An investigation is underway into possible campaign violations leading into the Feb. 15 election for state Senate District 23 in Lafayette Parish.
State Rep. Brach Myers, who defeated Broussard City Councilman Jesse Regan for the senate seat, said Sunday he spoke with investigators with the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office about three weeks ago regarding potential state and federal campaign laws being broken.
Myers said there is an open investigation.
His complaint is that someone set up one or more fake organizations, one example being Lady Democrats of Lafayette, and sent campaign paraphernalia to registered Republican voters saying the Lady Democrats had endorsed Myers.
Myers said polls before the fake endorsement showed him well ahead of Regan. His lead shrank, he said, after the false endorsement.
Complete but unofficial results from the election show Myers defeated Regan, both Republicans, 55% to 45% with a 14.1% voter turnout.
"I'm going to pursue this to the fullest," Myers said.
Regan on Monday denied he or his campaign had anything to do with the false endorsement. He said he does not know who is responsible.
"Hopefully they find the culprits and bring them to justice," he said.
The Sheriff's Office did not immediately reply to a request seeking confirmation of the investigation.
Louisiana Revised Statute 18:1463 states that "an election cannot be held in a fair and ethical manner when any candidate or other person is allowed to print or distribute any material which falsely alleges that a candidate is supported by or affiliated with another candidate, group of candidates or other person or a political faction."
Another section of the statute further prohibits anyone from distributing material "containing any statement which he knows or should be reasonably expected to know makes a false statement about a candidate."
Lafayette Parish Clerk of Court Louis Perret said on Sunday he expected about a 10% voter turnout on Saturday. The 14.1% turnout "is an indication of the chronic voter," he said.
"They were certainly targeted by ungodly amounts of direct mail and text messages," Perret said.
Myers will be filling the seat vacated by Jean-Paul Coussan, who was elected to the Louisiana Public Service Commission in 2024.
He took over the House District 45 seat in January 2024, replacing Coussan after he was elected to the state senate.
