Louisiana 2019 Election Results

Open Primary, October 12, 2019

Louisiana held its open primary on October 12, 2019, deciding 115 legislative seats and 5 statewide offices. Candidates who won a majority were elected outright; the other races went to a November runoff. No chamber changed party control.

Highlights

• Divided government survived. Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) won a second term, and while Republicans secured a Senate supermajority in October, they finished two seats short of two-thirds in the House, the margin they needed to override the governor's veto on their own.
• Edwards led the October primary with about 47%, short of the majority needed to win outright. Eddie Rispone (R), a Baton Rouge industrial contractor who put more than $12 million of his own money into the race, edged Ralph Abraham (R) for second place, and Edwards beat him by about 3 points in the November runoff. President Trump made three trips to Louisiana to rally against him, and that attention powered a surge in Black turnout that helped Edwards, who had expanded Medicaid in his first term, over the finish line.
• The House fight came down to the runoff, where two results kept Republicans from reaching two-thirds: Mack Cormier (D) unseated Chris Leopold (R) by about 1,100 votes in House District 105, and Roy Adams (I) held House District 62 against Johnny Arceneaux (R).
• Four other legislative incumbents lost:
  • Barry Milligan (R) unseated John Milkovich (D) in Senate District 38 in October.
  • Les Farnum (R) unseated Stuart Moss (R) in House District 33 in October.
  • Jay Morris (R) beat James Fannin (R) by about 270 votes in the Senate District 35 runoff, after Fannin led the October primary.
  • Robert Mills (R) unseated Ryan Gatti (R) by about 4,800 votes in the Senate District 36 runoff.
• Five of the six Republican statewide incumbents won outright in October. Attorney General Jeff Landry (R) and Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser (R) won by more than 30 points, and Treasurer John Schroder (R) and Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain (R) each took a clear majority against multiple opponents. Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin (R) was forced into a November runoff and beat Gwen Collins-Greenup (D) again, in a rematch of their 2018 special election. The closest October race was the insurance commissioner's race, where Jim Donelon (R) beat fellow Republican Tim Temple (R) by about 7 points.
• Voters split the four constitutional amendments on the October ballot. They narrowly approved Amendment 2 on uses of the Education Excellence Fund and approved Amendment 3 on the Board of Tax Appeals, but rejected Amendment 1, a property tax exemption for materials bound for the Outer Continental Shelf, and Amendment 4, a New Orleans affordable-housing tax exemption.

Legislature

• House (105 seats): 40 D, 62 R, 3 other or vacant before the election, 35 D, 68 R, 2 other or vacant after; control stayed with Republicans.
• Senate (39 seats): 14 D, 25 R before the election, 12 D, 27 R after; control stayed with Republicans.

Statewide races

Legislative races

Ballot measures

Runoffs, November 16, 2019

Louisiana held runoffs on November 16, 2019, deciding 29 legislative seats and 2 statewide offices led by the governorship.

Legislature

• House (105 seats): 40 D, 62 R, 3 other or vacant before the election, 35 D, 68 R, 2 other or vacant after; control stayed with Republicans.
• Senate (39 seats): 14 D, 25 R before the election, 12 D, 27 R after; control stayed with Republicans.

Statewide races

Legislative races