U.S. House, Louisiana 3rd Congressional District · Election November 3, 2026 · Updated
Who should I vote for in Louisiana's 3rd Congressional District?
Clay Higgins has the strongest record in Louisiana's 3rd Congressional District. Clay Higgins scores 59 out of 100 on the Ballot Standard, as of October 6, 2026. Clay Higgins's highest marks are relevant experience and command of the job. Kate Cotten (1 of 15 criteria), John Day (7 of 15 criteria), Priscilla Gonzalez (4 of 15 criteria), Tia LeBrun (6 of 15 criteria) and Caleb Walker (5 of 15 criteria) have too little public record to score. Every score comes from public records on character, qualifications and performance, the same way for every party.
Republican
Kate Cotten
On the ballot as "Kate" Cotten
Not enough public record for a score
Public evidence on 1 of 15 criteria
- Character
- NR
- Qualifications
- 50
- Performance
- NR
Democratic
John Day
Not enough public record for a score
Public evidence on 7 of 15 criteria
- Character
- 50
- Qualifications
- 55
- Performance
- NR
Democratic
Priscilla Gonzalez
Not enough public record for a score
Public evidence on 4 of 15 criteria
- Character
- NR
- Qualifications
- 50
- Performance
- NR
Republican · incumbent
Strongest record
Clay Higgins
On the ballot as "Clay" Higgins
59 / 100
Public evidence on 14 of 15 criteria
- Character
- 50
- Qualifications
- 75
- Performance
- 50
No Party
Tia LeBrun
Not enough public record for a score
Public evidence on 6 of 15 criteria
- Character
- 50
- Qualifications
- 50
- Performance
- NR
Democratic
Caleb Walker
On the ballot as Caleb "With a C" Walker
Not enough public record for a score
Public evidence on 5 of 15 criteria
- Character
- 50
- Qualifications
- 50
- Performance
- NR
The good, the bad and the unresolved
The record
The notable facts of each candidate's public life, each tied to a source and confirmed to be this person. Unresolved matters are labeled with where they stand and do not move a score.
Kate Cotten
No notable items confirmed in news archives or public documents.
John Day
No notable items confirmed in news archives or public documents.
Priscilla Gonzalez
No notable items confirmed in news archives or public documents.
Clay Higgins
- On the record2024-04-20
Voted Nay on the Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act when Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise voted Yea; it passed.
Source: House Clerk Roll Call 151, 2024
- On the record2024-09-25
Posted and then deleted a social media post calling Haitians 'wild' and Haiti the 'nastiest country'; a Democratic censure resolution was introduced Sept. 25, 2024 and was not adopted.
Sources: Roll Call, Sept. 25, 2024, NPR, Sept. 26, 2024
- On the record2023-05-31
Voted No on the Fiscal Responsibility Act, the debt limit deal backed by Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Majority Leader Steve Scalise; it passed.
Source: House Clerk Roll Call 243, 2023
- On the record2021-01-06 to 2021-01-07
Voted Yea on the House objections to Arizona's and Pennsylvania's certified electoral votes on Jan. 6 and 7, 2021; both failed.
Sources: House Clerk Roll Call 10, 2021, House Clerk Roll Call 11, 2021
- On the record2020-12-11
Signed the amicus brief of 126 House Republicans supporting Texas's suit to overturn certified results in Pennsylvania and three other states.
Source: Texas v. Pennsylvania, amicus brief of 126 House members
- Credit2024
Sponsored H.R. 9592, the Federal Register Modernization Act of 2024, one of five bills he sponsored that GovTrack lists as enacted.
Source: GovTrack, Clay Higgins
- Credit2017 to 2025
His office reports resolving more than 11,000 constituent cases since 2017.
Tia LeBrun
No notable items confirmed in news archives or public documents.
Caleb Walker
No notable items confirmed in news archives or public documents.
Who they are
Character
Integrity
Tells the truth, keeps their word, and takes no private gain from public office.
Kate Cotten. No public record found.
John Day. Campaign committee reports are on file with the FEC through July 18, 2026. No FEC administrative fine found.
