Jay B. McCallum
Jay B. McCallum (Republican Party) is a judge for the 4th District of the Louisiana Supreme Court. He assumed office on November 13, 2020. His current term ends on December 31, 2026.
McCallum (Republican Party) is running for re-election for the 4th District judge of the Louisiana Supreme Court. He declared candidacy for the Republican primary scheduled on May 16, 2026.[source]
McCallum became a member of the court through a special election. He succeeded retired Justice Marcus Clark (R).[1] To read more about judicial selection in Louisiana, click here.
Biography
McCallum graduated from Northeast Louisiana University in 1982 and received a J.D. from Louisiana State University's Paul M. Hebert Law Center in 1985.[2]
McCallum worked with the law firm of Rabun and McCallum. He was also an assistant district attorney. McCallum served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1992 to 2002. He represented District 12 as a Democrat.[3] He was then a judge on Louisiana's 3rd Judicial District Court as a Democrat until 2014, when he ran for re-election under no party and won. In 2018, he was elected unopposed to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeal under no party. In 2020, he won a special election to the state supreme court as a Republican.[2]
McCallum has also given lectures at law enforcement academies and presentations for continuing legal education.[2]
Elections
2026
See also: Louisiana Supreme Court elections, 2026
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.
General election
The primary will occur on May 16, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Republican primary
Republican primary for Louisiana Supreme Court 4th District
Incumbent Jay B. McCallum (R) is running in the Republican primary for Louisiana Supreme Court 4th District on May 16, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Jay B. McCallum | |
| ||||
 = 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. | ||||
Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
2020
See also: Louisiana Supreme Court elections, 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.
Nonpartisan primary election
Special nonpartisan primary for Louisiana Supreme Court 4th District
Jay B. McCallum won election outright against Shannon J. Gremillion in the special primary for Louisiana Supreme Court 4th District on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jay B. McCallum (R) | 56.7 | 122,458 |
 | Shannon J. Gremillion (R) | 43.3 | 93,569 | |
| Total votes: 216,027 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2018
Regular election
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 Louisiana 2nd Circuit Court of Appeal 2nd District
Incumbent Jay B. McCallum won election outright in the primary for Louisiana 2nd Circuit Court of Appeal 2nd District on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Jay B. McCallum (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. | ||||
Special election
Jay McCallum filed to run for the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal seat previously held by Judge Harmon Drew in 2018. He ran unopposed in the special election on March 24, 2018.
2014
- See also: Louisiana judicial elections, 2014
McCallum ran for re-election to the 3rd Judicial District.
As an unopposed candidate, he was automatically re-elected without appearing on the ballot.[4]
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Jay B. McCallum has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. If you are Jay B. McCallum, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.
Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?
Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for. More than 25,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here.
Help improve Ballotpedia - send us candidate contact info.
2020
Jay B. McCallum did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.
State supreme court judicial selection in Louisiana
- See also: Judicial selection in Louisiana
The seven justices on the Louisiana Supreme Court are selected through partisan elections. Justices are elected to 10-year terms, and must face re-election if they wish to serve again.[5]
Unlike most states, supreme court justices in Louisiana are elected to represent specific districts. The seven justices are divided evenly among seven supreme court districts (not to be confused with the 42 divisions of the district courts) and are voted into office by the residents of their respective regions.[6] Only the states of Illinois, Kentucky, and Mississippi use a similar system.
Qualifications
To serve on this court, a judge must be:
- licensed to practice law in the state for at least ten years;
- a resident of the district representing for at least one year;
- under the age of 70 at the time of election (judges who turn 70 in office may serve until their term expires)[5][7]
Chief justice
The chief justice is the justice on the court with the most seniority. When he or she retires, the justice with the next most seniority becomes chief justice.[5]
Vacancies
Per Article V of the Louisiana Constitution, midterm vacancies are to be temporarily filled by the remaining members of the supreme court. Within one year of the opening, a special election (called by the governor, preferably on the date of a preexisting gubernatorial or congressional election) is to be held. If the supreme court has appointed a successor, that appointee may not run for the seat in the special election.[5][8] The justice elected at the special election will serve the remainder of the unexpired term.[9][10]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Monroe News-Star, "Louisiana Supreme Court election: Judge Jay McCallum wins District 4 seat," November 3, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Louisiana Supreme Court, "ASSOCIATE JUSTICE JAY B. McCALLUM," accessed August 4, 2021
- ↑ iVoterGuide, "Candidate Profile," accessed August 4, 2021
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "11/04/2014 - District Judge 3rd Judicial District Court, Div. C," accessed August 4, 2021
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Louisiana; Selection of Judges," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ Louisiana Supreme Court, "Maps of Judicial Districts," accessed May 6, 2014
- ↑ NOLA.com, "Lawmakers fail to pass amendment eliminating mandatory retirement age of judges," archived March 9, 2016
- ↑ Louisiana Supreme Court, "Henry Julien v. The Honorable W. Fox McKeithan," accessed May 6, 2014
- ↑ Louisiana Revised Statutes "RS 13:101.1," accessed July 13, 2016
- ↑ Leagle, "Marcelle v. DeCuir," September 21, 1995
Federal courts:
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, Western District of Louisiana • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, Western District of Louisiana
State courts:
Louisiana Supreme Court • Louisiana Courts of Appeal • Louisiana District Courts • Louisiana City Courts • Louisiana Family Courts • Louisiana Justice of the Peace Courts • Louisiana Juvenile Courts • Louisiana Mayor’s Courts • Louisiana Municipal Courts • Louisiana Parish Courts • Louisiana Traffic Courts
State resources:
Courts in Louisiana • Louisiana judicial elections • Judicial selection in Louisiana
 |
State of Louisiana Baton Rouge (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2026 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
