Quentin Anthony Anderson

Quentin Anthony Anderson (Democratic Party) ran in a special election to the Louisiana State Senate to represent District 14. He lost in the special primary on February 15, 2025.

Biography

Quentin Anderson was born in San Francisco, California. He earned a high school diploma from McKinley High School, a bachelor's degree from Louisiana Tech University in 2010, and a J.D. from Louisiana State University in 2013. Anderson's professional experience includes working as an executive chairman of The Justice Alliance, founder/creative director of marketing firm Anderson Creative, and communications director for The Appleseed Foundation. He has been affiliated with Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.^[1]^[2]

Elections

2025

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

Special nonpartisan primary for Louisiana State Senate District 14

Larry Selders won election outright against Carolyn Hill and Quentin Anthony Anderson in the special primary for Louisiana State Senate District 14 on February 15, 2025.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Larry Selders (D)	62.4	4,153
	Submit photo	Carolyn Hill (D)	20.4	1,355
		Quentin Anthony Anderson (D)	17.3	1,149

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 6,657
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Anderson in this election.

2024

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 U.S. House Louisiana District 6

Cleo Fields won election outright against Elbert Guillory, Quentin Anthony Anderson, Peter Williams, and Wilken Jones Jr. in the primary for U.S. House Louisiana District 6 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Cleo Fields (D)	50.8	150,323
		Elbert Guillory (R)	37.7	111,737
		Quentin Anthony Anderson (D)	8.0	23,811
		Peter Williams (D)	2.1	6,252
	Submit photo	Wilken Jones Jr. (D)	1.3	3,910

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 296,033
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Garret Graves (R)
Scott Sonnier (R)

Endorsements

Anderson received the following endorsements.

NOW PAC

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.

General election

General election for East Baton Rouge Metro Council District 10

Carolyn Coleman defeated Jay Gaudet in the general election for East Baton Rouge Metro Council District 10 on December 5, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Carolyn Coleman (D)	62.9	3,567
	Submit photo	Jay Gaudet (D)	37.1	2,102

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,669
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for East Baton Rouge Metro Council District 10

The following candidates ran in the primary for East Baton Rouge Metro Council District 10 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Carolyn Coleman (D)	27.4	2,796
✔	Submit photo	Jay Gaudet (D)	18.5	1,884
		Quentin Anthony Anderson (D)	17.4	1,778
		Eugene Collins (D)	16.9	1,727
		Davante Lewis (D)	12.5	1,274
	Submit photo	Andrea Cosey (D)	5.8	589
	Submit photo	Markeda Cottonham (D)	1.5	155

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 10,203
= 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Will Chatman Sr. (D)

Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

Quentin Anthony Anderson did not complete Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.

2024

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released April 6, 2024

Quentin Anthony Anderson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Anderson's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a regular guy. I'm not a career politician or some legacy candidate - my last name's not Kennedy or LeBlanc or Boudreaux. I'm a small business owner, a non-profit advocate, and a bit of nerd. I'm a graduate of Louisiana Tech University and LSU Law Center (both of which i am still paying for to this day). My first full time job was as a field organizer for Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential primary. I worked at the local homeless one-stop center as a legal extern doing intake of clients during my last year of law school and then worked at United Way after I graduated, raising money for organizations like the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank and the American Heart Association. I organized climate voters during the 2014 midterms out in La Plata County, Colorado, which sparked an interest in not only environmental protection policy, but environmental & climate justice policy. In 2015, I led a successful legislative advocacy campaign in Illinois to get comprehensive school-to-prison pipeline reform legislation passed in the state legislature - and signed into law by a Republican governor. I led communications for a solar nonprofit in DC that was trying to figure out how to bring working families into the green economy, whether they were climate justice champions or not. I founded a nonprofit called The Justice Alliance which organizes a social justice summit annually in Baton Rouge. And most importantly, I have a 3 year old Beagle named Geronimo Lewis.

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?

