Louisiana gubernatorial election, 2023
|
← 2019
|
| Governor of Louisiana |
|---|
 |
| Primary election General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: August 10, 2023 |
| Primary: October 14, 2023 General: November 18, 2023 Pre-election incumbent(s): John Bel Edwards (Democratic) |
| How to vote |
| Poll times: 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voting in Louisiana |
| Race ratings |
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Likely Republican Inside Elections: Lean Republican |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| Federal and state primary competitiveness State executive elections in 2023 Impact of term limits in 2023 State government trifectas State government triplexes Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2023 |
| Louisiana executive elections |
| Governor Lieutenant Governor |
Louisiana is holding an election for governor on November 18, 2023. The primary is October 14, 2023. The filing deadline is August 10, 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.
For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:
2023 battleground election
Nine candidates are running in the all-party primary in the open-seat election for governor of Louisiana on October 14, 2023. Gov. John Bel Edwards (D)—who was first elected in 2015 and re-elected in 2019—is term-limited. Jeff Landry (R), Hunter Lundy (I), John Schroder (R), and Shawn Wilson (D) have the most campaign receipts and media attention.
Louisiana conducts its elections using a majority-vote system. All candidates appear on the same ballot in the primary, and a candidate can win outright by receiving more than 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate does that, the top two vote recipients—regardless of party—advance to the general election. This year's general election will take place on November 18, 2023.
Landry is the state's attorney general and was elected in 2015 and re-elected in 2019. He also served in the U.S. House from 2011 to 2013 and worked in law enforcement and oil and gas exploration. He was endorsed by former President Donald Trump (R) on May 8 and said in a campaign ad that his top priority would be reducing crime: "Crime was the number one issue on the voters’ minds here in Louisiana. I don’t need any more statistics other than that. That’s real people seeing real things and having real crime affect them." [1][2]
Lundy is an attorney who ran for the U.S. House as a Democrat in 1996. He said he was running for governor because "People need hope and we need some change and we need improvements. We’re a wonderful state with wonderful people and interesting culture, but we’ve been talking about the same things for 50 years and we’re not doing anything about them. I’m a guy who’s going to do things and not talk about them.[3] Through April 7, Lundy had loaned $1,900,000 to his campaign.
Schroder is the state treasurer and was elected to that office in a special election in 2017 and re-elected in 2019. He also served in the state House of Representatives from 2008 to 2017. He served in the criminal investigation division of the U.S. Army and worked as a police detective and in the real estate and homebuilding industries.[4] Schroder listed his priorities when he announced he was running on February 10: "We must take back our communities from criminals, reform Louisiana’s corrupt reputation, uphold the rights of parents and empower our teachers so we can improve education, strengthen our economy with a workforce equipped for the 21st century and tackle our infrastructure and tax policy."[5]
Wilson was the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development from 2016 to March 2023.[6] His previous experience includes working as the assistant dean of students at the University of Louisiana, and as the chief of staff of the state transportation department.[7] Wilson said he had worked in a bipartisan manner during his career and would continue that as governor: "We will always face obstacles. To overcome them requires leaders that will work with everyone, at all levels of government, regardless of party or ideology. From fighting crime in our cities to flooding in our homes and businesses."[8]
The Lafayette Daily Advertiser's Greg Hilburn wrote in March that "the pressure will build among the Republicans to see if any of them can catch and then pass Republican front-running Attorney General Jeff Landry. That's what it will take to join Democrat Shawn Wilson, Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards' former transportation secretary, in advancing to a two-person runoff election."[9]
From 1877 to 1980, every governor of the state was a Democrat. Since 1980, Louisiana has alternated between Democratic and Republican governors with Republicans holding the office for 24 years and Democrats for 20 years. From 1976 to 2020, the Republican candidate won Louisiana nine times and the Democratic candidate has won the state two times.[10] President Donald Trump (R) carried the state in the 2020 presidential election over Joe Biden (D), 59% to 40%.
Candidates and election results
Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:
- Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
- Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies
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.
The primary will occur on October 14, 2023. The general election will occur on November 18, 2023. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Nonpartisan primary for Governor of Louisiana
The following candidates are running in the primary for Governor of Louisiana on October 14, 2023.
Candidate | ||
 | Daniel Cole (D) | |
 | Shawn Wilson (D)  | |
 | Sharon Hewitt (R) | |
 | Xan John (R) | |
 | Jeff Landry (R) | |
 | Richard Nelson (R) | |
 | John Schroder (R) | |
 | Stephen Waguespack (R) | |
 | Hunter Lundy (Independent) | |
| ||||
| = 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 finance
This section contains campaign finance figures from candidates submitted to the Louisiana Ethics Administration Program during 2022 and 2023.
