Open Primary, October 14, 2023
Louisiana held its open primary on October 14, 2023, deciding 124 legislative seats and 4 statewide offices led by the governorship. Candidates who won a majority were elected outright; the other races went to a November runoff. No chamber changed party control.
Highlights
- Jeff Landry (R) won the governorship outright in October, returning the office to Republicans after eight years and completing a Republican trifecta. The party swept every statewide office and holds two-thirds supermajorities in both chambers.
- Landry, the attorney general and a Trump-backed Republican, took just over half the vote and beat Shawn Wilson (D) by about 26 points, the first non-incumbent to win outright since Bobby Jindal in 2007. He succeeds term-limited Gov. John Bel Edwards, the only Democratic governor in the Deep South. Low turnout in Democratic-leaning areas such as New Orleans prompted a Democratic post-mortem.
- Three statewide races went to the November 18 runoff, and Republicans won all three by more than 30 points:
- In October, Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser (R) won re-election outright, Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain (R) was unopposed, and so was Tim Temple (R) for insurance commissioner.
- Most legislative seats were settled in October, 68 of them without a contest. Incumbents who lost:
- When the new legislature convened in January, Rep. Phillip DeVillier (R) became speaker of the House and Sen. Cameron Henry (R) Senate president.
- Voters approved all 4 constitutional amendments in October, including Amendment 1, which bars using foreign or private donations to run elections. In November they passed amendments on veto sessions, inactive state funds, and a first-responder tax exemption, but rejected the November ballot's Amendment 4, which would have let lawmakers tap a state trust fund to cover a deficit.
Legislature
- House (105 seats): 34 D, 69 R, 2 other or vacant before the election, 32 D, 73 R after; control stayed with Republicans.
- Senate (39 seats): 12 D, 27 R before the election, 11 D, 28 R after; control stayed with Republicans.
Statewide races
Legislative races
| Race | Winner | Others | Notes |
|---|
| House 1 | Danny McCormick (R) 66.37% | Randall Liles (R) 33.63% | |
| House 2 | Steven Jackson (D) 51.55% | Terence Vinson (D) 48.45% | |
| House 3 | Tammy Phelps (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 5 | Dennis Bamburg (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 6 | Michael Melerine (R) 68.08% | Robert Darrow (D) 28.17%, Evan McMichael (I) 3.75% | |
| House 7 | Larry Bagley (R) 61.25% | Tim Pruitt (R) 38.75% | |
| House 8 | Raymond Crews (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 9 | Dodie Horton (R) 60.07% | Chris Turner (R) 39.93% | |
| House 10 | Wayne McMahen (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 11 | Rashid Young (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 12 | Chris Turner (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 13 | Jack McFarland (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 14 | Michael Echols (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 15 | Foy Gadberry (R) 54.51% | Randall Scott Robinson (R) 45.49% | |
| House 16 | Adrian Fisher (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 17 | Pat Moore (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 19 | Francis Thompson (R) 77.93% | Norm Davis (I) 22.07% | |
| House 20 | Neil Riser (R) 57.19% | Kevin Bates (R) 42.81% | |
| House 22 | Gabe Firment (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 24 | Rodney Schamerhorn (R) 60.24% | Clarence Beebe (R) 39.76% | |
| House 25 | Jason DeWitt (R) 59.03% | Trish Leleux (R) 41% | |
| House 26 | Ed Larvadain (D) 61.5% | Sandra Franklin (D) 20.21%, Reddex Washington (D) 18.29% | |
| House 27 | Michael T. Johnson (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 28 | Daryl Deshotel (R) 81.47% | Ramondo Ramos (D) 18.53% | |
| House 29 | Edmond Jordan (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 30 | Chuck Owen (R) 85.15% | Bill Jones (I) 14.85% | |
| House 31 | Troy Hebert (R) 60.75% | Jonathan Goudeau (R) 39.3% | Incumbent defeated |
| House 32 | Dewith Carrier (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 33 | Les Farnum (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 34 | Wilford Carter (D) 62.22% | Kevin Guidry (D) 29.91%, Franklin Lewis Sr. (D) 7.86% | |