Sources: FEC candidate page, FEC administrative fines search
Priscilla Gonzalez. No public record found.
Clay Higgins. Annual financial disclosures are on file with the House Clerk and no periodic transaction reports are listed for 2019 to 2026. No House Ethics Committee finding or FEC administrative fine found.
Sources: FEC administrative fines search, FEC candidate page
Tia LeBrun. Campaign committee reports are on file with the FEC through July 18, 2026. No FEC administrative fine found.
Sources: FEC candidate page, FEC administrative fines search
Caleb Walker. No public record found.
Courage
Takes a stand that costs them something, including telling their own side no.
Kate Cotten. No public record found.
John Day. No public record found.
Priscilla Gonzalez. No public record found.
Clay Higgins. Voted against his party's Speaker, Majority Leader and Whip on several major measures: the 2023 Fiscal Responsibility Act, the April 2024 Ukraine supplemental, the March 2024 appropriations package and the September 2024 continuing resolution.
Sources: House Clerk Roll Call 243, 2023, House Clerk Roll Call 151, 2024, House Clerk Roll Call 450, 2024
Tia LeBrun. No public record found.
Caleb Walker. No public record found.
Accountability
Owns mistakes, answers hard questions, and works in the open.
Kate Cotten. No public record found.
John Day. No public record found.
Priscilla Gonzalez. No public record found.
Clay Higgins. Held a telephone town hall in February 2025 and says his office regularly hosts town halls and veterans clinics. No 2026 debate record found.
Sources: KPLC, Feb. 25, 2025, House office site, 2025 Annual Report
Tia LeBrun. No public record found.
Caleb Walker. No public record found.
Temperament and judgment
Steady under pressure, decides on evidence, and treats opponents and staff with respect.
Kate Cotten. No public record found.
John Day. No public record found.
Priscilla Gonzalez. No public record found.
Clay Higgins. Army veteran and law enforcement officer, in Congress since 2017. A September 2024 censure resolution over a social media post about Haitians was introduced but not adopted. No censure, reprimand or ethics finding found.
Sources: House office site, About, Roll Call, Sept. 25, 2024
Tia LeBrun. No public record found.
Caleb Walker. No public record found.
Fidelity to the oath
Uses power inside its limits: accepts certified results, obeys court rulings, follows the rules of the office.
Kate Cotten. No public record found.
John Day. Served in the U.S. Navy in the 1990s. No misuse-of-office finding found.
Priscilla Gonzalez. No public record found.
Clay Higgins. Voted Yea on the House objections to Arizona's and Pennsylvania's certified electoral votes on Jan. 6 and 7, 2021, and signed the House members' amicus brief in Texas v. Pennsylvania in December 2020.
Sources: House Clerk Roll Call 10, 2021, House Clerk Roll Call 11, 2021, Texas v. Pennsylvania, amicus brief of 126 House members
Tia LeBrun. No public record found.
Caleb Walker. Says he served 10 years in the U.S. Army, rising to sergeant first class, with a deployment to Afghanistan. No misconduct finding found.
Source: Campaign site
What they bring
Qualifications
Relevant experience
Has done work that prepares them for this specific office.
Kate Cotten. No public record found.
John Day. Navy veteran with a career in private business development and consulting. Has not held public office.
Priscilla Gonzalez. Has worked as a marketing director, per Ballotpedia. Has not held public office.
Source: Ballotpedia, Priscilla Gonzalez
Clay Higgins. In the U.S. House since January 2017, seeking a sixth term; Army veteran and law enforcement officer before Congress.
Source: Ballotpedia, Clay Higgins
Tia LeBrun. Educator and school administrator with degrees from LSU and the University of New Orleans. Has not held public office.
Source: Ballotpedia, Tia LeBrun
Caleb Walker. Army veteran of 10 years and a community college student government leader. Has not held public office.
Source: Campaign site
Command of the job
Knows the issues and knows what the office can and cannot do.
Kate Cotten. No public record found.
John Day. His 2026 survey answers give positions on health care, housing and insurance in general terms.
Priscilla Gonzalez. Her campaign site has issue pages on criminal justice, the economy, education, health care, hurricanes, infrastructure and taxes, plus parish-by-parish pages.