In Louisiana, too many of our politicians are bought and paid for - that's why no matter who you vote for, Democrat or Republican, the same agenda is pushed and the same concerns of the voters get ignored. We've gotten too comfortable with low expectations and our political leaders take advantage of that. We can do better than bought and paid for politicians who are now just phoning it in when they get elected - and sometimes before that.
This district deserves bold, unapologetic advocacy from the next Congressperson. This can't be a seat that goes along to get along at the expense of the needs of this district. We need federal resources badly in the 6th. And we can't afford to elect someone who we know will sell out our interests for his own political gain. We have to have a leader who is independent enough to do what's in the best interest of the district - not some ulterior agenda.
Change starts with us. In a democracy, there's no secret mechanism for salvation. If we want something different, we have to vote for something different. If we keep voting for the same people - the same policies, the same tactics, the same approaches - why are we surprised that we remain stagnant economically, socially, educationally, health-wise, etc.? We have to vote for change during elections - we can't simply expect the same old politicians to somehow change their stripes afterwards.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am most passionate about economic justice, environmental & climate justice, and protecting our democracy. I think those are the most important and pressing issues of our day. I think those are the issues that will define the next generation or longer - no matter how we address them. For better or for worse, how we approach economic inequality will fundamentally impact our politics. How we approach climate change and the communities impacted by our decisions will fundamentally shape the future of our species. And how we handle our democracy and the threats to it will fundamentally shape the geopolitical environment we exist in for the foreseeable future. So those are my priorities right now.

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

I think the the ability to listen to those they represent is really key. Not just from a "do-gooder" perspective, but even just strategically. In a democracy, you only get as far as your popular support allows. You have to sell policy, candidates, ideas, all of that. And the only way you'll be successful earning support for anything is by being aware of what your audience cares about. So listening is key.

Delivering is fundamental as well. Before you pursue any other personal agenda, the people need to know you've done your job. It's like any other job - you can get creative when you've demonstrated your ability and reliability to deliver on the basic aspects of the job. So doing what you said and not accepting nothing as progress is also important.

Finally, the ability to compromise. I know, I said Voldemort and I'm sure there were some laptops that got slammed shut or phones that got yeeted, but it's true. If you believe in the first two values I articulated, how can you not understand that you need to be able to give and take to get anything done in our system? That's how it works. And so the ability to know the interests of those you're working with and negotiating with is very important. Well, if you want to get something done. If you're someone who's trying to tear the place down and piss on the ashes, sure, you can be uncompromising. But if you know that people are depending on your ability to deliver resources, you also know you have to get what you can get - and not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I'd like to leave a legacy of honor and integrity, as well as super productivity. I want to show that you can be a good person and successful politically. That you can be principled and progressive without being extreme and uncompromising. That you can be a servant leader and respect the intelligence of those you serve and still be successful. I want to show Louisiana that we can do better than we've done.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. Just a wonderful book about defying expectations, coming from nothing, investing in self-belief, overcoming odds, all that jazz. It's been my favorite book since I was kid and that hasn't changed.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Jed Bartlett

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

Tenacious D's cover of "Hit Me Baby One More Time"

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

The House should be - and was designed to be - most reflective of the immediate needs of the people. That's why we get 2 year terms. We're always running for reelection to make sure we're always listening. Sometimes that means we're a more volatile and unpredictable chamber, but that's OK. The Senate should filter out the bad, more knee-jerk policy but it should be informed by trends and the will of the people being expressed by their most regularly voted-on institution.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

Nope, but it doesn't hurt. But the learning curve for legislating isn't incredibly steep and shouldn't be. Otherwise, we shouldn't have a democracy. The accessibility of our government and it's levers of power should equal the accessibility of voting. If anyone can vote, and anyone can run, then anyone should not only be able to win, but should be able to govern successfully. And I do think that largely the institution of the House is set up for even people like me to figure it out and represent our constituents effectively.

But I think being civically involved - whether in public office or as an advocate - does help you to understand the policy better and to negotiate the nuances better. It makes you better equipped not to get screwed over. So I would prefer a candidate who either has done it from the inside or outside as an advocate simply because I do want the best advocacy, but I don't think there's a qualitative difference between legislating from the inside and advocating from the outside, in terms of experience and ability to be effective within the institution.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