| House 35 | Brett Geymann (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 36 | Phil Tarver (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 37 | Troy Romero (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 38 | Rhonda Butler (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 39 | Julie Emerson (R) 71.69% | McKinley James Jr. (D) 28.31% | |
| House 40 | Dustin Miller (D) 81.32% | Allen Guillory Sr. (D) 18.68% | |
| House 41 | Phillip DeVillier (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 42 | Chance Henry (R) 61.85% | Douglas J. Doug LaCombe (R) 38.15% | |
| House 43 | Josh Carlson (R) 84.07% | Ludwig Gelobter (D) 15.93% | |
| House 44 | Tehmi Chassion (D) 51.62% | Patty Lewis (D) 39.1%, Ravis Martinez (D) 9.28% | |
| House 45 | Brach Myers (R) 70.07% | Paul LeBleu (D) 25.5%, Jupiter Leblanc (I) 4.43% | |
| House 46 | Chad Boyer (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 47 | Ryan Bourriaque (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 48 | Beau Beaullieu (R) 85.05% | David Levy (D) 14.95% | |
| House 49 | Jacob Landry (R) 63.96% | Sanders Derise (R) 20.06%, David Eaton (R) 15.98% | |
| House 50 | Vincent St. Blanc III (R) 71.96% | Gloria Robertson (D) 28.04% | |
| House 51 | Beryl Amedée (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 52 | Jerome Zeringue (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 54 | Joe Orgeron (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 55 | Bryan Fontenot (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 56 | Beth Billings (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 58 | Ken Brass (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 59 | Tony Bacala (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 60 | Chad Brown (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 61 | Denise Marcelle (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 62 | Roy Adams (D) 50.96% | Dadrius Lanus (D) 28.66%, Daniel Banguel (D) 20.38% | |
| House 67 | Larry Selders (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 69 | Paula Davis (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 71 | Roger Wilder (R) 56.94% | Jim Norred (R) 31.75%, Walley Avara (R) 11.31% | |
| House 72 | Robby Carter (D) 67.55% | Roderick Matthews (D) 32.45% | |
| House 73 | Kim Coates (R) 53.86% | Braville LeBlanc (R) 36.64%, Michael Chatellier (R) 9.5% | |
| House 76 | Stephanie Berault (R) 79.41% | Shawn Jones (R) 20.59% | |
| House 77 | Mark Wright (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 78 | John Illg (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 79 | Debbie Villio (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 80 | Polly Thomas (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 81 | Jeff Wiley (R) 55.46% | Jason Amato (R) 44.54% | |
| House 82 | Laurie Schlegel (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 83 | Kyle Green (D) 70.61% | Reginald Jasmin (R) 29.39% | |
| House 84 | Timothy Kerner Jr. (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 85 | Vincent Cox (R) 62% | Andrea Manuel (D) 31.76%, Andrew Bennett (I) 6.24% | |
| House 86 | Nicholas Muscarello (R) | Unopposed | |
| House 87 | Rodney Lyons (D) 70.3% | Trent Mackey Jr. (D) 29.7% | |
| House 88 | Kathy Edmonston (R) 63.8% | Donald Schexnaydre (R) 24.4%, Will Robinson (R) 11.81% | |
| House 91 | Mandie Landry (D) 65.53% | Madison O'Malley (D) 25.76%, Edward Carlson (D) 8.71% | |
| House 92 | Joe Stagni (R) 69.71% | Michael Sigur (R) 30.29% | |
| House 93 | Alonzo Knox (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 94 | Stephanie Hilferty (R) 87.5% | Charles Marsala (R) 12.5% | |
| House 95 | Shane Mack (R) 59.5% | Aaron Ellis (R) 40.5% | |
| House 96 | Marcus Bryant (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 97 | Matthew Willard (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 98 | Aimee Freeman (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 99 | Candace Newell (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 100 | Jason Hughes (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 101 | Vanessa LaFleur (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 102 | Delisha Boyd (D) | Unopposed | |
| House 104 | Jay Gallé (R) 64.35% | John Raymond (R) 35.65% | |
| Senate 1 | Bob Owen (R) 60.58% | Ray Garofalo (R) 39.42% | |
| Senate 2 | Ed Price (D) 68.06% | Chris Delpit (R) 31.94% | |
