{"id":5690,"date":"2026-07-23T22:22:30","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T22:22:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/2026\/07\/23\/louisiana-house-candidate-accused-of-rape-says-he-hopes-to-again-earn-trump-endorsement\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T22:22:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T22:22:30","slug":"louisiana-house-candidate-accused-of-rape-says-he-hopes-to-again-earn-trump-endorsement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=5690","title":{"rendered":"Louisiana House candidate accused of rape says he hopes to again \u2018earn\u2019 Trump endorsement"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-14sl0e4\">\n<div class=\"dcr-17l77cs\">\n<figure id=\"47d95ba5-41db-4b41-89af-84c0ffcada67\" class=\"dcr-191xnya\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"a man looking left\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/7c0f27b9a8522a7df96256365e7628d780b38f67\/387_0_5013_4013\/master\/5013.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"372.24117295032914\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><span class=\"dcr-kogzpx\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-18mnkpm\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1294qmb\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-4sl2vt\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1mfxiaj\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">The Republican state senator Blake Miguez converses before the swearing-in of the Louisiana state legislature in Baton Rouge on 8 January 2024.<\/span> Photograph: Gerald Herbert\/AP<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"47d95ba5-41db-4b41-89af-84c0ffcada67\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-qda0hp\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1e9iiy9\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">The Republican state senator Blake Miguez converses before the swearing-in of the Louisiana state legislature in Baton Rouge on 8 January 2024.<\/span> Photograph: Gerald Herbert\/AP<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-ql9l8l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6mja0y\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-l0wuod\">Louisiana House candidate accused of rape says he hopes to again \u2018earn\u2019 Trump endorsement<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1xpojbf\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1gm5ptv\">\n<p>Republican Blake Miguez is weighing what district to run in after state redrew map following supreme court decision<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-x1al2c\">\n<div class=\"dcr-11gq2tx\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-1w2vkyc\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-ogvvui\">\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">A congressional candidate from Louisiana who was the subject of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/mar\/11\/louisiana-republican-blake-miguez\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">a police report<\/a> accusing him of rape \u2013 which he denies \u2013 says he is hoping to again \u201cearn\u201d Donald Trump\u2019s endorsement as he considers precisely where to run amid redistricting.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The candidate, Blake Miguez, is weighing running in one of two districts, neither of which he lives in but in which he is allowed to run. He has been mulling that choice after the supreme court\u2019s landmark decision in Callais v <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/louisiana\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Louisiana<\/a> prompted the state to swiftly redraw its US House districts \u2013 and after he had secured the president\u2019s backing under the previous congressional map.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Approached on Wednesday after Miguez\u2019s campaign website had become password protected and otherwise blank, a spokesperson said: \u201cBlake was honored to have President Trump\u2019s endorsement for [an] old \u2026 congressional district that no longer exists\u201d after Callais, \u201cand [he] hopes to earn it again after he announces a campaign under the new district lines.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"6abb2013-6607-417c-8e8c-9dd38c735112\" data-spacefinder-role=\"richLink\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-1oq85qr\">\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" data-link-name=\"rich-link-3 | 3\" data-component=\"rich-link\" data-name=\"placeholder\" class=\"dcr-1rx5ky9\">\n<div data-format-theme=\"5\" data-format-design=\"0\" data-format-display=\"0\" class=\"dcr-uyoh2p\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/mar\/11\/louisiana-republican-blake-miguez\" class=\"dcr-f35c0u\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-vvxpdt\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6z6e7\">\n<div class=\"dcr-zh9rih\">Trump-endorsed Republican in Louisiana accused of rape in 2007<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-oj13vq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-ef9nua\">Read more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">A White House spokesperson clarified that Trump did not formally rescind his endorsement \u2013 but added that the president \u201cwill look at the candidate field after candidate [qualifying] if necessary\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cAt this point, [Trump] has not made any changes nor does he have an intent to,\u201d the spokesperson said. \u201cIf new information changes things, we will cross that bridge when we get to it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The Republican Louisiana state senatorsecured the coveted backing of Trump in the race for a US House seat as he qualified to run in a 16 May primary for the post, which is safely held by their party. But that primary was postponed until the November midterms after the Callais <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/apr\/29\/supreme-court-louisiana-congressional-map-case-ruling\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">decision<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Miguez\u2019s campaign has also had to grapplewith an Atlantic report that he had not disclosed to Trump\u2019s team the existence of a 2007 rape accusation reported to local law enforcement on the same day of the alleged assault.