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Kathy Edmonston
2020 - Present
2028
5
Kathy Edmonston (Republican Party) is a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, representing District 88. She assumed office on January 13, 2020. Her current term ends on January 10, 2028.
Edmonston (Republican Party) won re-election to the Louisiana House of Representatives to represent District 88 outright in the primary on October 14, 2023, after the general election was canceled.
Edmonston is a former Republican member of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education representing District 6 from 2016 to 2020.
Biography
As of November 2017, Edmonston was the parent facilitator for the Ascension Parish school system, a position she had held since 1994. Edmonston's prior experience includes time spent on the Children's Cabinet Advisory Board, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education's Special Education Advisory Board, and the ADHD Task Force.[1]
Education
- B.A. in English - Louisiana State University
Political career
Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (2016-2020)
Edmonston was first elected to the board in November 2015 and took office in January 2016.
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023-2024
Edmonston was assigned to the following committees:
- Administration of Criminal Justice Committee
- Judiciary Committee
- Transportation, Highways and Public Works Committee
2021-2022
Edmonston was assigned to the following committees:
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2023
See also: Louisiana House of Representatives elections, 2023
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
Nonpartisan primary for Louisiana House of Representatives District 88
Incumbent Kathy Edmonston won election outright against Donald Schexnaydre and Willie Robinson in the primary for Louisiana House of Representatives District 88 on October 14, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Kathy Edmonston (R) | 63.8 | 5,933 |
 | Donald Schexnaydre (R) | 24.4 | 2,269 | |
| Willie Robinson (R) | 11.8 | 1,098 | ||
| Total votes: 9,300 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
Edmonston received the following endorsements.
2019
See also: Louisiana House of Representatives elections, 2019
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.
General election
General election for Louisiana House of Representatives District 88
Kathy Edmonston defeated Brandon Trosclair in the general election for Louisiana House of Representatives District 88 on November 16, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kathy Edmonston (R) | 51.1 | 6,956 |
 | Brandon Trosclair (R) | 48.9 | 6,662 | |
| Total votes: 13,618 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Louisiana House of Representatives District 88
Brandon Trosclair and Kathy Edmonston defeated Ryan Beissinger in the primary for Louisiana House of Representatives District 88 on October 12, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Brandon Trosclair (R) | 44.7 | 5,794 |
| ✔ | | Kathy Edmonston (R) | 36.5 | 4,727 |
| Ryan Beissinger (R) | 18.8 | 2,440 | ||
| Total votes: 12,961 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2015
| Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, District 6 general election, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Kathy Edmonston |
56.5% | 83,849 | |
| Republican | Jason Engen | 43.5% | 64,523 | |
| Total Votes | 148,372 | |||
| Election results via Louisiana Secretary of State | ||||
| Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, District 6 primary election, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Kathy Edmonston |
47% | 64,184 | |
| Republican | Jason Engen |
19% | 25,995 | |
| Republican | Laree LeJeune Taylor | 17.6% | 24,065 | |
| Libertarian | Jason France | 11.3% | 15,457 | |
| Republican | Etta S. Licciardi | 5.1% | 6,913 | |
| Total Votes | 136,614 | |||
| Election results via Louisiana Secretary of State | ||||
Campaign themes
2023
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Kathy Edmonston did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.
2019
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Kathy Edmonston completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Edmonston's responses.
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?
Education Less taxes Smaller government
Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?
Jesus Christ. I would like to follow His example and have him confirm my life to His when He was here on earth.
Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?
Bible
What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?
Honesty Integrity Loyalty to constituents Ability to communicate with all parties, no matter the political affiliation
What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?
Integrity; leadership ; experience; effective listener
What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?
To carry out the mission/promises on which they were elected
What legacy would you like to leave?
One of service to my family and community
What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?
Pres.John Kennedy's assassination. Around 10-12 years old
What was your very first job? How long did you have it?
Worked for Head Start in the summer after starting LSU in Baton Rouge La. June-August 1969
What is your favorite book? Why?
Bible
What was the last song that got stuck in your head?
Can't Always Get What You Want'
What is something that has been a struggle in your life?
Being on time
Every state besides Nebraska has two legislative chambers. What do you consider the most important differences between the legislative chambers in your state?
Checks and balances
Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?
Yes. In most cases I do.
What do you perceive to be your state’s greatest challenges over the next decade?
Lowering taxes
What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and the state legislature?
Respect Understanding of each other's views of the issues Ability to communicate
Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.
Yes, obviously. Strength in unity
If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?
Education Health and welfare
If you are a current legislator, what appealed to you about your current committees?
N/a
If you are not currently a member of your party’s leadership in the legislature, would you be interested in joining the leadership? If so, in what role?
N/a
Is there a particular legislator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?
Lindsey Graham. R. SC
Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?
No
Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?
Yes, many. Especially about their children and the education they receive.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Louisiana scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, the Louisiana State Legislature was in session from March 11 to June 3. Special sessions were convened from January 15, 2024 to January 23, 2024; February 19, 2024 to February 29, 2024; and November 6, 2024 to November 25, 2024.
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2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Louisiana State Legislature was in session from April 10 to June 8.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the Louisiana State Legislature was in session from March 14 to June 6.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the Louisiana State Legislature was in session from April 12 to June 10.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the Louisiana State Legislature was in session from March 9 to June 1. The session was suspended from March 31 through May 4. A special session convened from June 1 to June 30 and from September 28 to October 23.
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Noteworthy events
Driving under the influence charge, 2020
On March 3, 2020, Edmonston was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and careless operation of a vehicle after rear-ending a car in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.[2] Edmonston failed a field sobriety test and a breathalyzer test.[2] Her blood-alcohol level was recorded by police at .143.[2]
Edmonston apologized in a letter to her constituents and expressed an interest in evaluating her personal decisions. "I am so grateful and overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and love from my family, friends and constituents," she wrote following the incident.[3]
See also
2023 Elections
External links
|
Officeholder Louisiana House of Representatives District 88 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, "Kathy Edmonston," accessed November 13, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs nameddui - ↑ The Advocate, "After DWI arrest, recently elected state rep apologizes, calls it 'wake-up call'," March 5, 2020
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Berthelot (R) |
Louisiana House of Representatives District 88 2020-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education District 6 2016-2020 |
Succeeded by Ronnie Morris (R) |
