BATON ROUGE - A New Iberia resident filed a formal complaint against State Senator Blake Miguez, claiming that his recent move to Baton Rouge would disqualify him from his current elected seat. 

Miguez, R-New Iberia, was elected to Dist. 22 in 2023. Currently, Miguez has a homestead exemption and is a registered voter in Iberia Parish. 

His term expires in 2026, but he's running for U.S. Rep. for the 6th Congressional District, which runs from Caddo Parish to East Baton Rouge Parish and is currently held by Congressman Cleo Fields.

The complaint alleges that Miguez, while running for the congressional seat, moved out of Iberia Parish, violating the residency requirement rules.

State law says that any state representative who moves out of their district after being elected and sworn into office will vacate their seat. 

In his advertisements, Miguez says that he moved to Baton Rouge in 1999 and has owned a home in the capital city for 25 years. Parish documents say that Miguez purchased a home in Baton Rouge in 2026. 

State Senator Rick Edmonds, who is running against Miguez, said his opponent is claiming not only to own property in Baton Rouge, but to live in the city as well. 

“Claims by my opponent that he has lived in Baton Rouge since 1999 calls his eligibility into question,” Edmonds said. “It’s quite simple – my opponent cannot say he lives in Baton Rouge while also saying he resides in State Senate District 22. Both claims cannot exist.”

Chris Pack, a spokesperson for Miguez's campaign, responded to Edmonds' allegations. 

“We haven’t seen the complaint, but if Mississippi Pastor Rick Edmonds wants to pick us up a copy the next time he heads home to Mississippi, we’d be happy to take a look. While he’s home, maybe he can check to see if he has any more Mississippi tax liens to pay off from unpaid income taxes. Regarding our ad, it is 100 percent factual, and no amount of desperate grandstanding from a Mississippi pastor moonlighting as a State Senator changes that. Mississippi Rick can hold as many press conferences as he wants, but truths always have a way of coming out, which is something he’ll be finding out in the days and weeks ahead," Pack said. 

According to Mississippi State Department of Revenue, Edmonds had a lien on more than $5,000 on unpaid income taxes. 

A spokesperson for Edmonds said that the senator was not aware of the unpaid balance and will promptly pay what he owes. 

The complaint was filed with Attorney General Liz Murrill's office, which has 20 days to investigate the matter. WBRZ has filed a public records request for the document.