In Saturday’s primary election U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy was unseated and a Franklinton judge was elevated to the state Supreme Court.
Cassidy placed third in statewide balloting for the Republican nomination for Senate. His term will end in January.
U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow represents Washington Parish and other parishes in her 5th Congressional District. She won the statewide Republican primary for Senate, but she didn’t get 50% of the vote so she will be in a June runoff with State Treasurer John Fleming. Fleming placed second in Saturday’s election.
In Washington Parish, Letlow was the winner in the Republican Senate primary with 57% of the vote. Fleming had 23%, and Cassidy had 18%.
As a senator, Cassidy voted in 2021 to impeach President Trump for the January 6 mob situation at the U.S. Capitol. Since then Trump has vowed repeatedly to get Cassidy defeated. Trump endorsed Letlow and strongly encouraged Louisiana Republicans to vote for her in Saturday’s primary election.
In the Democratic Senate primary, Jamie Davis was both the statewide winner and the Washington Parish winner. He will be in the June runoff with Greg Crockett. Crockett and Nicholas Albares both finished with 26% of the statewide vote, but Crockett had a slight numerical lead and will advance to the June Democratic runoff against Davis.
The Republican runoff winner and the Democratic runoff winner will then advance to this fall’s general election, with the winner replacing Cassidy in the U.S. Senate in January 2027.
In the race for the state Supreme Court seat formerly held by Will Crain, District Judge William “Billy” Burris of Franklinton was the winner.
He defeated Appeals Court Judge Blair Edwards by a 58% to 42% district-wide margin.
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Crain, a Washington Parish native, resigned from his state Supreme Court seat after being appointed as a federal judge.
Burris is the son of former District Court Judge William J. Burris of Franklinton. When his father retired, William “Billy” Burris was elected to his seat as a district court judge. Burris’ late mother, Ginny Burris, was a well-known music teacher in Franklinton schools.
No Democrats sought Crain’s former Supreme Court seat in Saturday’s primary election.
In the Republican primary for the District 1 seat on the state Public Service Commission, John Young and Stephanie Hilferty will be in the June runoff. Both are from the Southshore. The top Northshore candidate, Mark Wright of Covington, finished in third place.
No Democratic candidates sought the District 1 Public Service Commission seat.
Meanwhile, the election date for U.S. Representatives in Louisiana has been set: The primaries will be on November 3, and the runoffs, if needed, will be December 12. These races were delayed by Gov. Jeff Landry following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that Louisiana's last redistricting was an unconstitutional gerrymander. The state legislature has created a new map of Congressional districts and it will be used in the November 3 election.
