Ralph Abraham

Ralph Lee Abraham, Jr. (born September 16, 1954), is an American physician and former veterinarian from Mangham in Richland Parish, Louisiana, who was elected in 2014 to the United States House of Representatives for his state's 5th congressional district, which encompasses a large swath of territory between Monroe and Baton Rouge. He was a Republican candidate for governor in the 2019 nonpartisan blanket primary. He finished third with 317,115 votes (24 percent). The primary placed a second Republican, Eddie Rispone, a Baton Rouge businessman who largely self-financed his campaign, into the November 16 runoff election against the incumbent Democrat, John Bel Edwards, who led the primary with exactly 626,000 votes (46.6 percent).

Ralph Lee Abraham, Jr.
U.S. Representative for Louisiana's 5th congressional district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 2015
Preceded by	Vance Michael McAllister, Sr.
Born	September 16, 1954 Alto, Richland Parish, Louisiana
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Dianne Abraham
Children	KiAnne, Lee, and Ashley
Residence	Mangham, Richland Parish
Alma mater	Louisiana State University Louisiana State University College of Veterinary Medicine Louisiana State University School of Medicine
Occupation	Physician former veterinarian
Religion	Southern Baptist

When Congressman Abraham announced his congressional candidacy, he declared that he would adhere to self-imposed term limits of six years. Sam Hanna, Jr., a Monroe-based journalist, said that the House leadership, "for all practical purposes, had no reason to help him advance in a world where seniority means everything. Yet, Abraham could turn the tables and announce in the very near future that he’d given some thought to all of that yak about term limits and simply declare his intention to remain in the House ..." To win his U.S. House seat, Abraham first dispatched the scandal-plagued Republican incumbent Vance Michael McAllister, Sr., in the nonpartisan blanket primary and then in the general election, the African-American Democrat Jamie Mayo, the mayor of Monroe, 134,612 votes (64.2 percent) to 75,004 (35.8 percent). He handily defeated fellow Republican Billy Burkette in 2016 to secure his second term as representative.

Abraham has served in the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary and the Mississippi National Guard. He and his wife, Dianne, have three children.

Though considered a conservative on most political issues, including abortion, Abraham opposes the continued use of the Electoral College and said in a radio interview that he supports a direct popular vote for president and vice-president, which in 2016 would have meant victory for Hillary Rodham Clinton and U.S. Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia.

In his bid for a third term in the House, Abraham defeated three challengers in the primary election held on November 6, 2018. Billy Burkette of Pride in East Baton Rouge Parish ran in 2018 as an Independent. Jessee Carlton Fleenor (born September 23, 1984), a female Democrat from Loranger in Tangipahoa Parish who carried the official endorsement of the Louisiana Democratic Executive Committee. Kyle Randol, a Libertarian of Monroe also sought the congressional seat.

In September 2018, Abraham urged colleagues on the Farm Bill House-Senate Conference Committee to include work requirements for food stamp recipients: "We're simply asking these adults to meet the taxpayer halfway." The farm bill sets agriculture policy for five years though the United States Constitution says that a current Congress cannot commit spending to a future Congress. The Senate is resisting the work requirements related to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Abraham said that the committee "is very close on every issue except SNAP reforms."

In April 2019, Abraham released as his key supporters the names of more than one hundred Louisiana officials, most of whom hold minor positions. Two state representatives have endorsed Abraham, including Jay Morris of Monroe and Paul Hollis, Jr., of Covington. Several district attorneys are Abraham supporters as is the sheriff of Richland Parish, Gary Gilley.

The Louisiana Republican State Executive Committee is expected to recommend only one candidate to challenge Edwards and to urge that the unendorsed candidate(s) withdraw from the race. Polls consistently show the Democrat Edwards leading Rispone and Abraham in his bid for a second term as governor.

On June 27, 2019, Abraham received the support of Republican Craig Greene, a fellow physician from Baton Rouge who in the 2015 general election had crossed party lines to support John Bel Edwards for governor.

U.S. President Donald Trump has endorsed Rispone in the general election with Edwards. In a pre-primary rally in Lake Charles, Trump urged Louisiana's Republican voters to come to the polls on October 12 and vote for either Abraham or Rispone. Abraham right after the results were released pledged his support to Rispone as well. However, two days before the Edwards-Rispone contest, one of Abraham's sons-in-law donated $5,000 to the Edwards campaign.