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">That police report \u2013 which the Guardian also independently obtained and reported on \u2013 never resulted in charges, and Miguez categorically denied the claim as false. But it reportedly raised concerns within the White House that Miguez \u201ceither wasn\u2019t fully vetted or wasn\u2019t forthcoming about discoverable documents from his past\u201d while he successfully pursued Trump\u2019s endorsement, as the Atlantic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/politics\/2026\/03\/lousiana-blake-miguez-trump-endorsement\/686325\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The statements from Miguez\u2019s campaign and the White House sparked verbal sparring from one of the candidate\u2019s Republican rivals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Lionel Rainey, a spokesperson for a political action committee supporting another candidate in the postponed US House race, Rick Edmonds, said he found it \u201csilly\u201d to blame redistricting for evident uncertainty over Trump\u2019s endorsement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cNobody believes that,\u201d Rainey said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Separate 12 March articles from the Guardian and the Atlantic reported on a woman who alleged being raped by Miguez in late August 2007 when he purportedly was her \u201clive-in ex boyfriend\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">A police report quoted the woman as saying the assault took place at the end of a night of drinking in Miguez\u2019s home town of Erath, Louisiana. But the legal document said she did not want to press charges against Miguez \u2013 then in law school \u2013 because she did not want to get him into trouble.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">One of the ways the Miguez campaign responded to those claims was to link to an article from a Louisiana news outlet that followed up on the Atlantic and the Guardian\u2019s reporting with quotes from family members of the accuser. Those family members questioned the accuser\u2019s credibility while citing mental health and substance abuse problems.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The campaign, meanwhile, also circulated an email attributed to her father that was sent to the state senator\u2019s office which read in part: \u201cEverything my daughter has reported about you were lies and she is a liar and has a drug problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The Guardian subsequently wrote to the woman offering her the opportunity to address her family member\u2019s statements. She did not reply.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">In the months since the Miguez accuser\u2019s claims, US House representatives Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales \u2013 a California Democrat and a Texas Republican, respectively \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/apr\/14\/eric-swalwell-tony-gonzales-resignations\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">resigned<\/a> under bipartisan pressure over allegations of sexual misconduct against both.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Furthermore, on 10 July, the Democratic US Senate candidate Graham Platner of Maine withdrew his scandal-laden candidacy days after detailed sexual assault allegations were made against him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Miguez won election to Louisiana\u2019s state senate in 2023 after more than eight years in its house of representatives. He signed up to contest for a seat that congresswoman Julia Letlow vacated when, with Trump\u2019s backing, she victoriously ran in a Republican US Senate primary at the expense of incumbent Bill Cassidy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The boundaries of that seat \u2013 in Louisiana\u2019s fifth congressional district \u2013 were outside Miguez\u2019s Erath home when Trump endorsed him in February as a \u201cwarrior\u201d of the president\u2019s Maga movement. Miguez\u2019s opponents seized on that to try to cast him as a political opportunist, and his campaign countered that he has also long kept a home as well as operated a business in the fifth district, which then included Baton Rouge, Louisiana\u2019s capital, as the state\u2019s Shreveport Times <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shreveporttimes.com\/story\/news\/2026\/06\/15\/who-is-running-in-chaotic-louisiana-fifth-congressional-district-race-trump-has-endorsed\/90551674007\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Under the state\u2019s post-Callais congressional map, Erath is still outside Louisiana\u2019s fifth congressional district. The town is in Louisiana\u2019s third district, which since 2017 has been represented by the Republican Clay Higgins.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">But the new sixth congressional district contains the Baton Rouge capital region. And on Thursday, the sixth district incumbent \u2013 the Democrat Cleo Fields \u2013 said that he would not seek re-election under the altered boundaries of the post-Callais map.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The Times reported in June that Miguez opponents had sources telling them that he had asked Trump to let him carry the president\u2019s fifth district endorsement over to the sixth.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">US House candidates are not required to run in their home districts. They only need to live in the same state as the congressional district in which they are running.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Miguez\u2019s campaign on Wednesday declined to say which Louisiana congressional district he may target when a three-day qualifying period opens on 5 August.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-swayiu\"><span class=\"dcr-1xhbmzr\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-2c03t5\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-p7nd18\">\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/louisiana\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Louisiana<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/republicans\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Republicans<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/donaldtrump\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Donald Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-politics\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">US politics<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-supreme-court\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">US supreme court<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/house-of-representatives\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">House of Representatives<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-congress\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">US Congress<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-313bdz\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Louisiana%20House%20candidate%20accused%20of%20rape%20says%20he%20hopes%20to%20again%20%E2%80%98earn%E2%80%99%20Trump%20endorsement&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jul\/23\/blake-miguez-louisiana-house-trump?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-ncybeu\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-19bkree\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fjul%2F23%2Fblake-miguez-louisiana-house-trump&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/jul\/23\/blake-miguez-louisiana-house-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-1c41onw\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1kq7f60\"><span class=\"dcr-1ryr20k\"><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Republican state senator Blake Miguez converses before the swearing-in of the Louisiana state legislature in Baton Rouge<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":5692,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5690"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5690\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}