Cade Cole
Cade Cole (Republican Party) is a judge for the 3rd District of the Louisiana Supreme Court. He assumed office on March 10, 2025. His current term ends on December 31, 2026.
Cole (Republican Party) is running for re-election for the 3rd District judge of the Louisiana Supreme Court. The Republican primary for this office on May 16, 2026, was canceled.
Cole took office early after the elections were canceled. To learn more about this special election, click here.
Biography
Cade Cole earned a high school diploma from DeQuincy High School and a law degree from the Tulane University School of Law. His career experience includes serving as Louisiana's state and local tax judge, law clerk to Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Jeannette Theriot Knoll, private practice attorney, assistant district attorney, city attorney for Sulphur and Vinton, and city magistrate for DeQuincy.[1]
Elections
2026
See also: Louisiana Supreme Court elections, 2026
Beginning in the 2026 elections, Louisiana elections for U.S. Congress, the Louisiana Supreme Court, the Public Service Commission, and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education use a closed partisan primary and primary runoff system. Candidates for those offices no longer run in majority-vote system primaries.
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
General election for Louisiana Supreme Court 3rd District
Incumbent Cade Cole (R) is running in the general election for Louisiana Supreme Court 3rd District on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Cade Cole (R) | |
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Republican primary
The Republican primary scheduled for May 16, 2026, was canceled. Incumbent Cade Cole (R) advanced from the Republican primary for Louisiana Supreme Court 3rd District without appearing on the ballot.
Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
2025
See also: Louisiana Supreme Court elections, 2025
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
The primary election was canceled. Cade Cole (R) won the election without appearing on the ballot.
Endorsements
To view Cole's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Cole in this election.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
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2025
Cade Cole did not complete Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign website
Cole's campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Tough-but-fair no-nonsense Judge |
” |
| —Cade Cole's campaign website (2025)[3] | ||
Campaign finance summary
Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.
State supreme court judicial selection in Louisiana
- See also: Judicial selection in Louisiana
The seven justices on the Louisiana Supreme Court are selected through partisan elections. Justices are elected to 10-year terms, and must face re-election if they wish to serve again.[4]
Unlike most states, supreme court justices in Louisiana are elected to represent specific districts. The seven justices are divided evenly among seven supreme court districts (not to be confused with the 42 divisions of the district courts) and are voted into office by the residents of their respective regions.[5] Only the states of Illinois, Kentucky, and Mississippi use a similar system.
Qualifications
To serve on this court, a judge must be:
- licensed to practice law in the state for at least ten years;
- a resident of the district representing for at least one year;
- under the age of 70 at the time of election (judges who turn 70 in office may serve until their term expires)[4][6]
Chief justice
The chief justice is the justice on the court with the most seniority. When he or she retires, the justice with the next most seniority becomes chief justice.[4]
Vacancies
Per Article V of the Louisiana Constitution, midterm vacancies are to be temporarily filled by the remaining members of the supreme court. Within one year of the opening, a special election (called by the governor, preferably on the date of a preexisting gubernatorial or congressional election) is to be held. If the supreme court has appointed a successor, that appointee may not run for the seat in the special election.[4][7] The justice elected at the special election will serve the remainder of the unexpired term.[8][9]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
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Candidate Louisiana Supreme Court 3rd District |
Officeholder Louisiana Supreme Court 3rd District |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Cade Cole's campaign website, "About," accessed March 3, 2025
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Cade Cole's campaign website, "Issues," accessed March 3, 2025
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Louisiana; Selection of Judges," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ Louisiana Supreme Court, "Maps of Judicial Districts," accessed May 6, 2014
- ↑ NOLA.com, "Lawmakers fail to pass amendment eliminating mandatory retirement age of judges," archived March 9, 2016
- ↑ Louisiana Supreme Court, "Henry Julien v. The Honorable W. Fox McKeithan," accessed May 6, 2014
- ↑ Louisiana Revised Statutes "RS 13:101.1," accessed July 13, 2016
- ↑ Leagle, "Marcelle v. DeCuir," September 21, 1995
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by James Genovese (R) |
Louisiana Supreme Court 3rd District 2025-Present |
Succeeded by - |
Federal courts:
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, Western District of Louisiana • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, Western District of Louisiana
State courts:
Louisiana Supreme Court • Louisiana Courts of Appeal • Louisiana District Courts • Louisiana City Courts • Louisiana Family Courts • Louisiana Justice of the Peace Courts • Louisiana Juvenile Courts • Louisiana Mayor’s Courts • Louisiana Municipal Courts • Louisiana Parish Courts • Louisiana Traffic Courts
State resources:
Courts in Louisiana • Louisiana judicial elections • Judicial selection in Louisiana
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State of Louisiana Baton Rouge (capital) |
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