Category: Elections

Louisiana Primary Election Results

Last Saturday, October 14th 2023, Louisiana voters went to the polls to vote for a new governor and in numerous legislative and Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) races. The turnout was a disappointingly low 35.8 percent, but gubernatorial candidate Jeff Landry (R), one of a field of 15 candidates, garnered 52 percent of the vote and emerged as the winner. Congratulations to Governor-elect Landry.

We at Stand for Children look forward to this administration and working with it to create more and better opportunities for Louisiana’s families. The inauguration will be held January 8.

Stand for Children endorsed candidates in select legislative races. Many thanks to the Endorsement Committee, who were STAND educator fellows and parent volunteers, for their effort in screening and interviewing candidates.

Some of the races were decided on Saturday, while other candidates are in a runoff. Those races will be decided in the November 18 general election. Congratulations to the winning candidates and thank you to all the candidates who ran in order to improve our state.

BESE

In BESE District 1, Stand endorsed current House member, Paul Hollis (R) who, with 71 percent of the vote won easily against Lauren Jewett (D), who received 29 percent.

In BESE District 2, Dr. Sharon Clark was elected when the other candidate was disqualified. Sandy Holloway was re-elected in District 3 without opposition.

In BESE District 4, Stand endorsed Stacey Melerine (R). Melerine had two opponents, Paige Hoffpauir (R) and Emma Shepard (D). Melerine received 47 percent and is in a runoff with Shepard, who received 30 percent. Hoffpauir came in third at 23 percent.

In BESE District 5, Stand endorsed current House Education Chair, Lance Harris (R). Harris ran against Toby Brazzel (R). Harris won outright with 67 percent of the vote. Brazzel received 33 percent.

In BESE District 6, Stand endorsed incumbent Ronnie Morris (R), who was challenged by Jodi Rollins (R). Morris won outright with 69 percent while Rollins received 31 percent.

In BESE District 7, Stand endorsed Erick Knezek (R), who ran against two other Republicans, Cathy Banks and Kevin Berken. Knezek is headed into a runoff with Berken. Berken led the field with 37 percent while Knezek was a close second with 34 percent. Banks came in third with 29 percent.

In BESE District 8, Stand endorsed incumbent Preston Castille (D), who was challenged by DeeDee Cormier-Zenon (D). Castille won with 70 percent while Cormier-Zenon received 30 percent.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

In House District 6, Stand endorsed Michael Melerine (R) who ran against Bobby Darrow (D) and Evan McMichael (NOPTY). Melerine won outright with 68 percent of the vote. Darrow received 28 percent and McMichael 4 percent.

In House District 53, Stand Endorsed Jessica Domangue (R), who ran for an open seat against Dirk Guidry and Willis Trosclair, Jr. All of the candidates are Republicans. Domangue is in a runoff with Guidry. She received 43 percent, while Guidry received 36 percent and Trosclair 21 percent.

In House District 70, Stand endorsed Barbara Freiberg (R), the incumbent representative and member of the House Education Committee. Freiberg was in a crowded race but received 39 percent, putting her in a runoff with Steve Myers (D), who received 27 percent.

In House District 73, Stand endorsed Braville LeBlanc (R) who was running against Republicans Michael Chatellier and Kim Coates. LeBlanc came in second with 37 percent but Coates was elected outright with 54 percent. Chatelier received 9 percent.

In House District 88, Stand endorsed Willie Robinson, who ran against incumbent Kathy Edmonston and Don Schexnaydre. All three are Republicans. Edmonston was re-elected with 64 percent, while Robinson received 12 percent and Schexnaydre 24 percent.

In House District 89, Stand endorsed Kim Carver (R). Carver ran in a field of four candidates and is in a runoff with Josh Allison (R). Carver led the field with 44 percent while Allison received 27 percent.

In House District 90, Stand endorsed incumbent Mary DuBuisson (R) who ran against Heide Alejandro-Smith (LBT) and Brian Glorioso. Dubuisson is now in a runoff with Glorioso. Dubuisson received 48 percent; Glorioso received 44 percent; and Alejandro-Smith received 9 percent of the vote.

