Richard Torregano

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Richard Torregano

Independent

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

Louisiana Tech University, 1992

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Marine Corps

Years of service

1973 - 1977

Personal

Birthplace

New Orleans, La.

Profession

Electronics technician

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign X

Richard Torregano (independent) (also known as RPT) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Louisiana's 6th Congressional District. He lost in the primary on November 3, 2020.

Torregano completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Richard Torregano was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1973 to 1977. Torregano earned a bachelor’s degree from both Loyola University in 1989 and Louisiana Tech University in 1992. His career experience includes working as an electronics technician.

Elections

2020

See also: Louisiana's 6th Congressional District election, 2020

Louisiana elections use the majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House Louisiana District 6

Incumbent Garret Graves won election outright against Dartanyon Williams, Shannon Sloan, and Richard Torregano in the primary for U.S. House Louisiana District 6 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Garret Graves (R)	71.0	265,706
		Dartanyon Williams (D)	25.5	95,541
		Shannon Sloan (L)	2.6	9,732
		Richard Torregano (Independent)	0.8	3,017

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 373,996
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2012

See also: Louisiana's 6th Congressional District elections, 2012

Torregano ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House to represent Louisiana's 6th District. Torregano faced the incumbent Bill Cassidy (R) and Rufus Holt Craig Jr. (L) in the November 6 blanket primary.

U.S. House, Louisiana District 6 Primary Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Bill Cassidy Incumbent	79.4%	243,553
	Libertarian	Rufus Holt Craig,Jr	10.5%	32,185
	None	Richard Torregano	10.1%	30,975
Total Votes				306,713
Source: Louisiana Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Richard Torregano completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Torregano's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My name is Richard "RPT" Torregano, a candidate for Louisiana 6th Congressional District (around the Baton Rouge area). I am a 66 years old, from New Orleans, retired electronic technician also retired military, held a top secret clearance, college educated (BA & BS), middle class American who feels that "Middle Class Americans" are being pushed aside and squeezed by big business (mostly republicans) and special interest groups (most democrats) and not properly represented. Because of partisan politics, Congress is broken and dysfunctional, and new blood is needed. I have an extensive economic platform and a method to accomplish needed change should I make it to Congress. I need your support, I need your help and I need your vote, help me help you and all middle class Americans. See more at RPT501.com.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Congress has been broken for some time and the "status quo" is not going to fix it !! Therefore the "status quo" must go!! New independent blood is needed.
• The US government must assure efficient, effective, representation and support for all Americans, especially the "middle class"
• The US government must mandate self-efficiency in our economy for self-defense and to sustain continuous economic development - this is essential for the expansion of the "middle class"

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Economic policies - see policies listed at RPT501.com - their is a lack of economic incentives for the extended expansion of the "middle class" and this needs to be fixed

Individual Income Tax policy - that would include all people living in this country by having a flat tax - "no pay no
play

Business Tax - based on and equal to Congressional spending

Health Care - which is an inelastic commodity, so it seem reasonable that Congress would oversee and regulate the market and that all Americans would contribute to a system based on age and income

Congress needs to find a way of "making money" and "spending money" like middle class Americans rather than just increasing taxes to match Congressional spending

Congressional Changes - to fix a broken Congress operational changes are needed. Need to replace at least 130 members in the House and 40 members in the Senate (replace the "status quo" with independent representatives especially with the clergy )

end

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to specific teachers that I have had in high school (Brother Plutte, Brother Byod) and college professors that challenged me to always try harder. I sure that these challenges had something to do with me running for office. But running for office is like why I joined the Marine Corps, why I obtained a college degree, why I worked as an electronic technician, why I was in the Air National Guard -it was something I thought was important and something I wanted to do.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

RPT501.com - which is an outline of my platform,

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Trustworthiness, education (especially history), experience (more than in politics), integrity, perseverance, independence, and know when to leave office.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Independence and extensive, thoughtful economic platform, especially for the middle class

Head and heart in right place

Need to replace the "status quo"

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Ability and desire to fix what is wrong in the economy, country and Congress. Head and heart in the right place.

