Louisiana State Senate elections, 2023
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| 2023 Louisiana Senate Elections | |
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| Primary | October 14, 2023 |
| General | November 18, 2023 |
| Past Election Results |
| 2019・2015・2011・2007 |
| 2023 Elections | |
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| Choose a chamber below: | |
Elections for the Louisiana State Senate took place in 2023. The general election was November 18, 2023. A primary was October 14, 2023. The filing deadline was August 10, 2023.
Louisiana elections use the Louisiana majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50% 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.
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
The Louisiana State Senate was one of eight state legislative chambers with elections in 2023. There are 99 chambers throughout the country.
Party control
| Louisiana State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 18, 2023 | After November 19, 2023 | |
| Democratic Party | 12 | 11 | |
| Republican Party | 27 | 28 | |
| Total | 39 | 39 | |
Candidates
General election
Louisiana State Senate general election 2023 |
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| Office |  Democratic |
 Republican |
Other |
| District 1 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 2 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 3 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 4 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 5 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 6 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 7 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 8 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 9 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 10 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 11 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 12 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 13 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 14 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 15 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 16 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 17 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 18 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 19 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 20 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 21 |
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| District 22 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 23 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 24 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 25 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 26 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 27 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 28 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 29 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 30 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 31 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 32 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 33 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 34 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 35 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 36 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 37 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 38 | This general election was canceled. | ||
| District 39 |
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Primary
Louisiana State Senate primary 2023 |
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| Office | Democratic |
Republican |
Other |
| District 1 |
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| District 2 |
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| District 3 |
The primary was canceled and this candidate was elected:  Joseph Bouie (i) |
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| District 4 |
The primary was canceled and this candidate was elected: Jimmy Harris (i) |
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| District 5 |
The primary was canceled and this candidate was elected: Royce Duplessis (i) |
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| District 6 |
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| District 7 |
The primary was canceled and this candidate was elected: Gary Carter Jr. (i) |
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| District 8 |
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| District 9 |
Did not make the ballot: |
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| District 10 |
The primary was canceled and this candidate was elected: Kirk Talbot (i) |
Did not make the ballot: |
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| District 11 |
The primary was canceled and this candidate was elected: Patrick McMath (i) |
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| District 12 |
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| District 13 |
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| District 14 |
The primary was canceled and this candidate was elected: Cleo Fields (i) |
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| District 15 |
The primary was canceled and this candidate was elected: Regina Ashford Barrow (i) |
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| District 16 |
The primary was canceled and this candidate was elected: Franklin Foil (i) |
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| District 17 |
Did not make the ballot: |
The primary was canceled and this candidate was elected: Caleb Kleinpeter (i) |
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| District 18 |
The primary was canceled and this candidate was elected: Eddie Lambert (i) |
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| District 19 |
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| District 20 |
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| District 21 |
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| District 22 |
Dexter Lathan (Independent) |
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| District 23 |
The primary was canceled and this candidate was elected: Jean-Paul Coussan |