Source: Campaign site
Clay Higgins. Chairs the Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement and also sits on Armed Services.
Source: GovTrack, committee membership
Tia LeBrun. Her 2026 survey answers call for a national insurance affordability and disaster mitigation plan and address health care and child care, in general terms.
Caleb Walker. His campaign focus, per the qualifying list and his site, is veteran support, community safety, economic growth and workforce development, in general terms.
Source: WRKF, Aug. 12, 2026
Communication
Explains plainly, persuades, and listens.
Kate Cotten. No public record found.
John Day. Completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026.
Priscilla Gonzalez. Publishes issue pages; completed Ballotpedia's survey in 2024 but not in 2026.
Sources: Campaign site, Ballotpedia, Priscilla Gonzalez
Clay Higgins. Offers an email newsletter, issue pages, an annual report and telephone town halls. Has not completed Ballotpedia's 2026 survey.
Sources: House office site, Ballotpedia, Clay Higgins
Tia LeBrun. Completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026 (and in 2022).
Source: Ballotpedia, Tia LeBrun
Caleb Walker. Publishes a campaign site with an issues section; has not completed Ballotpedia's 2026 survey.
Sources: Ballotpedia, Caleb Walker, Campaign site
Roots in the constituency
Lives there, knows the people, and is funded by them.
Kate Cotten. Lives in Lake Charles, in the district, per the qualifying list.
Source: WRKF, Aug. 12, 2026
John Day. Raised in Lake Charles, where he graduated from Sam Houston High School, and lives there now.
Sources: Ballotpedia, John Day (Louisiana), 2026 survey, WRKF, Aug. 12, 2026
Priscilla Gonzalez. Lives in Lafayette, per the qualifying list; born in McAllen, Texas.
Source: WRKF, Aug. 12, 2026
Clay Higgins. Lives in Lafayette, in the district.
Source: House office site, About
Tia LeBrun. Lives in Sulphur, per the qualifying list; raised in Terrebonne Parish.
Source: WRKF, Aug. 12, 2026
Caleb Walker. Originally from Wisner in Franklin Parish and living in Lafayette since 2020.
Source: Campaign site
Management
Can build and run an organization.
Kate Cotten. No public record found.
John Day. Campaign committee reports are on file with the FEC through July 18, 2026. No FEC administrative fine found.
Source: FEC candidate page
Priscilla Gonzalez. No public record found.
Clay Higgins. Campaign committee reports are on file with the FEC through July 18, 2026. No FEC administrative fine found.
Source: FEC candidate page
Tia LeBrun. Campaign committee reports are on file with the FEC through July 18, 2026. No FEC administrative fine found.
Source: FEC candidate page
Caleb Walker. No public record found.
What they deliver
Performance
Results
Turns ideas into outcomes.
Kate Cotten. No public record found.
John Day. No public record found.
Priscilla Gonzalez. No public record found.
Clay Higgins. Legislative Effectiveness Score of 1.525 in the 118th Congress against a benchmark of 1.469, meets expectations. Primary sponsor of five enacted bills, including the Federal Register Modernization Act of 2024 and the Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act.
Sources: Center for Effective Lawmaking House dataset, 93rd to 118th Congress, GovTrack, Clay Higgins
Tia LeBrun. No public record found.
Caleb Walker. No public record found.
Showing up
Does the basic work of the job.
Kate Cotten. No public record found.
John Day. No public record found.
Priscilla Gonzalez. No public record found.
Clay Higgins. Missed 330 of 5,079 roll call votes, 6.5 percent, from January 2017 to September 2026.
Source: GovTrack, missed votes
Tia LeBrun. No public record found.
Caleb Walker. No public record found.
Constituent service
Solves problems for the people they represent.
Kate Cotten. No public record found.
John Day. No public record found.
Priscilla Gonzalez. No public record found.
Clay Higgins. Runs district offices in Lafayette and Lake Charles and reports resolving more than 11,000 constituent cases since 2017.
Sources: House office site, 2025 Annual Report, House office site
Tia LeBrun. No public record found.
Caleb Walker. No public record found.
