What's on the ballot? - October 24, 2015
October 23, 2015
By Ballotpedia staff Follow @ballotpedia
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| Elections on October 24, 2015 |
| Louisiana |
Louisiana kicks off the Fall 2015 election season on October 24 with a slate of elections at both the statewide and local levels. Louisiana is one of three states to use a blanket primary, or top-two system, which allows all candidates to run and all voters to vote. However, only the top two vote-getters move on, regardless of party affiliation, to the general election. In Louisiana, the runoff general election is only required if no candidate receives at least 50 percent of the primary vote. If the runoff election is not needed, the race is decided by one election, which serves as both the primary and the general election.[1][2][3]
Louisiana Governor:
Louisiana's close gubernatorial race is among the most fascinating in the state. A total of nine candidates will face off in October, with a runoff scheduled for November 21, if necessary.
With current Governor Bobby Jindal (R) termed out, the race is up for grabs. The candidates are evenly divided, with three Democrats, three Republicans and three independent candidates in the running. One of the Republicans, David Vitter, is polling well despite being named in the DC madam scandal in 2007 and being accused of shirking debates. Polls have been mixed. Some indicate Vitter will win in the primary but lose to Democrat John Edwards in the runoff. Other polls show Scott Angelle (R) inching ever closer to Vitter, with the potential to knock him out of the running. If either Vitter or Angelle lose to Edwards—who is expected to advance—in the general election, it will flip the seat for Democrats and break the Republican trifecta currently in place.[4][5][6][7]
Louisiana Attorney General:
Louisianans will also vote for their next attorney general on October 24. However, unlike the governor's race, this one is all about the Republicans. Though two Democrats are running, neither seem likely to advance. Based on recent polling, the real battle appears to be between incumbent Buddy Caldwell and one of his two Republican challengers, Jeff Landry.[8]
Landry, whose campaign slogan is "stop the Buddy system," said the attorney general's office is bloated and criticized Caldwell for hiring expensive out-of-state attorneys to represent the state. He also accused him of corruption, saying, "The fact that I am on the ballot should speak volumes to the grade I would give him. When an incumbent is polling in the numbers that the current attorney general is polling in, he's in for a real difficult race. We're going to end the cronyism, the nepotism and the corruption going on in that office." Caldwell fought back, saying, "All of my lawyers have delivered record recoveries for the state without costing the taxpayer a dime. The 'Buddy's Buddies' system is working."[8][9]
School board elections:
Tangipahoa Parish School System's District G seat was vacated after incumbent Eric Dangerfield (D) was found guilty of Medicaid fraud. While he was forced to resign from the board earlier in 2014 as part of a plea deal in the case, Dangerfield promptly filed to run for a new term in the regular board election on November 4, 2014. He garnered over 60 percent of the vote in his contest against challenger Tara Hudgins (R). Despite his win, he was forced to resign from the board for a second time due to a part of his plea bargain that prevented him from being employed with "any entity that receives Medicaid or Medicare funding."[10]
Jim H. “Jay” Kelly (I), a pastor and former educator, was appointed to the District G seat and is seeking the remainder of Dangerfield's unexpired term in the special election. Some community groups and members, however, have advocated for another candidate: Betty Clark Robinson (D), an educator. Kelly and Robinson were the only two candidates to file for the election and will face off in Saturday's election.
One school board seat is also up for election in the Orleans Parish School District. Three Democratic candidates filed for the open seat: Keith Barney, Shawon Bernard and John Brown Sr. A general election will be held on November 21, 2015, if no candidate garners a majority of the vote in the primary election.
Louisiana state legislature elections:
Primary elections will be held for members of both the Louisiana state Senate and Louisiana House of Representatives. The general election for both chambers will be held on November 21, 2015. Heading into the elections, Republicans hold the majority in both chambers. In the House, a total of 23 incumbents face same-party primary competition on October 24. Twenty-one incumbents did not seek re-election in 2015, and another 61 incumbents will advance past the primary without same-party opposition. Meanwhile, in the Senate, a total of six incumbents face primary competition from a member of the same party. Ten incumbents did not seek re-election in 2015, and another 22 incumbents will advance past the primary without same-party opposition.
Louisiana judicial elections:
There are eight contested elections for district and justice of the peace courts on October 24. Contested special elections will fill vacancies in the 16th Judicial District and 30th Judicial District, while the 21st Judicial District election is uncontested. Ten parishes are holding elections for justice of the peace courts with six contested races and four uncontested races.[11]
Note: Click on the links below for more details about each race and election results.
Louisiana
State executives
- Louisiana Governor
- Louisiana Lieutenant Governor
- Louisiana Attorney General
- Louisiana Secretary of State
- Louisiana Treasurer
- Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture
- Louisiana Commissioner of Insurance
School boards
- Special election for District 1 in Orleans Parish School Board
- Special election for District G in Tangipahoa Parish School System
- Cancelled due to unopposed race: Special election for District 12 in St. Tammany Parish Public Schools
State legislatures
Judicial
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed October 19, 2015
- ↑ Fair Vote, "Congressional and Presidential Primaries: Open, Closed, Semi-Closed, and Others," accessed October 19, 2015
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Morning Digest: RGA, in reversal, rushes in to save Matt Bevin with just two weeks to go," October 21, 2015
- ↑ Fox News, "New Orleans' Madam Says Sen. David Vitter Used Her Brothel," accessed July 23, 2013
- ↑ ABC News, "‘Hustler’ Call May Have Prompted Vitter Admission," accessed July 23, 2013
- ↑ Schreveport Times, "Analysis: Vitter’s absence at TV debates rankles competitors," October 11, 2015
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Morning Digest: RGA, in reversal, rushes in to save Matt Bevin with just two weeks to go," October 21, 2015
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Nola.com, "Incumbent Buddy Caldwell under attack on two fronts in attorney general's race," October 9, 2015
- ↑ The News Star, "Louisiana attorney general's race turns nasty," October 8, 2015
- ↑ The Advocate, "Judge orders Dangerfield to not take office in Tangipahoa," December 5, 2014
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Candidate Portal," accessed October 20, 2015
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