Louisiana's 5th Congressional District election, 2026 (May 16 Democratic primary)

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Louisiana's 5th Congressional District
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: February 13, 2026
Primary: May 16, 2026
Primary runoff: June 27, 2026
General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times:

6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Voting in Louisiana

Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Republican
DDHQ and The Hill: Pending
Inside Elections: Solid Republican
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
See also
Louisiana's 5th Congressional District
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th
Louisiana elections, 2026
U.S. Congress elections, 2026
U.S. Senate elections, 2026
U.S. House elections, 2026

A Democratic Party primary takes place on May 16, 2026, in Louisiana's 5th Congressional District to determine which Democratic candidate will run in the district's general election on November 3, 2026.

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
February 13, 2026
May 16, 2026
November 3, 2026



In Louisiana, rules to participate in primaries vary by the office up for election. For congress, justice of the supreme court, the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the Public Service Commission, the state uses a semi-closed primary. In these primaries, only unaffiliated voters and voters registered with a party may vote in that party's primary. For all other statewide offices—including state senator and representative—Louisiana uses the majority-vote system. In this system, if a candidate receives a majority of the votes cast for an office, they win the election outright. If, however, no candidate reaches that threshold, a second round of voting is held between the top two vote-getters. Any registered voter can participate in both the first-round and second-round elections.[1][2]


This is one of 56 open races for the U.S. House of Representatives this year in which an incumbent is not running for re-election. Across the country, 21 Democrats and 35 Republicans are not running for re-election. In 2024, 45 incumbents — 24 Democrats and 21 Republicans — did not seek re-election.

This page focuses on Louisiana's 5th Congressional District Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Republican primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Candidates and election results


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.

Democratic primary

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

Democratic primary for U.S. House Louisiana District 5

Jessee Carlton Fleenor (D), Larry Foy (D), Lindsay Garcia (D), Dan McKay (D), and Tania Nyman (D) are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Louisiana District 5 on May 16, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Jessee Carlton Fleenor
Jessee Carlton Fleenor
Image of Larry Foy
Larry Foy  Candidate Connection
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Lindsay Garcia
Image of Dan McKay
Dan McKay
Image of Tania Nyman
Tania Nyman

There are no incumbents in this race.

Candidate Connection = 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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Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Larry Foy

Image of Larry Foy

WebsiteFacebookXYouTube

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Submitted Biography:  "Larry "Lawrence" W. Foy, Sr. is a Baptist clergyman, theologian, social ethicist, and social justice advocate. Larry was born in Monroe, Louisiana, but raised in Winnsboro, Louisiana, where he received his public education, graduating from Franklin Parish High School. He left Louisiana shortly after graduating from high school in search of gainful employment. Foy subsequently spent most of his adult life in two of the nation's largest cities, Chicago, Illinois, and Los Angeles, California. His professional life and public service are expansive, including pastoral ministry, homeless shelter director, college and seminary instructor, tertiary youth counselor, community and faith-based organizer, and civil rights and public policy advocate. Foy pursued a PhD in Ethics and Public Policy Formation at the University of Southern California (USC) and earned a B.A. in Religion/Philosophy from North Central College and an M.A in Theology & Ethics from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary. He also attained doctoral candidacy (Doctor of Ministry Executive Leadership) at the University of Redlands/San Francisco Theological Seminary. ​Larry Foy lives in Winnsboro, Louisiana, with his wife, Sharon. They are parents to three grown children and seven grandchildren. Larry currently serves as a public theologian, offering commentary on political and social issues through a Christian moral, theological, and ethical lens."

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

As a person of faith, I believe that every person should be treated with human dignity. This means that every person should have access to and the opportunity to secure their most basic needs for health and well-being. This is not the case for nearly 1 million Louisianans. Poverty is rampant throughout the state, especially in the rural parishes of Northeast Louisiana, where poverty rates are as high as 36 % in Madison, 35% East Caroll, and 35% in the city of Monroe, located in Ouachita Parish. When elected as the representative of Louisiana's 5th congressional district, I will declare 'war on poverty' and call for: 1. Increase the Federal minimum to $15hr 2. Foster new jobs with living wages 3. Close corporate tax loopholes

I care about the overall welfare of people, especially the health and well-being of the elderly, children, the poor, and people with disabilities. I believe that everyone should have access to affordable and/or free health and medical care. To this end, I will advocate for health and medical care coverage for all. On day one, I will review the Federal Mandatory and Discretionary spending budget allocations and advocate for the restoration of any funding cuts to Medicaid and health programs. And I will work tirelessly and relentlessly to make sure that Medicare and Social Security are shielded from political oligarchs and billionaires who have no interest in supporting the well-being of people who depend on these safety-net programs.

I care about the planet we share. The earth and environment are sacred gifts from our creator to enjoy and to orchestrate our lives together. Hence, we have a sacred duty and obligation to care for the planet and our environment. This means imposing limits of restraint whereby we only extract from nature what is sufficient to meet our needs and refrain from overuse and the reckless abuse of our environment. Hence, I will call for the restoration of Trump's rollbacks to the Clean Air Act. This means supporting and creating renewable energy, green jobs, carbon monoxide-free automobiles, and preventing corporate toxic waste from being dumped into our urban centers and rural communities. Let's save Louisiana's waterways and airways.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Louisiana

Election information in Louisiana: May 16, 2026, election.