Coalition building
Wins support beyond their own faction.
Kate Cotten. No public record found.
John Day. No public record found.
Priscilla Gonzalez. No public record found.
Clay Higgins. Lugar Center Bipartisan Index score of -1.19355 for 2023 (118th Congress), ranked 372 of 436, in the bottom quarter.
Source: Lugar Center and McCourt School Bipartisan Index, House Scores
Tia LeBrun. No public record found.
Caleb Walker. No public record found.
Stewardship of public money
Treats tax dollars as someone else's money.
Kate Cotten. No public record found.
John Day. No public record found.
Priscilla Gonzalez. No public record found.
Clay Higgins. No public record found.
Tia LeBrun. No public record found.
Caleb Walker. No public record found.
How to read this
Each criterion is scored 0 to 4 against the written rubric in the Ballot Standard. NR means no record: there is no reliable public evidence either way, so the criterion is left out and never counts against the candidate. A total is published when at least 8 of 15 criteria have evidence.
A sitting officeholder has a longer public record than a first-time candidate, so the two totals rest on different amounts of evidence. Read the count of criteria beside each score. Low marks require an official finding or a primary record. Allegations and opinion are not used.
No policy position is scored. Evidence checked October 6, 2026. Campaigns and readers can send a correction with a public source to tpg@thepoliticalgroup.com.
Questions
Who should I vote for in Louisiana's 3rd Congressional District?
Clay Higgins has the strongest record in Louisiana's 3rd Congressional District. Clay Higgins scores 59 out of 100 on the Ballot Standard, as of October 6, 2026. Clay Higgins's highest marks are relevant experience and command of the job. Kate Cotten (1 of 15 criteria), John Day (7 of 15 criteria), Priscilla Gonzalez (4 of 15 criteria), Tia LeBrun (6 of 15 criteria) and Caleb Walker (5 of 15 criteria) have too little public record to score. Every score comes from public records on character, qualifications and performance, the same way for every party.
Who is running in Louisiana's 3rd Congressional District in 2026?
Kate Cotten (Republican), John Day (Democratic), Priscilla Gonzalez (Democratic), Clay Higgins (Republican, incumbent), Tia LeBrun (No Party), Caleb Walker (Democratic). The general election is November 3, 2026.
Is Kate Cotten a good candidate for Congress?
Kate Cotten has public evidence on 1 of the 15 Ballot Standard criteria, short of the 8 needed for a score. The evidence that exists is shown on the scorecard. No record never counts against a candidate.
Is John Day a good candidate for Congress?
John Day has public evidence on 7 of the 15 Ballot Standard criteria, short of the 8 needed for a score. The evidence that exists is shown on the scorecard. No record never counts against a candidate.
Is Priscilla Gonzalez a good candidate for Congress?
Priscilla Gonzalez has public evidence on 4 of the 15 Ballot Standard criteria, short of the 8 needed for a score. The evidence that exists is shown on the scorecard. No record never counts against a candidate.
Is Clay Higgins a good candidate for Congress?
Clay Higgins scores 59 out of 100 on the Ballot Standard, with public evidence on 14 of 15 criteria: character 50 of 100, qualifications 75 of 100, performance 50 of 100. The standard measures character, qualifications and performance, not policy positions.
Is Tia LeBrun a good candidate for Congress?
Tia LeBrun has public evidence on 6 of the 15 Ballot Standard criteria, short of the 8 needed for a score. The evidence that exists is shown on the scorecard. No record never counts against a candidate.
Is Caleb Walker a good candidate for Congress?
Caleb Walker has public evidence on 5 of the 15 Ballot Standard criteria, short of the 8 needed for a score. The evidence that exists is shown on the scorecard. No record never counts against a candidate.
How is the strongest record decided?
The candidate with the highest Ballot Standard score has the strongest record. Each of 15 criteria on character, qualifications and performance is scored 0 to 4 from public records and established reporting, the same way for every party. No policy position is scored, and unresolved accusations never move a score.
More on this race: every Louisiana race scored, and the Louisiana 2026 election guide. Independent scorecard by The Political Group, not affiliated with any candidate or party.