— OFF TO A STRONG START: Sen. Jean-Paul Coussan has filed his first campaign finance report since qualifying for the Public Service Commission open seat. He has more than $473,000 in the bank.

— TODAY’S FEATURED FUNDRAISER: Congresswoman Julia Letlow is hosting a fundraiser at 6 p.m. today at a private home in Covington. Contributions are $2,000 or $3,300. To RSVP or join the host committee, contact Shea Brittain at [email protected]. 

— SEPTEMBER’S FUNDRAISERS: Gov. Jeff Landry hosts his Annual Alligator Hunt Sept. 5-7, with sponsorship levels at $25,000, $50,000 and $100,000. Rep. Shane Mack is holding a “debt retirement” luncheon at noon on Sept. 17 at the Beer Industry League; contributions range from $250 to $2,500. Rep. Chance Henry has a “pork and pour” event scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 27 at The Bunkhouse in Morse. Henry’s guests are expected to include House Speaker Phillip DeVillier, Speaker Pro Tem Mike Johnson, Sen. Bob Hensgens, Rep. Ryan Bourriaque, Rep. Beau Beaullieu and Rep. Troy Romero. Want your event listed? Send it to [email protected]!

— BOSTON BOUND: Gordon Russell, the New Orleans-based investigations editor for The Advocate, is leaving to join The Boston Globe, he announced on social media. He is part of the team that won a 2019 Pulitzer Prize for local reporting. He worked at The Times-Picayune from 1999 until 2013, was the paper’s last city editor, and shared two Pulitzer Prizes for coverage of Hurricane Katrina.

— ADVANTOUS HOLDS SALT SUMMIT: Advantous will hold a SALT (state and local tax) Summit Sept. 9 and 10 at the Royal Sonesta Houston Galleria. Topics include compliance costs, tax litigation and the Industrial Tax Exemption Program, as well as updates from legislators and state revenue officials. 

— DISTRICT 6 DEBATE: KALB is planning to host a congressional District 6 debate at 7 p.m. on August 22 at the Holiday Inn in downtown Alexandria. Senate and Governmental Affairs Chair Cleo Fields and former state Sen. Elbert Guillory are the leading candidates for the Democrats and Republicans, respectively. Quintin Anthony Anderson, Wilken Jones Jr. and Peter Williams also are running as Democrats. KALB’s Colin Vedros will moderate. The station has not announced which candidates it expects to participate. 

— LMTA ANTI-TRAFFICKING EVENT: The Louisiana Motor Transport Association will hold a human trafficking prevention event Aug. 27 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the North Delta Training Academy in West Monroe. The event aims to bring together stakeholders from the trucking, truck stop, bus and energy industries with law enforcement and other government agencies. 

— THIS WEEK’S POD: In this week’s archived episode of the LaPolitics Report podcast (Spotify/Apple), we take a deep dive into fundraising, the mother’s milk of elections. The episode features Sally Nungesser of Nungesser Consulting, who has raised money for a long list of politicians, including but not limited to former President George W. Bush, U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser, Congressman Clay Higgins and former New York Governor George Pataki. Whether you’re already a pro and want to hear best practices from other campaigns, or if you just need a brief overview of how professional fundraising works, you’ll find something here for you. This week’s episode also features a quick look at the history and beauty of the Old State Capitol. Listen now on Spotify and Apple.

— VIEW FROM THE HILL: Michael Wong, president and founder of W Strategies, worked as U.S. Sen. John Kennedy’s state director, as a senior staffer to current Majority Leader Steve Scalise, and as a policy advisor for U.S. Sen. David Vitter. He says staffers are often the eyes and ears for their members; he’ll explain how that works in an exclusive column for tomorrow’s edition of Beltway Beat.