In House District 91, Stand endorsed Madison O’Malley (D) who challenged incumbent Mandie Landry (D) and Ed Carlson (D). In spite of a tough campaign and O’Malley’s high-profile endorsements, Landry was re-elected with 66 percent of the vote. O’Malley received 26 percent and Carlson 9 percent.

SENATE

In Senate District 6, Stand endorsed Rick Edmonds (R), who won outright with 62 percent. Edmonds faced challenger Barry Ivey (R), who received 38 percent of the vote.

In Senate District 21, Stand endorsed Stephen Swiber (R) who ran against Robert Allain (R) and Bo LaGrange (R). Swiber ran a great race but came in third with 25 percent of the vote. Allain received 44 percent and LaGrange, 31 percent. Allain and LaGrange are in a runoff.

We will be back in November with results from the runoff.

Brigitte Nieland

Stand For Children Louisiana Government Affairs Director

November 8th was an important day for our parish and state. Many of our public officials were up for election or re-election, including all nine seats of the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board.

We are pleased to share that five of the seven school board candidates endorsed by students, teachers, parents, and community members won their election or a spot in their district’s runoff! This is very promising for the future of East Baton Rouge Parish Schools, and we know that EBR is on the Rise! These five endorsed individuals believe in expanding access to quality early education, improving school safety, passing policies to ensure there is a quality teacher in every classroom, and that a child’s future should never be determined by their zip code. These candidates ran clean, positive campaigns focused on our most important resource: our students.

District 1: Incumbent Mark Bellue defeated challenger Dr. Kimberly Bainguel by a narrow margin. Mark’s return as a quiet and steadfast leader will be important as the district continues to implement its student-centered strategic plan.

District 2: Incumbent Dadrius Lanus defeated challenger Vereta Lee with a landslide 66% of the vote. Dadrius is a champion for equity in our district, and we look forward to his continued service in support of students across District 2 and the whole of East Baton Rouge Parish.

District 4: Shashonnie Steward will be in the December 10^th runoff against Monique Wicks Robinson. District 4 is an open seat (no incumbent running) and in the November 8^th primary, Shashonnie secured 47% of the vote to Monique’s 28%. Some of Shashonnie’s most exciting ideas including bringing a dedicated Pre-K facility to District 4 and continuing to build on the district’s efforts to improve workforce readiness opportunities for all students.

District 5: Challenger Cliff “Coach” Lewis defeated incumbent Evelyn Ware-Jackson with 54% of the vote. Coach Cliff worked incredibly hard throughout his campaign to ensure every District 5 voter heard and understood his vision for EBR students: one that uses his experience as a Coach to unite schools and families toward the common goal of supporting and educating our students.

District 7: Incumbent Mike Gaudet will face challenger Cathy Carmichael in the December 10^th runoff. Despite false negative ads attacking Mike’s character in the last days and weeks of the election, he stayed laser-focused on the facts and his undeniable student-centered track record. We will continue to support Mike in the runoff because his experience with balancing the district’s budget, level-headed and student-focused approach to every issue, support for teacher pay raises, and unwavering commitment to expand access to quality early education are too important for our district to lose if we are to keep EBR on the Rise.

Now, we cannot let off the gas. Two Stand-endorsed candidates are in runoff campaigns. They have another four weeks of campaigning until the December 10th runoff. We believe Shashonnie Steward and Mike Gaudet will be important members of the school board and we will continue to elevate their student-centered platforms and support their efforts.

Thank you, Baton Rouge, for showing up for students. We are inspired by the opportunities ahead of us.

LEARN MORE:

To learn more about the good things going on in EBR and what’s still coming, please visit https://bit.ly/ebrontherise.

If you have questions about how, when, or where to vote in the run-off, please visit the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Geauxvote webpage or the GeauxVote app.

If you would like to donate in support of the two parent-, student-, community-, and teacher-endorsed candidates who are in runoff races, please click here.