Endorsements
This section lists noteworthy endorsements issued in this election, including those made by high-profile individuals and organizations, cross-party endorsements, and endorsements made by newspaper editorial boards. Please note that this list is not exhaustive. If you are aware of endorsements that should be included, please email us.
Voting information
- See also: Voting in Louisiana
Election history
2019
- See also: Louisiana gubernatorial election, 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 for Governor of Louisiana
Incumbent John Bel Edwards defeated Eddie Rispone in the general election for Governor of Louisiana on November 16, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | John Bel Edwards (D) | 51.3 | 774,498 |
 | Eddie Rispone (R) | 48.7 | 734,286 | |
| Total votes: 1,508,784 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = 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 for Governor of Louisiana
The following candidates ran in the primary for Governor of Louisiana on October 12, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | John Bel Edwards (D) | 46.6 | 625,970 |
| ✔ | | Eddie Rispone (R) | 27.4 | 368,319 |
 | Ralph Abraham (R) | 23.6 | 317,149 | |
 | Oscar Dantzler (D) | 0.8 | 10,993 | |
| Patrick Landry (R) | 0.8 | 10,966 | |
 | Gary Landrieu (Independent) | 0.8 | 10,084 | |
| Total votes: 1,343,481 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Manuel Leach (R)
- Patrick Doguet (R)
- M.V. Mendoza (D)
2015
- See also: Louisiana gubernatorial election, 2015
There was a regularly scheduled election for governor in 2015. Bobby Jindal (R) was ineligible for re-election due to term limits. The primary election took place on October 24, 2015, and a runoff election occurred on November 21, 2015.
No candidate received an outright majority in the blanket primary election. The two candidates with the most votes, who qualified for the November runoff election, were John Bel Edwards (D) and David Vitter (R).
Edwards defeated Vitter and succeeded Governor Jindal in January 2016.[11][12]
General election
The general election for Louisiana governor between David Vitter (R) and John Bel Edwards (D) was held on November 21, 2015. Edwards defeated his Republican opponent.
| Governor of Louisiana, Run-off election, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  John Bel Edwards |
56.1% | 646,860 | |
| Republican | David Vitter | 43.9% | 505,929 | |
| Total Votes | 1,152,789 | |||
| Election Results via the Louisiana Secretary of State. | ||||
Primary election
| Governor of Louisiana, Blanket Primary, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | John Bel Edwards |
39.9% | 444,061 | |
| Republican | David Vitter |
23% | 256,105 | |
| Republican | Scott Angelle | 19.3% | 214,907 | |
| Republican | Jay Dardenne | 15% | 166,553 | |
| Democratic | Cary Deaton | 1.1% | 11,750 | |
| Democratic | S L Simpson | 0.7% | 7,411 | |
| Independent | Beryl Billiot | 0.5% | 5,690 | |
| Independent | Jeremy "JW" Odom | 0.4% | 4,755 | |
| Independent | Eric Paul Orgeron | 0.2% | 2,244 | |
| Total Votes | 1,113,476 | |||
| Election Results Louisiana Secretary of State. | ||||
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ KTBS, "Former President Donald Trump endorses Jeff Landry for La. governor," May 8, 2023
- ↑ BRProud, "Candidate for governor says crime will be his top concern if elected," April 20, 2023
- ↑ American Press, "Gubernatorial candidate Hunter Lundy shares his plans for state," February 9, 2023
- ↑ Louisiana Department of Treasury, "Treasurer John M. Schroder," accessed June 14, 2023
- ↑ NOLA.com, "John Schroder kicks off campaign for governor, promises to restore faith in government," February 10, 2023
- ↑ WAFB, "Former DOTD Secretary Shawn Wilson announces run for governor," March 6, 2023
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Shawn Wilson," accessed June 15, 2023
- ↑ Louisiana Illuminator, "Louisiana now has a prominent Democratic candidate in the governor’s race: Shawn Wilson," March 6, 2023
- ↑ Daily Advertiser, "Louisiana governor's race field explained in 60 seconds," March 27, 2023
- ↑ 270 to win, "Louisiana," accessed June 16, 2023
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections Louisiana gubernatorial liveblog thread #3," November 21, 2015
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedinaugurated
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||
