up.

The conversation turned to the party's lack of support for the energized, highly motivated protestors at the No Kings rallies. Party leaders have not shown up for the people hitting the street for change, and plenty of us have noticed. So the question was put to him directly: what can you do about it?

He pointed to his attendance at one of the weekly "Honk for Change" rallies, held every Tuesday at BREC's Perkins Road Community Park and led largely by Indivisible Baton Rouge (indivisiblebr.org). That's encouraging. There is a lot of untapped energy among those attendees, and the Democratic Party should be leading that charge, not watching from the sidelines.

Davis (call me Jaime) made a largely positive impression. He spoke about the everyday struggles of Louisianans whose lives have been made harder by this administration's policies. Like many of us, he framed the next election as existential, recognizing that our right to choose our own leadership is being chiseled away.

He was well received. He also has an uphill battle, and he cannot win it alone. It will take the effort of every voter who shares his concerns to give him a chance.

We do not have to accept the premise that Louisiana cannot be changed for the better. We do not have to accept a state that works only for the monied, the well connected, and those who believe we owe nothing to the people struggling at the bottom. We can build a state that works for all of us. But only if we show up.