Independence and fairness in the representation of the district electorate, specifically the middle class.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Requirement and need for independent individuals to run for elective office

The Platform makes the difference

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The assassination of President Kennedy. I was playing "tag" in the school yard at the age of 11 when I heard he was shot.
Could not believe that the President of the United States could be shot in the United States. And today I know that more than one man was responsible for the shooting.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I had a paper route for about a year at the age of 13/14 in the area around the lower 9th ward in New Orleans.
First real time job was as a Marine from 1973 - 1977 - Radio Battalion Marine at Camp Geiger North Carolina - Elint and T-Branch operator - top secret clearance

What is your favorite book? Why?

Catcher in the Rye - J D Salinger - most funniest book ever read

Foundation Trilogy - Issac Asimov - fantastic science fiction - makes the mind wonder about possibilities

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Horatio Alger - epitome of an American fictional character

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

None at the present time - these songs come and go, usually depends what genre I am listen to.

I like listening to smooth jazz - settles the nerves

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Until the end of first marriage - I was pretty organized - now, not so much.

Outraged with the quality and ability of elected officials to help the middle class in achieving a higher standard of living.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

Yes, there is gerrymandering. So I suggest having the US Geological Survey (pretty independent organization) to set the new districts, using some type of grid system or pie system to divide the districts through-out the United States. (As stated in RPT501.com)

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

Representation - of its specific electorate (especially the middle class) in the district elected to - decisions based on accurate information

Independence - ability to fix what is wrong within the country and Congress without reprisal. Representatives should have the immediate and extensive desire to fix what is wrong.

Almost all member of Congress are part of a two party fraternal organization - this needs to be fixed.

Individual qualities should be, trustworthiness, independence, integrity, fairness, knowledge, education, perseverance, diversity, their head and heart in the right place

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

Yes. It is always beneficial to have experience in any profession. Experience trumps all other necessities, however one must start somewhere to gain experience and where one starts in not important. Since the House of Representatives has 435 members the number of new members can be offset by the number of experienced members. New blood is always needed for new ideas and diversity. Without change there can be no progress!!

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

National Debt - resulting in the decline of the dollar. It will hit the middle class like a meteorite.

The fight around fossil fuel reduction.

Responding to China's economic and military expansion.

Increase in the Muslim population in democratic countries. Their religion is in conflict with democratic and christian values.

If you are not a current representative, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

FCC - Federal Communications Commission

FTC - Federal Trade Commission.

Appropriations Committee

Armed Service Committee

If you are a current representative, why did you join your current committees?

Not a current representative

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

Yes. It gives the electorate the ability to elect new member into the House of Representatives with new ideas, new direction and new objectives. Also, there should be term limits in both Houses to assure there are new members with new ideas and new objectives.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

Yes, there should be term limits. (See RPT501.com)

As I have stated in my platform that both Houses should be limited to about 12 years in each House. Although, representatives could run for the Senate for an additional 12 years. However, need to change the methods of how Senators are chosen. There are better methods to choose Senate nominees rather than by popular name or candidates' family ties to politics.

If you are not currently a member of your party’s leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives, would you be interested in joining the leadership? If so, in what role?

The "party" is biggest part of the problem with representation & politics. There is no independence. Therefore, the status quo must go.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Theodore Roosevelt - he was never a representative in Congress but was a President and held many positions in government.

He was a maverick, a first in many areas, trust busting, setting up national parks, avid hunter, and wanted to set thing right in the economy for the middle class.
His motto - Walk softly and carry a big stick.
I am hardly in his category, non the less, I still admire him and his achievements.

I also like our present Louisiana Senator Kennedy for his honesty and candor and conversely, abhor Senator Cassidy because he is the pocket of the Koch brothers, besides other reasons.

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

One famous president said, ask what you can do for your country". What you can do, is run for political office, throw out the old and bring in the new.

However, the first part of President Kennedy quote in more relevant today, because the question is, " What is the country doing for you and the middle class? I claim, "Not much".

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Footnotes

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Louisiana's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Bill Cassidy (R)

John Kennedy (R)

Representatives

District 1

Steve Scalise (R)

District 2

Troy Carter (D)

District 3

Clay Higgins (R)

District 4

Mike Johnson (R)

District 5

Julia Letlow (R)

District 6

Cleo Fields (D)

Republican Party (6)

Democratic Party (2)