Democrats hope to flip House seat in Louisiana’s redrawn district

STATE STATS

Voter makeup: Slightly more voters are registered Democrats than Republicans in the Pelican State. Still, the state has not thrown its support behind a Democratic candidate in nearly 20 years—not since former President Bill Clinton took Louisiana in 1996. As of Oct. 1, slightly more than 3 million people, including 1,133,877 Democrats and 1,044,564 Republicans, are registered to vote. Registered Democrats are slowly losing their edge over their Republican counterparts, and former President Donald Trump won the state handily in 2020, leading experts to believe that many registered Democrat voters choose Republican candidates at the polls. Party affiliation is sharply divided across racial demographics. Data from the Louisiana Secretary of State’s office show almost twice as many black residents—who account for one-third of the state’s population—are registered Democrats than white residents. In all, about 840,000 voters support minor parties.

Voting: Earlier this year, state lawmakers passed a slate of legislation in an effort to safeguard election integrity. Now, non-governmental organizations must register with the Louisiana secretary of state before holding voter registration drives. The laws also expanded restrictions on absentee voting, prohibiting anyone other than an immediate family member of the voter to send the ballot through the mail. Another provision made it illegal for anyone other than an immediate family member or an employee of the registrar of voters to assist an individual with their absentee ballot. Ballots lacking required information will be challenged and presented to the Parish Board of Election Supervisors. Gov. Jeff Landry issued an executive order in August aimed at preventing noncitizens from voting and criticized President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for open border policies. State Attorney General Liz Murrill, who joined the governor’s news conference, said the state’s Office of Motor Vehicles has issued more than 40,000 temporary IDs to noncitizens, and she warned that some of those individuals may have been given voter registration forms. Landry’s order directs the OMV to create a list of people issued a temporary driver’s license or ID card so the secretary of state can cross-check the names against voter rolls.

PRESIDENTIAL

Since 2000, only Republican candidates have captured Louisiana’s eight electoral votes. In March, former President Donald Trump won the Republican primary with 89.9 percent of the vote, and Nikki Haley came in second with 6.8 percent. Joe Biden also easily won his primary, receiving 86.1 percent of the vote. Trump and Biden both won their primaries in 2020. Trump received 58.5 percent of the vote in that year’s general election—-almost 20 percent more than Biden. Forty-seven of Louisiana’s 53 delegates switched their support to Harris at the Democratic National Convention. The rest voted “present” or “available.”

U.S. HOUSE

Four of Louisiana’s districts are considered safely Republican, while one is majority-Democratic and one is a toss-up this year. Louisiana utilizes a unique type of primary known as a majority-vote system. If a candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote during nonpartisan primaries on Nov. 5, the individual wins outright. But if no candidate reaches that threshold, the two with the most votes will proceed to a general election held Dec. 7. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, 59, is favored to win reelection in the 1st District, as well as House Speaker Mike Johnson in the 4th District.

• Potential flip: Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat that Republicans have occupied for the last 50 years in Louisiana’s 6th District, where black residents now have the majority thanks to a new, hotly-contested legislative map. Lawmakers redrew the district after a federal court ruled the legislature had violated the Voting Rights Act by diluting the black vote. Republican incumbent Rep. Garret Graves, 52, is not seeking reelection in the redrawn district. Five candidates are competing in the Nov. 5 primary. Former state Sen. Elbert Guillory, 80, a Republican billing himself as a common sense country boy, is a Vietnam War veteran who says he will prioritize cracking down on crime, illegal immigration, and is in favor of school choice. Democrat Cleo Fields, 61, is a familiar face in politics. Currently a member of the state Senate, Fields previously served in that body from 1986 to 1992 and from 1997 to 2007. He represented the 4th District in the U.S. House from 1993 to 1997. Fields says he will fight to raise the federal minimum wage and invest in education. Quentin Anderson, also a Democrat, is the executive chairman of a social justice nonprofit and has promoted himself as an anti-establishment candidate. According to his website, Anderson says he will introduce measures to expand access to abortion. Peter Williams, of Baton Rouge, and Wilken Jones Jr., of Opelousas, are also running as Democrats, but have not received much media attention or endorsements. The Cook Political Report rated District 6 as solidly Democratic as of Oct. 24.

JUDICIAL ELECTIONS

Louisiana Supreme Court justices are elected to represent specific districts. One of the state’s seven supreme court seats is up for a partisan election on Nov. 5, but there won’t be much of a competition. First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge John Michael Guidry is running unopposed in the state’s new majority black district after the state’s highest court kicked the two other candidates out of the race. In a 5-2 ruling, the justices determined they were no longer eligible to run since they did not provide enough evidence showing they had submitted their tax returns in a timely manner. Both of the booted candidates told the court they believed their taxes had been filed. State law directs candidates to file state and federal taxes for the five years leading up to the election. Guidry, now guaranteed a spot on the bench, would be the court’s second sitting black justice and the second Democrat. The court’s five other justices are registered Republicans.

BALLOT MEASURES

Louisiana voters cannot collect signatures to put a statewide referendum or initiative on the ballot. The legislature referred five constitutional amendments to the ballot.

• On Nov. 5, voters will consider a constitutional amendment that would require federal revenue received by the state from alternative and renewable energy production to be deposited in the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Fund.

• In the state’s general election on Dec. 7, voters will weigh an amendment establishing a 48-hour waiting period before legislators can approve changes to proposed appropriations bills.

• A third amendment gives lawmakers the power to extend their regular session by two-day increments for a maximum of six days in order to pass bills appropriating money.

• The Louisiana Judiciary Commission Investigation of Sitting Judges Amendment adds five seats to the state’s Judiciary Commission. Currently, the commission’s nine members serve four-year terms and investigate complaints brought against state judges. The amendment also adds “malfeasance while in office” to the list of specific actions punishable by the state Supreme Court.

• Voters will also weigh an amendment that reforms the way property tax sales are administered. (If property taxes are not paid at the end of the year, local governments can auction the property and apply the proceeds to the unpaid taxes.)

Dig deeper:

• Leah Savas talks with doctors who are pushing back against the oft-repeated claims that pro-life laws in states—including Louisiana—that ban abortion are causing delays to women getting lifesaving care for pregnancy-related complications.

• For WORLD Magazine, Kim Henderson reports on how Louisiana conservatives managed to put the Ten Commandments back in schools, and WORLD reporters Sharon Dierberger, Elizabeth Russell, and Grace Snell investigate a contentious school choice measure the Louisiana legislature passed earlier this year.

Visit the WORLD Election Center 2024 to follow our state-by-state coverage between now and November.