| Senate 3 | Joseph Bouie (D) | Unopposed | |
| Senate 4 | Jimmy Harris (D) | Unopposed | |
| Senate 5 | Royce Duplessis (D) | Unopposed | |
| Senate 6 | Rick Edmonds (R) 61.53% | Barry Ivey (R) 38.47% | |
| Senate 7 | Gary Carter (D) | Unopposed | |
| Senate 8 | Patrick Connick (R) 52.35% | Timothy Kerner Jr. (R) 47.65% | |
| Senate 9 | Cameron Henry (R) 69.9% | Mary Anne Mushatt (D) 30.1% | |
| Senate 10 | Kirk Talbot (R) | Unopposed | |
| Senate 11 | Patrick McMath (R) | Unopposed | |
| Senate 12 | Beth Mizell (R) 78.23% | Brittany Gondolfi (D) 12.52%, Gloria Kates (D) 9.25% | |
| Senate 13 | Valarie Hodges (R) 64.88% | Buddy Mincey Jr. (R) 35.12% | |
| Senate 14 | Cleo Fields (D) | Unopposed | |
| Senate 15 | Regina Barrow (D) | Unopposed | |
| Senate 16 | Franklin Foil (R) | Unopposed | |
| Senate 17 | Caleb Kleinpeter (R) | Unopposed | |
| Senate 18 | Eddie Lambert (R) | Unopposed | |
| Senate 19 | Greg Miller (R) 68.83% | Marilyn Bellock (D) 31.17% | Flipped D to R |
| Senate 20 | Michael Fesi (R) 87.62% | Dave Carskadon (R) 12.38% | |
| Senate 22 | Blake Miguez (R) 61.2% | Hugh Andre (R) 20.68%, Melinda Mitchell (D) 11.58% | |
| Senate 23 | Jean-Paul Coussan (R) | Unopposed | |
| Senate 24 | Gerald Boudreaux (D) | Unopposed | |
| Senate 25 | Mark Abraham (R) 80.69% | Joshua Lewis (D) 19.31% | |
| Senate 26 | Bob Hensgens (R) | Unopposed | |
| Senate 27 | Jeremy Stine (R) | Unopposed | |
| Senate 28 | Heather Cloud (R) | Unopposed | |
| Senate 29 | Jay Luneau (D) | Unopposed | |
| Senate 30 | Mike Reese (R) | Unopposed | |
| Senate 31 | Alan Seabaugh (R) 54.19% | Mike McConathy (R) 45.81% | |
| Senate 32 | Glen Womack (R) | Unopposed | |
| Senate 33 | Stewart Cathey (R) 52.9% | Ned White (R) 47.1% | |
| Senate 34 | Katrina Jackson (D) 71.1% | Jamie Smith (R) 28.9% | |
| Senate 35 | Jay Morris (R) | Unopposed | |
| Senate 36 | Adam Bass (R) 62.04% | Robby Mills (R) 37.96% | Incumbent defeated |
| Senate 37 | William Wheat Jr. (R) 60.9% | Randy Bush (R) 25.65%, Ivan Scioneaux (I) 13.42% | |
| Senate 38 | Thomas Pressly (R) 56.15% | John Milkovich (R) 25.78%, Chase Jennings (R) 18.06% | |
Ballot measures
| Measure | Description | Result |
|---|
| Amendment 1 | Prohibit state and local governments from using funds, goods, and services donated by foreign governments or nongovernmental (private) sources for the purpose of conducting elections | Passed (73% yes) |
| Amendment 2 | Provide in the Louisiana Constitution that "the freedom to worship in a church or other place of worship is a fundamental right that is worthy of the highest order of protection" | Passed (79% yes) |
| Amendment 3 | Require a minimum of 25% of nonrecurring state revenue to be applied to the balance of the unfunded liability of the state retirement system | Passed (56% yes) |
| Amendment 4 | Prohibit a nonprofit organization from receiving a property tax exemption when residential property is in disrepair and dangerous to the public's health or safety | Passed (66% yes) |
Runoffs, November 18, 2023
Louisiana held runoffs on November 18, 2023, deciding 20 legislative seats and 3 statewide offices.
Legislature
- House (105 seats): 34 D, 69 R, 2 other or vacant before the election, 32 D, 73 R after; control stayed with Republicans.
- Senate (39 seats): 12 D, 27 R before the election, 11 D, 28 R after; control stayed with Republicans.
Statewide races
Legislative races
Ballot measures
| Measure | Description | Result |
|---|
| Amendment 1 | Provide that the legislature may consider vetoed bills during a regular or extraordinary session rather than convening a separate veto session; clarify that the governor's deadline to act on a bill is based on the legislative session in which the bill was passed | Passed (61% yes) |
| Amendment 2 | Repeals constitutional provisions establishing various state funds that are now inactive and transfers remaining money in the funds to the state general fund | Passed (55% yes) |
| Amendment 3 | Authorizes local governments to provide an additional property tax exemption of up to $2,500 for first responders including fire fighters, emergency medical service personnel, emergency response dispatchers, peace officers, police officers, and sheriffs. | Passed (53% yes) |
| Amendment 4 | Allows the state legislature, through a two-thirds supermajority vote, to use up to $250 million of funds in the Revenue Stabilization Trust Fund to alleviate a budget deficit | Failed (44% yes) |