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| District 24 |
The primary was canceled and this candidate was elected: Gerald Boudreaux (i) |
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| District 25 |
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| District 26 |
The primary was canceled and this candidate was elected: Bob Hensgens (i) |
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| District 27 |
The primary was canceled and this candidate was elected: Jeremy Stine (i) |
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| District 28 |
The primary was canceled and this candidate was elected: Heather Cloud (i) |
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| District 29 |
The primary was canceled and this candidate was elected: Jay Luneau (i) |
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| District 30 |
The primary was canceled and this candidate was elected: Mike Reese (i) |
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| District 31 |
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| District 32 |
The primary was canceled and this candidate was elected: Glen Womack (i) |
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| District 33 |
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| District 34 |
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| District 35 |
The primary was canceled and this candidate was elected: Jay Morris (i) |
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| District 36 |
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| District 37 |
Ivan Scioneaux (Independent) |
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| District 38 |
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| District 39 |
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= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate ConnectionVoting information
- See also: Voting in Louisiana
Incumbents who were not re-elected
Incumbents defeated in general elections
No incumbents lost in general elections. This was down from the eight-year high of two in 2019.
Incumbents defeated in primaries
One incumbent lost in primaries. The same number of incumbents lost in 2011 and 2019.
| Name | Party | Office |
|---|---|---|
| Robert Mills |  Republican |
Senate District 36 |
Retiring incumbents
Eleven incumbents did not file for re-election in 2023.[1] This was fewer than in 2019 (17) but equal to 2015 (11). Those incumbents were:
Primary election competitiveness
This section contains data on state legislative primary election competitiveness in Louisiana. These totals include data from all regularly-scheduled House and Senate elections. For more information about Ballotpedia's competitiveness analysis of state legislative elections, please click here.
| Louisiana state legislative competitiveness, 2011-2023 | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Districts/ offices |
Seats | Open seats | Candidates | Possible primaries | Contested top-two primaries | % of contested primaries | Incumbents in contested primaries | % of incumbents in contested primaries | |||||
| 2023 | 144 | 144 | 42 | 274 | 144 | 76 | 52.8% | 39 | 38.2% | |||||
| 2019 | 144 | 144 | 60 | 320 | 144 | 92 | 63.9% | 39 | 46.4% | |||||
| 2015 | 144 | 144 | 34 | 267 | 144 | 70 | 48.6% | 38 | 34.5% | |||||
| 2011 | 144 | 144 | 36 | 284 | 144 | 81 | 56.3% | 50 | 45.5% | |||||
Post-filing deadline analysis
The following analysis covers all state legislative districts up for election in Louisiana in 2023. Information below was calculated on Aug. 25, 2023, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.
Louisiana held 79 contested state legislative primaries this year, a 14% decrease from 2019.
Louisiana holds top-two primaries, where all candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50% 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.
Of the 79 contested primaries, there were 60 top-two primaries in the state House and 19 in the state Senate.
Forty-three incumbents faced primary challenges, representing 41.3% of all incumbents running for re-election. This was lower than in 2019 (46.4%) and 2011 (45.5%) but higher than in 2015 (34.5%).
Of the 43 incumbents in contested primaries, 14 were Democrats and 29 were Republicans.
Overall, 267 major party candidates—98 Democrats and 169 Republicans—filed to run. All 105 House and 39 Senate seats were up for election.
Forty of those seats were open, meaning no incumbents filed. This guaranteed that at least 28% of the legislature was represented by newcomers in 2024, the second-largest such percentage since 2011.
Open seats
The table below shows the number and percentage of open seats in the Louisiana State Senate from 2011 to 2023.[2]
| Open seats in Louisiana State Senate elections: 2011 - 2023 | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Seats up | Open seats | Incumbents running | |||||||||||
| # | % | # | % | |||||||||||
| 2023 | 39 | 11 | 28% | 28 | 72% | |||||||||
| 2019 | 39 | 17 | 44% | 22 | 56% | |||||||||
| 2015 | 39 | 11 | 28% | 28 | 72% | |||||||||
| 2011 | 39 | 9 | 23% | 30 | 77% | |||||||||
Process to become a candidate
See statutes: Title 18: Louisiana Election Code of the Louisiana Revised Statutes
Qualifying for the ballot
In Louisiana, all candidates, regardless of party affiliation, run in the general election. If a candidate receives a majority of the vote in the general election, he or she wins outright. If no candidate meets that threshold, a runoff election is held between the top two vote-getters. A candidate cannot run for more than one office in a general or runoff election. A candidate is also prohibited from running for two or more different offices to be filled at separate elections.[3]
All candidates, regardless of partisan affiliation (or lack thereof), qualify in the same way and at the same time. For gubernatorial elections, the candidate qualifying period begins on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in August in the year of the election and ends at 4:30 p.m. on the following Thursday. For congressional elections, the candidate qualifying period begins on the third Wednesday in July in the year of the election and ends at 4:30 p.m. on the following Friday.[4][5]
