BATON ROUGE mdash; Two Republican candidates competing in unresolved Louisiana congressional runoffs traveled to Washington, D.C., this week to attend freshman orientation on Capitol Hillmdash;a move drawing sharp criticism from their Democratic opponents weeks before voters cast their final ballot s.State Sen. Blake Miguez and state Rep. Gabe Firment were photographed participating in the U.S. House of Representativesrsquo; New Member Orientation, which runs from Nov. 8 through Nov. 18, and stood alongside incoming lawmakers for Thursday's official freshman class photo at the U.S. Capitol. Neither candidate has won their races; both are headed to Dec. 12 runoff elections, with early voting scheduled for Nov. 28 through Dec. 5.In Louisianarsquo;s 5th Congressional District, Firment faces Democratic state Rep. Pat Moore. Moore's campaign sharply criticized Firmentrsquo;s trip on social media, noting that Firment placed second in the primary."My opponent, State Rep. Gabe Firment is counting his chickens before theyrsquo;re hatched!" Moore's campaign wrote on Facebook, adding that he is "claiming victory in a race he hasnrsquo;t won, and didnrsquo;t even lead!"In the 6th Congressional District, Miguez faces Democrat Chauna Banks. Banks confirmed she received an invitation to the 12-day orientation, which covers congressional staffing, office assignments and legislative procedures, but chose to decline it and stay in Louisiana to campaign.In an official statement shared on Facebook under the banner "The Voters Come First. Washington Can Wait," Banks argued that Governor Jeff Landryrsquo;s decision to shift Louisianarsquo;s congressional elections onto a later calendar than the rest of the nation created the scheduling overlap."I was taught a long time ago not to put the cart before the horse," Banks wrote. "If they do not value YOUR VOTE when they need it, they will not value YOUR VOICE when they no longer need it! ... Irsquo;ll get to Washington, D.C., soon enough. But first, I have an election to win and voters to serve."WBRZ has reached out to Firment and Miguez for comment and has not yet received a response.nbsp;The winners of both Dec. 12 runoff elections will be sworn into the 120th Congress when it convenes on Jan. 3, 2027.Permalink| Comments ...read more read less