US Election in Louisiana: Why lives depend on Donald Trump and Joe Biden

As I landed in New Orleans ahead of the US election, the thing I noticed first were the masks.

Passengers at Louis Armstrong International Airport wore their politics on their faces.

Face coverings were emblazoned with slogans like 'MAGA 2020' - not a souvenir from an all-inclusive to Magaluf but Donald Trump's campaign message to "make America great again".

Others had 'I Can't Breathe' written on them - a symbolic phrase used in the global black lives matter protests since the summer.

This state of Louisiana is almost certain to remain Republican red, supporting Donald Trump's pitch for another four years in the White House.

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"He's for us and our country," a black mother tells me at a gas station stop in Kentwood, worried the America she loves will be taken away if Joe Biden wins.

"I hope he gets it again," a driver calls out of his window before driving off.

Curator Miss Fay shows me an umbrella prop Britney Spears used to perform Everytime on tour

I find it hard to find anyone here who wants Joe Biden as their leader.

Kentwood, which has a population of about 2000 people, is where Britney Spears grew up.

Just up the road from the gas pump there's a museum dedicated to her career.

Its curator - a Republican voter called Miss Fay - says Kentwood is "the type of town where we pray for each other".

She confirms the area's support for Donald Trump, saying America is stronger with him in charge.

"I think he's been good for the nation," she says, standing in front of a reconstruction of Britney's old bedroom - complete with a teddy bear wearing an N-Sync jersey.

"I know a lot of people say he's a little rough and tumble but that doesn't bother me, he gets things done."

Musicians 'left out to dry'

Louisiana might be where Britney, Frank Ocean, Normani, Lil Wayne and DJ Khaled all began their careers, but the coronavirus pandemic has muted other musicians trying to make it big, especially in New Orleans - the state's biggest city and one that boasts it's "the birthplace of jazz".

For 27-year-old vocalist Christien Bold, the past eight months have been financially tough, with gigs cancelled as bars in the city closed their doors.

He says there have been times when he's not had money in his pockets and knows of other musicians who rely on tips to to pay their bills and have been "left out to dry".

"There are a lot of poor folks here," he says, standing on the empty Frenchmen Street, which he describes as "the music Mecca of the city".

Christien is voting for the Democrat candidate Joe Biden, claiming "we're screwed either way" but "Biden is a beacon of light" who can help those struggling with employment.

It's something Pamela, a respiratory therapist from Texas who moved to New Orleans 18 months ago, agrees with.

"Turn it blue," she yells at me in a bar, where she's sheltering from Hurricane Zeta's 110mph winds.

She's hoping Louisiana will vote for Joe Biden.

"I'm embarrassed by Trump," she says. "All the people I meet from other countries, I apologise. I don't want people to think all Americans are buffoons."

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Pamela announces, while ordering a vodka soda to buckle in for the hurricane, that Great British Bake Off host Paul Hollywood is her "fantasy boyfriend because of his most gorgeous blue eyes".

She really is blue through and through.

Derek, celebrating his birthday three seats away, completely disagrees (about the politics, not Paul's allure) believing Donald Trump's message "appeals to working people and that's what we have in America".

The climate change question

The power goes off and on in the bar as Zeta's strength rips through, but the flooding won't be that bad here, I'm told by Pamela. It's elsewhere in the state that'll get it worse.

Emerson Boutte has been preparing for the worst for most of her life, as Louisiana bears the brunt of the United States hurricane season every year.

But this year it's different because for the first time, 18-year-old Emerson has a vote on who gets to lead her country in the fight against climate change.

She doesn't know who to choose.

"If one of the candidates would directly address the climate change, coastal erosion and land loss happening in Louisiana, I think that would definitely sway my vote for them," she says, nervous about how many days - or weeks - she's going to be without power because of how strong Zeta was.

This state hasn't been a focus in this election campaign - it rarely is.

Both Biden and Trump's teams know it's almost certain to vote Republican like it has in every presidential vote since 2000, which means it's not featured on the rolling news channels as the two candidates don't organise huge rallies here.

It's for that reason many people in Louisiana feel they're not being heard when it comes to their daily battles for survival because politicians don't try as hard to get their vote as they do in other states.

'Fighting for fresh air'

"I want our elected officials to come out here. Come put a human face on this fight that we're battling," Shamara Lavigne tells me outside her home in an area nicknamed Cancer Alley.

“We are only fighting for fresh air," she says, her two dogs running around nearby - there's also an alligator nearby called Geoffrey.

The air tastes notably different in St James Parish and it feels "ironic" to Shamara that people in this predominantly black community only started wearing masks because of the coronavirus pandemic, and not because of the toxic emissions.

Everybody who lives around here knows someone who either has cancer or has died from it.

They're fighting to stop more industry coming to the area, fearing it could increase the risk of cancer - something the companies dispute.

The tweets Donald Trump posts or the adverts Joe Biden pays for have no impact here.

For Shamara's mum Sharon, she has just one request to the two wannabe presidents: "I want them to save our lives."

Desperate words I didn't expect to hear covering this election.

"If they can help us with that, they've got my vote".

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