We have Saturday elections in Louisiana! Today was originally supposed to be the day of the general election in the Bayou State, but because of Hurricane Ida the primaries were pushed to today, and any necessary general election will be held on December 11. We’ll be tracking four of the contests today: the regularly scheduled New Orleans mayoral primary, and three special primaries in the State Legislature which are being held for a variety of reasons. All four primaries are utilizing Louisiana’s majority-vote system where all candidates from all parties compete on the same ballot and if no candidate wins a 50%+1 majority of the vote, the top two vote-getters move on to a general election. This system in Louisiana is known colloquially to some as “jungle primaries”. Polls close across the state at 8 p.m. (CST)
First, in New Orleans, Democratic incumbent mayor LaToya Cantrell is running for a second term. She is facing 13 challengers which include four other Democrats and one Republican. None of the candidates challenging Mayor Cantrell have ever held public office.
In the Louisiana State Senate, the seat for District 27 is open after Republican Ronnie Johns was appointed chairman of the Louisiana State Gaming Control Board by Governor John Bel Edwards. The 27th State Senate District cuts right through the center of Calcasieu Parish covering its most populous areas, including most of Lake Charles. There are two Republicans and one Democrat running for the vacant seat. Former President Trump won the district by 16% in 2020, while Democratic governor John Bel Edwards won it by 16.2% in 2019.
Now to the lower house of the State Legislature, where the seat in District 16 is vacant after Democrat Fred Jones was elected to the Fourth Judicial District Court. State House District 16 lies in Morehouse and Ouachita Parishes stretching from Monroe to Bastrop. It has been a safe Democratic district and will remain so as all three candidates running for the vacancy are Democrats.
Last, we head back to New Orleans, where the seat in Lousiana House of Representatives District 102 is vacant after Democrat Gary Carter Jr. was elected to a vacant seat in the State Senate back in June. District 102 lies completely within New Orleans, mainly covering the Algiers neighborhood. It is another safe Democratic seat where the two candidates running are Democrats.