To qualify, a candidate must file with the Louisiana Secretary of State. A candidate must file a notice of candidacy form and either pay a filing fee or file a nominating petition. After qualifying, a candidate for state executive office or state legislative office is required to obtain at least one hour of ethics education and training.[6][7][8][9]
Notice of candidacy
The notice of candidacy form must be signed either in the presence of a notary public or of registered voters eligible to vote for the office being sought by the candidate. The form must certify the following:[7][10]
- the candidate's name and the way in which he or she would like it to appear on the ballot
- the office being sought by the candidate
- the candidate's residential address, including the parish, ward, and precinct where the candidate is registered to vote
- the name of the recognized party the candidate is affiliated with, a designation of "other" if the candidate is affiliated with a non-recognized political party, or a designation of "no party" if the candidate is not affiliated with any political party (this designation cannot change after the notice of candidacy is filed)
- that the candidate is a registered voter in the district he or she wishes to represent
- that the candidate is not under an order of imprisonment for conviction of a felony and is not prohibited from qualifying as a candidate for conviction of a felony
- if running for state office, that the candidate has filed his or her state and federal tax returns for the past five years or was not required to file returns
- if running for state office, that the candidate acknowledges that he or she is subject to the Campaign Finance Disclosure Act, does not owe any outstanding fines, fees, or penalties, and has filed any reports due prior to filing the notice of candidacy form
- that the candidate is knowledgeable of all election rules and laws pertaining to the election in which he or she is running, specifically those prohibiting political campaign signs on public property.
Filing fee
If a candidate opts to pay the filing fee, it must be paid in cash, by certified check, by cashier's check, or by money order. Established political parties may assess a political party fee to be paid by their candidates. All fees must be paid to the Louisiana Secretary of State at the time of qualifying. Candidates serving in the United States Armed Forces are not required to pay the filing fee.[8][11]
Fees vary according to the office being sought and are detailed in the table below.[12]
| Filing fees | ||
|---|---|---|
| Office sought | Filing fee | Party fee (for Democratic or Republican candidates) |
| Governor | $750.00 | $375.00 |
| State executive office other than governor, United States Senator, United States Representative | $600.00 | $300.00 |
| State Senator | $300.00 | $150.00 to the state central committee ($150 if assessed by parish executive committee) |
| State Representative | $225.00 | $112.50 to the state central committee ($112.50 if assessed by parish executive committee) |
Nominating petition
If a candidate opts to file a nominating petition in lieu of paying the filing fee, he or she may begin circulating petitions 120 days before the qualifying period begins. Signatures for the petition must be collected from registered voters eligible to vote for the office the candidate is seeking. Signature requirements vary according to the office being sought and are detailed in the table below.[12][13]
| Signature requirements for nominating petitions | |
|---|---|
| Office sought | Number of signatures required |
| State executive office or office in the U.S. Senate | 5,000, with no less than 500 coming from each congressional district |
| Office in the U.S. House of Representatives | 1,000 |
| Office in the Louisiana State Senate | 500 |
| Office in the Louisiana House of Representatives | 400 |
Challenging a candidacy
Any registered voter may challenge the candidacy of a candidate running for an office for which the challenger is an eligible elector. To do so, the registered voter must present evidence that a candidate has illegally qualified for office to the respective parish district attorney. The district attorney will then determine whether the evidence presented by the registered voter establishes grounds for challenging the candidate's qualified status. If the district attorney determines that the evidence does establish grounds against the candidate, the district attorney must file an action objecting to that candidate.[14]
Any objection to a candidate must be filed no later than seven days after the close of the candidate qualifying period, unless that day falls on a weekend or holiday, in which case the objection must be filed by the next business day.[15]
Qualifications
In order to run for office, the following qualifications are in place for candidates:[16]
- Must be 18 years of age or older.
- Must be a resident of the district they seek to hold office to for a minimum of two years.
- Must not have served more than two and one half terms previously in office. This is for any candidate who has held office in the past after January 8, 1996.
- Have not been convicted of a felony offense.
- Have no outstanding fines with the Louisiana Ethics Administration Program.
- Pay a $225 filing fee with the Clerk of Court in the parish they reside in or collect 400 signatures.
- If running as a Republican or Democrat, pay an additional $112.50 filing fee with the state and/or parish executive committee of their party.
Salaries and per diem
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
| State legislative salaries, 2024[17] | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $16,800/year; plus an additional $6,000/year as an unvouchered expense | $166/day. |
When sworn in
Louisiana legislators assume office at noon on the second Monday in January after their election.[18][19]
Louisiana political history
Trifectas
A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government.
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 |
Presidential politics in Louisiana
2020
- See also: Presidential election, 2020
Presidential election in Louisiana, 2020
Candidate/Running mate |
% |
Popular votes |
Electoral votes |
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| ✔ |
 
