LSU students gathered Monday for a standing room-only discussion on the importance of voting with Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jamie Davis, ahead of National Voter Registration Day. 

“If you don’t exercise your right to vote, you just muffled your own voice,” Davis, a farmer from Waterproof, told students at LSU’s Journalism Building. “You cannot complain when you don’t exercise your right,”

Davis, 55, who served on the police jury in remote Tensas Parish, faces Republican Congresswoman Julia Letlow of Baton Rouge in an uphill battle on Nov. 3. Incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy was knocked out of the race in May’s GOP primary and must step down in January.

The nonpartisan Geaux Vote LSU student organization has also invited Letlow to speak, but her campaign has not committed to an appearance date, said Malachi Mays, the group’s vice president.

Letlow’s campaign did not answer questions Monday about whether she plans to meet with LSU students on campus ahead of the November election.

“We hope the [Letlow] campaign will come to LSU,” Mays said in an interview.

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Davis’ appearance was organized by Geaux Vote, LSU’s Black Student Union and the Black Girls Vote organization.

Davis went out of his way to remain “nonpartisan” in his remarks to the students. He never criticized President Donald Trump or brought up Letlow’s name, and he rarely talked about Republicans during the event.

Trying to appeal to students, Davis recalled attending LSU himself though he didn’t graduate. Davis said he left school early to work when he found out he was going to be a father.

The candidate spoke extensively about the need to overhaul the federal student loan system, which the Trump administration recently revamped to be more restrictive. Millions of students who took out student loans will now have to make higher payments monthly for the loans to be forgiven.

 Rules for borrowers should not change in the middle of the repayment process, Davis said, adding that there should be more generous student loan forgiveness for people who choose to work in rural areas like his home Tensas Parish.

Davis also said he has “acted a clown” during parts of his campaign in an attempt to reach younger voters. For example, he referenced silly social media videos he’s posted in the hopes that they will resonate with college students.  

Many students who attended the forum said they will vote for the first time in the November when Davis and Letlow are on the ballot. 

Madelyn Broussard, a LSU senior, said she’s worried about rising gas and grocery prices. She said she’s also opposed to recently announced industrial projects in Louisiana, such as the SpaceX launch facility in Vermilion Parish and data centers in rural areas.

Louisiana should not be “selling off our wetlands to be destroyed,” Broussard said.

Tyler Wood, a freshman, said he worries about the impact of artificial intelligence and corporate spending in politics. More transparency is needed around the enormous Meta data center project being built in Richland Parish, near where Davis lives, Wood said.

Sarah Bailey, a junior who leads the Black Student Union, said she was looking for a politician with an authentic voice.

“I don’t want to be sold dreams. I want something that is realistic,” Bailey said. “I just want to know who’s keeping it real.”

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