NOLA.com: Jeff Landry Won’t Attend Thursday Night’s Gubernatorial Debate. Here’s Where He’ll Be

NOLA.com: Jeff Landry Won’t Attend Thursday Night’s Gubernatorial Debate. Here’s Where He’ll Be

State Sen. Sharon Hewitt: “The fact that he continues to make himself unavailable to voters is shameful… He is disrespecting voters.”

To no one’s surprise, Attorney General Jeff Landry is skipping Louisiana’s last primary debate to attend a fundraiser, once again putting his self-interest ahead of the public interest and keeping with his ongoing refusal to address Louisiana voters, answer questions about his failed record and sketchy dealings.

The most consistent theme of Landry’s campaign thus far has been his terrible attendance record. Landry has made himself a reputation for skipping public events, refusing to be on stage with his fellow Republican candidates, and desperately ducking reporters, earning him the title “No Show Landry” from his fellow Republican State Senator Sharon Hewitt.

The first time he decided to skip a debate, local media rightly criticized his decision and pondered whether he was “chickening out.”

Now, Landry is facing even more critical backlash, including from his fellow Republican and primary candidate State Senator Sharon Hewitt, who pointed out (correctly) that “the fact that he continues to make himself unavailable to voters is shameful… He is disrespecting voters.”

Read more about Landry choosing donors over voters:

• Last week, Jeff Landry announced he is skipping Thursday’s televised gubernatorial debate, but he didn’t explain why.

• Here’s the answer: the attorney general will attend a “meet and greet” in Lake Charles where the campaign will also raise money.

• The event for Landry, the Republican front-runner, will take place at White Oak Park there from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., according to the event’s sponsor, business owner Jeff Guillory.

• But Landry’s decision doesn’t sit well with Shawn Wilson, the former transportation secretary and the lone major Democrat in the race.

• “This is not the first time he has put cash over citizens, and politics over public policy,” Wilson said. “It’s an insult to voters. It’s disingenuous of any candidate who professes to want to be governor but fails to show up and represent the position they aspire to be at.”

• Landry has attended only one of the debates, on Sept. 14, organized by Nexstar Media, missing Tuesday night’s event on Gray TV stations. He has also ducked campaign forums where he had to appear on stage together with the other candidates beyond his own presentation, including one organized by The Times-Picayune and AARP on Tuesday.

• “The fact that he continues to make himself unavailable to voters is shameful,” Hewitt said. “Debates are opportunities for voters to hear straight from the candidates on how they plan to address issues that are important to voters. He is disrespecting voters.”

• “He’s a man of his word,” Guillory said. “He told me he would be there. That ought to say a lot about him. I got quite a bit of money tied up in doing this.”

###