Yep, it makes sure the House is always listening. Unless people run unopposed. Which sucks. But when it works, the House is always the most responsive to the people's will. Sometimes too much so. But that's the point.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I strongly believe in term limits. At the federal level, I'd like to see a limit of 3-terms for Representatives and 2-terms for US Senate. I think that would accomplish the same traditional goals of both chambers without turning it into a career cesspool. Gun to my head, I can see myself compromising on perhaps making those rules about consecutive terms but that's because at a bare minimum what I'm trying to accomplish is breaking the stranglehold that incumbency can have on these seats. If at least every 6 years a House seat is an open race and every 12 a Senate seat is, that accomplishes that goal to some degree. It's not perfect, but it would be better than what we have.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Absolutely. It's necessary and desirable if you want sustainable policy. The more partisan the policy, the harder it is to sustain because the public can easily start to view it as exclusive policy, and not collective. That's why it's so important to get bipartisan buy-in, even sometimes just nominally. Because you want everyone to see themselves in the policy that, if enacted, will impact everyone whether their political alignment supported it initially or not. It's not impossible to have successful partisan policy, but its so much harder and arguably less rewarding.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

NOW PAC, Center for Free Thought Equality

What committees interest you?

Transportation and Infrastructure

Energy and Commerce
Judiciary
Science, Space, and Technology
Homeland Security

Oversight and Accountability

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

I think every elected official should make their tax returns available and I think the public has every right to know the business dealings of their elected officials, however that has to be mandated and demonstrated.

Furthermore, I think the government has an obligation to be accountable to the people. That should come from oversight from the House and Senate, but often has to come from the people themselves during elections. But that also comes in the form of a free press - so I support protecting and defending our press freedoms. It comes in the form of public records laws, which I support expanding and speeding up FOIA request turnaround. Government works for the people - I support whatever keeps the people at the wheel.

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.

2020

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

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Quentin Anthony Anderson is a Democratic candidate for East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council in District 10. A former staffer for former President Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, Anderson is the Executive Chairman of the social justice nonprofit The Justice Alliance as well as the Founder and Creative Director of Anderson Creative Strategies LLC. In 2015, Anderson passed the nation's strongest school-to-prison pipeline reform legislation as Campaign Director of the Campaign for Common Sense Discipline Reform for the youth-led nonprofit Voices of Youth In Chicago Education in 2015. The bill was later signed into law by Republican Governor Bruce Rauner. In 2018, he created the My Louisiana Equality & Equity Summit, an annual statewide conference on social justice policy in Louisiana.

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?

Real justice means re-imagining our public safety budget to reflect real public safety and not simply over-policing and mass incarceration. Let's spend some of that money on investing in jobs, education, and additional emergency response resources that go beyond simply arresting and shooting.
Real access means investing in creating a public transit system that respects and attracts rides, not simply an underfunded system barely hanging on. And we need to establish our Parish's public transportation North Star by building towards light rail in Baton Rouge.
Real investment means requiring companies that lease from the Parish to show how they will identify, train, and hire from within the zipcode they are moving into to ensure that new jobs and new wealth are experienced by the community that's THERE, not just waiting for the community that will move in when the existing community is pushed out.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Anderson is most passionate about criminal justice reform - specifically policing and prison reform - as well as comprehensive public transportation reform and expanding local healthcare access to the most vulnerable communities.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

It passes the laws governing the Parish and it allocates funding for local government functions.

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

I have a few political heroes . Most obviously, my first full-time boss, Barack Obama. People conveniently forget it now, but he had to be the Jackie Robinson of politics. He had to be able to be the "kind" of Black president that allowed for the rest of us not to have to shy away from our Blackness just to be seen as qualified. He had to embody everything the world expected of a president while being nothing like what the world had ever seen in one. And he did it with aplomb and I think he doesn't get enough credit for not only being a barrier breaker but a hell of an effective and consequential one, at that.

Two others of mine are Teddy Roosevelt and Bobby Kennedy - the former because he's the only top 5 president who didn't need a war to be great - he saw the government as a tool for making life better for people and created his own greatness simply based on the boldness of his vision and his determination to see it through. Bobby Kennedy was not an ideal character for most of his political career, but his trip to Mississippi and California exposed him to a level of poverty that made him willing to recast his entire political identity around that issue, that I have come to admire the journey. Its one of the more pure in American politics and it comes from a decidedly impure politician. I've always admired his willingness to embrace that transformation for a just cause.

Finally, my first and longtime political idol is my grandmother, who ran for State Representative in Missouri in 1980. She lost, but she ran on a platform almost identical to my own today and she ran on it as a Black woman, in Missouri, with 4 kids, and well into middle age. She didn't care. She was always about doing the boldest thing for the most vulnerable people when you have the most attention on you. And that's what she did. And that philosophy has stuck with me ever since.

