GOP clinches 52nd Senate seat in Louisiana runoff

Republican John Kennedy won Louisiana’s election for Senate today, giving the GOP a 52-48 edge. The race for the seat of retiring Republican Sen. David Vitter was the last one decided this year because of Louisiana’s election rules. The state holds a nonpartisan primary on Election Day in November, and the top two candidates compete in a runoff about a month later.

Kennedy, the state treasurer, led his opponent, Democrat Foster Campbell, by double digits in polls before today. President-elect Donald Trump won 58 percent of the vote in Louisiana in November. Trump campaigned for Kennedy on Friday in Baton Rouge.

“If he doesn’t win, I’ve got myself a problem in Washington, because it’s pretty close,” Trump said. “We need John Kennedy in the Senate to help enact our agenda.”

Less than a third of registered voters were expected to turn out for today’s runoff, compared to 63 percent in the general election.

Two of Louisiana’s six U.S. House seats also were on the runoff ballot for the Acadiana-based 3rd District and the northwest Louisiana-based 4th District. In the 3rd District, voters chose between two Republican contenders: Scott Angelle, who has held public office for nearly 30 years, and Clay Higgins, a former sheriff’s captain known as the “Cajun John Wayne.” The 4th District race was between two lawyers: Republican Mike Johnson and Democrat Marshall Jones.