Kathy Reznik Benoit

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Kathy Reznik Benoit

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

October 14, 2023

Education

Bachelor's

Louisiana State University, 1992

Law

Tulane University School of Law, 1995

Other

Loyola University of New Orleans Institute of Ministry, 2018

Personal

Birthplace

Urbana, Ill.

Religion

Roman Catholic

Profession

Family law attorney/mediator

Kathy Reznik Benoit (Republican Party) ran in a special election for the Section 3, Division D judge of the East Baton Rouge Parish Family Court in Louisiana. She lost in the special primary on October 14, 2023.

Biography

Kathy Reznik Benoit was born in Urbana, Illinois. She earned a bachelor's degree in English from Louisiana State University in 1992, a J.D. from Tulane University School of Law in 1995, and a continuing education certificate in pastoral studies from the Loyola University of New Orleans Institute of Ministry in 2018. Reznik Benoit's career experience includes working as a family law attorney and mediator.

Elections

2023

See also: City elections in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (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.

General election

Special general election for East Baton Rouge Parish Family Court Section 3 Division D

Kyle Russ defeated Caulette Jackson Guillard in the special general election for East Baton Rouge Parish Family Court Section 3 Division D on November 18, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Kyle Russ (R)	60.8	14,527
	Submit photo	Caulette Jackson Guillard (D)	39.2	9,354

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 23,881
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Special nonpartisan primary for East Baton Rouge Parish Family Court Section 3 Division D

Caulette Jackson Guillard and Kyle Russ defeated Laurie Marien and Kathy Reznik Benoit in the special primary for East Baton Rouge Parish Family Court Section 3 Division D on October 14, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Caulette Jackson Guillard (D)	38.5	13,418
✔	Submit photo	Kyle Russ (R)	26.2	9,123
	Submit photo	Laurie Marien (R)	24.0	8,361
		Kathy Reznik Benoit (R)	11.3	3,950

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 34,852
= 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.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Reznik Benoit in this election.

2020

See also: City elections in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (2020)

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 East Baton Rouge Parish Family Court Section 3 Division D

Incumbent Hunter Greene won election outright against Kathy Reznik Benoit in the primary for East Baton Rouge Parish Family Court Section 3 Division D on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Hunter Greene (R)	64.9	41,617
		Kathy Reznik Benoit (R)	35.1	22,518

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 64,135
= 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.

Campaign themes

2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Kathy Reznik Benoit did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Kathy Reznik Benoit completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Reznik Benoit's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a mom, attorney, mediator, who has raised a blended family of 7 children, 3 boys and 4 girls from 3 different households, his mine and ours... who are now all finishing up high school, going to college, in med school, getting married, having babies. Safe to say, I have had a lifetime full of the challenges that families face including divorce, adoption, ADHD, learning disabilities, running a business, bankruptcy, mental, emotional and physical issues of all kinds, but the most important take away is that I have been there and done that and I am now prepared to use not just my book smarts, but my practical knowledge to help other families and be a strong anchor in the often rough waters of Family Court. Judges can only uphold the laws, but if done correctly by applying the most current laws to the facts of the case, fair and equitable judgments can result and families can begin to heal and rebuild their lives. However, if a judge begins to substitute personal opinion for facts and ignore the laws, then families continue to be chained to a life of struggle and pain, often spending tens of thousands of dollars just to try and break free. Any judge cab give an order, but not all can say they have had to live under and try and make it work for their family, I understand both sides of the bench, so I can work together with families by using only the facts of their case and the law, to ensure that they have fair judgments that will accommodate and meet their needs.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• When you appear before a judge in family court you should feel welcome, safe, respected, heard, supported and understood.
• You should be confident that the judge is aware of the current laws and will apply them equally to all parties using the facts presented in each case and not their personal opinions.
• You should feel confident that the judge has continued to educate themselves with the latest professional research about the issues that are routinely presented such as domestic violence, addictions, parental alienation and child psychology so that they are able to understand the evidence presented to them and can make an informed decision.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Finding ways to support families, no matter what they look like, single, married, separated, adopted, etc, so that they have the opportunity not just survive, but to thrive, because that will ultimately result in all people being able to work together and contribute to society, help each other when needed and live free from violence in peace.

Basically, I believe in finding ways that allow our community to help each other, whether it's through access to mental, emotional, educational, psychological or financial support.

