Louisiana House candidate accused of rape says he hopes to again ‘earn’ Trump endorsement

Republican state senator Blake Miguez converses before the swearing-in of the Louisiana state legislature in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on 8 January 2024. Photograph: Gerald Herbert/AP View image in fullscreen Republican state senator Blake Miguez converses before the swearing-in of the Louisiana state legislature in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on 8 January 2024. Photograph: Gerald Herbert/AP Louisiana House candidate accused of rape says he hopes to again ‘earn’ Trump endorsement Republican Blake Miguez is weighing what district to run in after state redrew map following supreme court decision A congressional candidate from Louisiana who was the subject of a police report accusing him of rape – which he denies – says he is hoping to again “earn” Donald Trump’s endorsement as he considers precisely where to run amid redistricting. The candidate, Blake Miguez, is weighing running in one of two districts, neither of which he lives in but which he is allowed to run. He has been mulling that choice after the supreme court’s landmark decision in Callais v Louisiana prompted the state to swiftly redraw its US House districts – and after he had secured the president’s backing under the previous congressional map. Approached on Wednesday after Miguez’s campaign website had become password protected and otherwise blank, a spokesperson said: “Blake was honored to have President Trump’s endorsement for [an] old … congressional district that no longer exists” after Callais, “and [he] hopes to earn it again after he announces a campaign under the new district lines.” Trump-endorsed Republican in Louisiana accused of rape in 2007 Read more A White House spokesperson clarified that Trump did not formally rescind his endorsement – but added that the president “will look at the candidate field after candidate [qualifying] if necessary”. “At this point, [Trump] has not made any changes nor does he have an intent to,” the spokesperson said. “If new information changes things, will cross that bridge when we get to it.” The Republican Louisiana state senator secured 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 midtermsafter the Callais decision . Miguez’s campaign has also had to grapple with an Atlantic report that he had not disclosed to Trump’s team the existence of a 2007 rape accusation reported to local law enforcement on the same day of the alleged assault. That police report – which the Guardian also independently obtained and reported on – never resulted in charges, and Miguez categorically denied the claim as false. But it reportedly raised concerns within the White House that Miguez “either wasn’t fully vetted or wasn’t forthcoming about discoverable documents from his past” while he successfully pursued Trump’s endorsement, as the Atlantic reported . The statements from Miguez’s campaign and the White Hou