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

Integrity. It's paramount or else you simply can't trust what someone with great power is doing is always in your interest. People with integrity understand that public service is just that: service.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I want to leave a legacy of accomplishment and progress. I want to be remembered as both bold and effective. I don't think there's much value in talking beatifully but not having the ability to turn those flowery words into transformational affect. I want to be remembered as someone whose constituents believed in and trusted.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The first one I remember is probably the Oklahoma City Building bombing. I would have been about 6 or 7 at the time and I just remember it being a bigger deal than anything else had been up to that point in my memory, in terms of the news. It seemed the be more important than any other story I had been around and I lived in a household where the news was on all the time. Prior, I have some memories of things like the OJ Simpson trial, Rodney King, and the LA riots, but the most vivid, early memory would have probably been Oklahoma City.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My very first paying job was as a graphic design intern at 2121 Design TV in Baton Rouge. I had it for, I believe, a semester during my junior year of high school. And it wasn't originally supposed to be paid, but they thought I worked hard enough that they gave me a little $300 stipend. My first full-time job, however, was as a Field Organizer for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. I actually still have my first paycheck framed in my apartment.

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

It continues to be "You'll Be Back" by Jonathan Groff from the Hamilton soundtrack.

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

Not that I'm aware of.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

No, I think the best qualification for local council is that you're an active member of the community and you're willing to listen to people. That's, at it's core, the spirit of representative democracy and no where do you need to have those qualities more than as a councilman.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

In addition to the aforementioned, I think having a high political IQ is important as well. Simply being able to identify a problem - or even having great ideas for how to address it -without knowing how to get enough "Yes" votes to pass results in a fairly toothless legislator. A good legislator at any level needs to know how to sell the political benefits of their interests to others. And that's not as common a trait as you'd think.

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.

Quentin Anthony Anderson campaign contribution history
Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	U.S. House Louisiana District 6	Lost primary	$35,640	$40,108
Grand total			$35,640	$40,108
Sources: OpenSecrets, Federal Elections Commission *This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

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Personal

Footnotes

↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on August 31, 2020
↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 8, 2024

[show]

Current members of the Louisiana State Senate

Leadership

Senate President:Cameron Henry

Senators

District 1

Robert Owen (R)

District 2

Ed Price (D)

District 3

Joseph Bouie (D)

District 4

Jimmy Harris (D)

District 5

Royce Duplessis (D)

District 6

Rick Edmonds (R)

District 7

Gary Carter (D)

District 8

Patrick Connick (R)

District 9

Cameron Henry (R)

District 10

Kirk Talbot (R)

District 11

Patrick McMath (R)

District 12

Beth Mizell (R)

District 13

Valarie Hodges (R)

District 14

Larry Selders (D)

District 15

Regina Barrow (D)

District 16

Franklin Foil (R)

District 17

Caleb Kleinpeter (R)

District 18

Eddie Lambert (R)

District 19

Gregory Miller (R)

District 20

Michael Fesi (R)

District 21

Robert Allain (R)

District 22

Blake Miguez (R)

District 23

Brach Myers (R)

District 24

Gerald Boudreaux (D)

District 25

Mark Abraham (R)

District 26

Bob Hensgens (R)

District 27

Jeremy Stine (R)

District 28

Heather Cloud (R)

District 29

Jay Luneau (D)

District 30

Mike Reese (R)

District 31

Alan Seabaugh (R)

District 32

Glen Womack (R)

District 33

Stewart Cathey (R)

District 34

Katrina Jackson (D)

District 35

Jay Morris (R)

District 36

Adam Bass (R)

District 37

William Wheat (R)

District 38

Thomas Pressly (R)

District 39

Sam Jenkins (D)

Republican Party (28)

Democratic Party (11)

[bio-1] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on August 31, 2020

[2] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 8, 2024

[1]

[2]

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Quentin Anthony Anderson

Contents

Biography

Elections

2025

Nonpartisan primary election

Special nonpartisan primary for Louisiana State Senate District 14

Endorsements

2024

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House Louisiana District 6

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Endorsements

2020

General election

General election for East Baton Rouge Metro Council District 10

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for East Baton Rouge Metro Council District 10

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

2024

Video for Ballotpedia

2020

Campaign finance summary

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2025 Elections

2026 Elections

2024 Election analysis

Trending

Public Policy

Information for candidates

Get Engaged

Services

Additional analysis

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