| Donald Trump/Mike Pence (R) |
58.5
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1,255,776 | 8 |
 
| Joe Biden/Kamala D. Harris (D) |
39.9
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856,034 | 0 | |
 
| Jo Jorgensen/Spike Cohen (L) |
1.0
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21,645 | 0 | |
 
| Ye/Michelle Tidball (Birthday Party) |
0.2
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4,897 | 0 | |
 
| Brian T. Carroll/Amar Patel (American Solidarity Party) |
0.1
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2,497 | 0 | |
 
| Jade Simmons/Claudeliah Roze (Becoming One Nation) |
0.1
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1,626 | 0 | |
| President Boddie/Eric Stoneham (C.U.P.) |
0.1
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1,125 | 0 | |
 
| Gloria La Riva/Sunil Freeman (Party for Socialism and Liberation) |
0.0
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987 | 0 | |
 
| Don Blankenship/William Mohr (Constitution Party) |
0.0
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860 | 0 | |
 
| Brock Pierce/Karla Ballard (Freedom and Prosperity) |
0.0
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749 | 0 | |
 
| Tom Hoefling/Andy Prior (Life, Liberty, Constitution) |
0.0
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668 | 0 | |
 
| Bill Hammons/Eric Bodenstab (Unity Party) |
0.0
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662 | 0 | |
 
