BATON ROUGE - Former Metro Councilwoman Chauna Banks has a shot at working in the nation's capital after winning most of the vote in Louisiana's 6th Congressional District, forcing a runoff against state Sen. Blake Miguez. 

Banks opted not to throw an election party and went to bed early, but said her phone started ringing off the hook when the final numbers came in around 11 p.m. 

Before going to sleep, Banks was in third place.

After a late push from early and absentee voting numbers from East Baton Rouge Parish, Banks took first place with 50,878 votes, inching ahead of Miguez, who received 50,213, and state Sen. Rick Edmonds, who topped out at 49,241. 

"It's surreal. It's settling in now, but I was just like in awe and amazement," she said. "Very much honored that I had such support. Never envisioned being number one."

What the numbers don't show is that Banks did very little campaigning and did not receive the official endorsement from the Democratic Party. Instead, it went to Lindsay "Rubia" Garcia, who finished behind Edmonds. 

Banks said that while she isn't looking for her party's endorsement this time around, she would welcome it. Instead, she says she's concerned about the people. 

"I seek the endorsement of the voters," she said. "I have to still stay centered on the people that I intend to serve."  

While Banks didn't run a big-budget campaign, she had household name recognition in East Baton Rouge after serving on the Metro Council from 2013 to 2024. She referred to the early EBR voters as "the wind beneath [her] sail," and said her "common-sense politics" approach to decisions on the council will flow over to her decisions in Washington. 

Banks said her campaign will be centered around affordability for working Louisianians. 

"We are all taking home less, and we are able to keep less in our savings, and it has really been hurting Americans." 

The voters in the 6th District, which includes parts of Ascension, Assumption, East and West Baton Rouge, Iberville, Lafourche, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Charles, St. John and St. Martin parishes, will return to the polls Dec. 12.

"Not only do I have hope, it is evident that the people have hope, and that's actually what I'd like to bring to Washington."