Specific areas include recovery programs for intimate partner violence and abuse of all kinds, child advocacy, parenting support, and respect for life.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

My best friend. She has a positive attitude and is accepting of everyone. She is forgiving, understanding, persevering, kind to animals, reveres nature, has a servant heart, and genuinely cares about whomever she meets and whatever the challenges that are going on in their lives. No one is perfect, and she does have her off days, but she stays in the fight and does not give up. She's the only person I know who actually knows what it feels like physically to be hit and run over by a truck... yes, she was pushing an elderly lady in a wheel chair to her doctor's appointment at the hospital and someone didn't see them as they were driving through the parking garage. Now after two back surgeries... 4 more to go... and this is not the first serious medical issue and surgery she's had to deal with... she still tries her best to find a way to be a light to others. I feel humbled and honored and blessed to be able to have met such a person in my lifetime, and just by her very life she challenges me to be my best self.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

The United States Constitution.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honesty, integrity, and actually doing what's right instead of just knowing what's right. If you have a person like that, then you can be assured that they will do everything they can to follow whatever laws govern their position as well as the laws of their community. They can then truly be of service, which should be why people run for office... to be a public servant.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Whatever my teenage daughter is listening to at the time...

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

How about my life, which is probably the answer that most everyone would give, as life never goes solely on an upward path. However, it is how we respond to the challenges in our lives that makes a difference. We can either give up and abandon ourselves to unhealthy and addictive behavior, or we can pick ourselves up by our bootstraps so to speak, and do what we can to make a positive difference to our situation and the people around us. That's what I have tried to do. Yes, when challenging things happen, we need to take the time to process them, even grieve if we must, but after that is when we have the choice of what to do next, and actions speak louder than words.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

I would like all people to be aware of the importance of their family court, no matter where they live.

Family Court deals with families. Families are the bedrock of our society. And what happens to a family in family court affects the future of our community.

It is a ripple effect.

If the family is treated fairly, according to the law and exits the family court system with a healthy framework to use to raise their children and help each other recover from the emotional wounds that occur as a result of the circumstances that brought the family to court, then the family has a chance to produce adults, capable of having healthy relationships, good jobs and provide stability to the community.

If the family's situation is not considered and they receive a judgment that has been created more on the subjective interpretation of the law rather than the law itself, then the family may struggle with the orders and continue to live in distress instead of having an opportunity to heal. This could cause the members to perform poorly at work or school, or use unhealthy methods to cope, which strain and drain our community and requiring even more services and assistance than they would have needed if they had received a sufficient judgments while in family court.

And just going to the Family Court for any reason is scary and causes anxiety within the family and the judges and court staff need to be cognizant of that fact and treat every family with respect and compassion while still ensuring that they follow the law. It's like speaking the truth in love.

People shouldn't be telling horror stories about their experiences in family court, especially ones that say that the judge was not caring or was not prepared to hear their case.

The mental and physical health of our brothers and sisters are at stake in every child custody, domestic violence case and divorce judgment, and that is not something that should be taken lightly.

So make sure you vote!

Why are you running for this particular court seat?

I am running for this office to help families. I have had personal experience with the current judge, who has now since recused himself from my case, but before he did, he made some rulings that as far as I can tell, and I'm an attorney, were blatantly against the law. In addition, he mentioned on the record a few times that he would not apply the law in my case, and that I could just take it up on appeal, which I have. had to do.

Instead of complaining about my situation, since I have always wanted to be a judge, and my experience has provided me with all of the characteristics that I would need to be of true service to the families in our parish, I decided to run against him.

I also found out that the current judge does not live in the voting district of the section whose judgeship is up for election. The verdict is out, so to speak, about how that happened, but it did, so now, unless it is challenged in court, the voters will have a choice to vote for someone who does not truly represent them.

I would rather run on my positive qualities and win than win based on another's failures, so I will choose to continue to spread the news about how I would truly benefit the bench in our parish and the families that live in it.

Change is big reason too. We can always get better at what we do, and I believe that our Family Court has the opportunity to be of better service to the families in the system. There are so many programs to try to use and possibly one or more may be able to provide even better outcomes for the cases that are brought to the Family Court.

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.

See also

2023 Elections

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External links

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Footnotes

Louisiana courts

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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