| Alyson Kennedy/Malcolm Jarrett (Socialist Workers Party) |
0.0
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536 | 0 | |
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Total votes: 2,148,062 |
2016
- See also: Presidential election, 2016
| U.S. presidential election, Louisiana, 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine | 38.4% | 780,154 | 0 | |
| Republican | Donald Trump/Mike Pence |
58.1% | 1,178,638 | 8 | |
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson/Bill Weld | 1.9% | 37,978 | 0 | |
| Green | Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka | 0.7% | 14,031 | 0 | |
| Constitution | Darrell Lane Castle/Scott Bradley | 0.2% | 3,129 | 0 | |
| Courage Character Service | Evan McMullin/Nathan Johnson | 0.4% | 8,547 | 0 | |
| It's Our Children | Laurence Kotlikoff/Edward Lea | 0.1% | 1,048 | 0 | |
| Life Family Constitution | Tom Hoefling/Steve Schulin | 0.1% | 1,581 | 0 | |
| Loyal Trustworthy Compasion | Princes Jacob/Milton Fambro | 0% | 749 | 0 | |
| Socialism and Liberation | Gloria Estela La Riva/Eugene Puryear | 0% | 446 | 0 | |
| Socialism Equality Anti-War | Jerry White/Niles Niemuth | 0% | 370 | 0 | |
| Socialist Workers Party | Alyson Kennedy/Osborne Hart | 0% | 480 | 0 | |
| Socialist Workers Party | Chris Keniston/Deacon Taylor | 0.1% | 1,881 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 2,029,032 | 8 | |||
| Election results via: Louisiana Secretary of State | |||||
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 |
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| Winning Party | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | SR[20] | D | R | D | R | AI[21] | R | D | R | R | R | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
Redistricting following the 2020 census
On February 19, 2024, the state appealed a U.S. District Court for Middle Louisiana decision that struck down the state's legislative maps.[22]
The lower court's February 8, 2024, ruling found the state's legislative maps to be in violation of the Voting Rights Act.[23][24] According to the ruling, the court found the following:
| “ | [T]he Enacted State House and Senate Maps crack or pack large and geographically compact minority populations such as Black voters in the challenged districts 'have less opportunity than other members of the electorate to participate in the political process and to elect representatives of their choice,' and the Illustrative Plan offered by the Plaintiffs show that additional opportunity districts can be 'reasonable configured.'[24][25] | ” |
See also
| Louisiana | State Legislative Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
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2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 |
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- Impact of term limits on state legislative elections in 2023
- Impact of term limits on state senate elections in 2023
- Impact of term limits on state representative elections in 2023
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Ballotpedia defines an incumbent as retiring if the incumbent did not file for office or filed for office but withdrew, was disqualified, or otherwise left a race in a manner other than losing the primary, primary runoff, or convention. If an incumbent runs as a write-in candidate, Ballotpedia does not consider them to be retiring. If an incumbent runs in the same chamber for a different seat, Ballotpedia does not consider them to be retiring.
- ↑ Ballotpedia defines a seat as open if the incumbent did not file to run for re-election or filed but withdrew and did not appear on any ballot for his or her seat. If the incumbent withdrew from or did not participate in the primary but later chose to seek re-election to his or her seat as a third party or independent candidate, the seat would not be counted as open. If the incumbent retired or ran for a different seat in the same chamber, his or her original seat would be counted as open unless another incumbent from the same chamber filed to run for that seat, in which case it would not be counted as open due to the presence of an incumbent.
- ↑ Louisiana Revised Statutes, "Title 18, Section 453," accessed March 13, 2025
- ↑ Louisiana Revised Statutes, "Title 18, Section 467," accessed March 13, 2025
- ↑ Louisiana Revised Statutes, "Title 18, Section 468," accessed March 13, 2025
- ↑ Louisiana Revised Statutes, "Title 18, Section 462," accessed March 25, 2025
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Louisiana Secretary of State Website, "Qualify for an Election," accessed March 13, 2025
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Louisana Revised Statutes, "Title 18, Section 461," accessed March 25, 2025
- ↑ Louisiana Revised Statutes, "Title 18, Section 461.1," accessed March 25, 2025
- ↑ Louisiana Revised Statutes, "Title 18, Section 463," accessed March 13, 2025
- ↑ Louisiana Revised Statutes, "Title 18, Section 464," accessed March 25, 2025
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Louisiana Secretary of State, "Fees/Nominating Petitions to Qualify for Office," accessed March 13, 2025
- ↑ Louisiana Revised Statutes, "Title 18, Section 465," accessed March 13, 2025
- ↑ Louisiana Revised Statutes, "Title 18, Section 491," accessed March 13, 2025
- ↑ Louisiana Revised Statutes, "Title 18, Section 493," accessed March 13, 2025
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Qualify for an Election," accessed December 16, 2013
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
- ↑ Louisiana Constitution, "Article 3, Section 5," accessed February 10, 2021
- ↑ Louisiana Constitution, "Article 4, Section 3," accessed February 10, 2021
- ↑ States' Rights Democratic Party
- ↑ American Independent Party
- ↑ American Redistricting Project, "Nairne v. Landry," accessed November 20, 2024
- ↑ NOLA.com. "Louisiana must redraw its legislative districts, federal judge rules. Here's why." February 8, 2024
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 Twitter. "RedistrictNet," February 8, 2024
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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