What is the voter registration deadline?

  • In-person: April 15, 2026
  • By mail: Postmarked by April 15, 2026
  • Online: April 25, 2026

Is absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

No

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

  • In-person: May 12, 2026
  • By mail: Received by May 12, 2026
  • Online: May 12, 2026

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

  • In-person: May 15, 2026
  • By mail: Received by May 15, 2026

Is early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What are the early voting start and end dates?

May 2, 2026 to May 9, 2026

Are all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, is a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When are polls open on Election Day?

7:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. (CT)

Campaign finance

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Jessee Carlton Fleenor Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Larry Foy Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Lindsay Garcia Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Dan McKay Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Tania Nyman Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," . This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

  • District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
  • Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2026 U.S. House elections in the state.
  • Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
  • State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.


Below is the district map in place for this election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

2025_01_03_la_congressional_district_05.jpg
See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2026

This section contains data on U.S. House primary election competitiveness in Louisiana.

Post-filing deadline analysis

The following analysis covers all U.S. House districts up for election in Louisiana in 2026. Information below was calculated on Feb. 13, 2026, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.

Thirty-two candidates — 15 Democrats and 17 Republicans — ran for Louisiana’s six U.S. House districts. That’s 5.3 candidates per district. There were four candidates per district in 2024, 3.7 in 2022, five in 2020, 4.7 in 2018, 6.5 in 2016, and 5.8 in 2014.

These were the first primaries that Democratic and Republican candidates ran in separate U.S. House primaries. Previously, all candidates ran against each other on the same ballot.

These were also the first primaries that used primary runoffs. Previously, the state used the Louisiana majority-vote system. Under this system, a candidate who received a majority of the votes cast for an office won outright. If no candidate reached that threshold, a second round of voting was held between the top two vote-getters.

One district — the 5th district — was open in 2026 because Rep. Julia Letlow (R-5th) ran for the U.S. Senate. There was one open district in 2024, none in 2022, one in 2020, none in 2018, two in 2016, and one in 2014.

Nine primaries — five Democratic and four Republican — were contested in 2026. In total, there were five contested primaries in 2024, four in 2022, six in 2020, six in 2018, five in 2016, and five in 2014.

Twelve candidates — five Democrats and seven Republicans — ran in the open 5th district, the most candidates that ran for a district in 2026.

Three incumbents — one Democrat and two Republicans — faced primary challengers in 2026. There were four incumbents in a contested primary in 2024, four in 2022, five in 2020, six in 2018, three in 2016, and three in 2014.

The 2nd district was guaranteed to Democrats because no Republicans appeared on the ballot. Democrats filed to run in all six districts, meaning none were guaranteed to Republicans.

Partisan Voter Index

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is R+18. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 18 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Louisiana's 5th the 45th most Republican district nationally.[3]

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2024 presidential election was in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by The Downballot.

2024 presidential results in Louisiana's 5th Congressional District
Kamala Harris Democratic PartyDonald Trump Republican Party
31.0%67.0%

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Louisiana, 2024

Louisiana presidential election results (1900-2024)

  • 17 Democratic wins
  • 13 Republican wins
  • 2 other wins
Year 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Winning Party D D D D D D D D D D D D SR[4] D R D R AI[5] R D R R R D D R R R R R R R
See also: Party control of Louisiana state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Louisiana's congressional delegation as of October 2025.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Louisiana
Party U.S. Senate U.S. House Total
Democratic 0 2 2
Republican 2 4 6
Independent 0 0 0
Vacancies 0 0 0
Total 2 6 8

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Louisiana's top four state executive offices as of October 2025.

State executive officials in Louisiana, October 2025
OfficeOfficeholder
GovernorRepublican Party Jeff Landry
Lieutenant GovernorRepublican Party Billy Nungesser
Secretary of StateRepublican Party Nancy Landry
Attorney GeneralRepublican Party Liz Murrill

State legislature

Louisiana State Senate

Party As of January 2026
     Democratic Party 10
     Republican Party 28
     Other 0
     Vacancies 1
Total 39

Louisiana House of Representatives

Party As of January 2026
     Democratic Party 29
     Republican Party 71
     Other 0
     Vacancies 5
Total 105

Trifecta control

Louisiana Party Control: 1992-2025
Eight years of Democratic trifectas  •  Seven years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Governor D D D D R R R R R R R R D D D D R R R R R R R R D D D D D D D D R R
Senate D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
House D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Louisiana in the 2026 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Louisiana, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2026
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
Louisiana U.S. House Democratic or Republican 750 $1,500 2/13/2026 Source
Louisiana U.S. House Unaffiliated 750 N/A 2/13/2026 Source

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Louisiana State Legislature, "La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:410.3," accessed November 12, 2025
  2. ↑ Louisiana State Legislature, "La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:401," accessed November 12, 2025
  3. ↑ Cook Political Report, "2025 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List (119th Congress)," accessed July 1, 2025
  4. ↑ States' Rights Democratic Party
  5. ↑ American Independent Party


Louisiana's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Bill Cassidy (R)
John Kennedy (R)
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
Republican Party (6)
Democratic Party (2)


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