2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Louisiana explained

The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Louisiana were held on November 3, 2020, to elect the six U.S. representatives from the state of Louisiana, one from each of the state's six congressional districts. The elections coincided with other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections.

Like most Louisiana elections, these were conducted using a jungle primary that occurred on November 3, where all candidates ran on the same ballot in the primary, regardless of party. Any candidate who earned an absolute majority of the vote in the primary would be automatically declared the winner of the election. However, if in any given congressional district no candidate gained an absolute majority of the votes, a runoff election between the top two candidates within said congressional district would have been held on December 5. The was the only one that did not have its incumbent run for re-election, and also held the only runoff election.

Overview

scope=col rowspan=3	District	scope=col colspan=2	Republican	scope=col colspan=2	Democratic	scope=col colspan=2	Others	scope=col colspan=2	Total	scope=col rowspan=3	Result
scope=col colspan=2 style="background:"	!	scope=col colspan=2 style="background:"	!	scope=col colspan=2	!	scope=col colspan=2
scope=col data-sort-type="number"	Votes !	scope=col data-sort-type="number"	% !	scope=col data-sort-type="number"	Votes !	scope=col data-sort-type="number"	% !	scope=col data-sort-type="number"	Votes !	scope=col data-sort-type="number"	% !	scope=col data-sort-type="number"	Votes !	scope=col data-sort-type="number"	%
	270,330	72.21%	94,730	25.30%	9,309	2.49%	374,369	100.0%	Republican hold
	63,140	19.92%	235,320	74.24%	18,522	5.84%	316,982	100.0%	Democratic hold
	230,480	67.76%	100,275	29.48%	9,365	2.75%	340,120	100.0%	Republican hold
	204,608	66.74%	101,970	33.26%	0	0.00%	306,578	100.0%	Republican hold
	209,990	67.84%	99,566	32.16%	0	0.00%	309,556	100.0%	Republican hold
	265,706	71.04%	95,541	25.55%	12,749	3.41%	373,996	100.0%	Republican hold
Total	1,244,254	61.55%	727,402	35.98%	49,945	2.47%	2,021,601	100.0%

District 1

See also: Louisiana's 1st congressional district. The 1st district is based in the suburbs of New Orleans, spanning from the northern shore of Lake Pontchartrain south to the Mississippi River delta. The incumbent was Republican Steve Scalise, who was re-elected with 71.5% of the vote in 2018.^[1]

Candidates

Declared

• Lee Ann Dugas (Democratic), activist and perennial candidate
• Howard Kearney (Libertarian), computer programmer
• Steve Scalise (Republican), incumbent U.S. Representative^[2]

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[3]		July 2, 2020
Inside Elections[4]		June 2, 2020
Sabato's Crystal Ball[5]		July 2, 2020
Politico[6]		April 19, 2020
Daily Kos[7]		June 3, 2020
RCP[8]		June 9, 2020
Niskanen[9]		June 7, 2020

Results

District 2

See also: Louisiana's 2nd congressional district. The 2nd district stretches from New Orleans to inner Baton Rouge. The seat was vacated following the resignation of incumbent Democrat Cedric Richmond on January 15, who was re-elected with 80.8% of the vote in 2018.^[1]

Candidates

Declared

• Belden "Noonie Man" Batiste (independent), activist and perennial candidate^[10]
• Glenn Adrain Harris (Democratic)^[10]
• Colby James (independent), U.S. Army veteran^[10]
• Cedric Richmond (Democratic), incumbent U.S. Representative^[10]
• David Schilling (Republican)^[10]
• Sheldon Vincent (Republican), retired postal worker^[10]

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report		July 2, 2020
Inside Elections		June 2, 2020
Sabato's Crystal Ball		July 2, 2020
Politico		April 19, 2020
Daily Kos		June 3, 2020
RCP		June 9, 2020
Niskanen		June 7, 2020

Results

District 3

See also: Louisiana's 3rd congressional district. The 3rd district encompasses southwestern Louisiana, taking in Lake Charles and Lafayette. The incumbent was Republican Clay Higgins, who was re-elected with 55.7% of the vote in 2018.^[1]

Candidates

Declared

• Rob Anderson (Democratic), construction worker
• Braylon Harris (Democratic), pastor
• Clay Higgins (Republican), incumbent U.S. Representative^[11]
• Brandon Leleux (Libertarian), restaurant manager^[11]

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report		July 2, 2020
Inside Elections		June 2, 2020
Sabato's Crystal Ball		July 2, 2020
Politico		April 19, 2020
Daily Kos		June 3, 2020
RCP		June 9, 2020
Niskanen		June 7, 2020

Results

District 4

See also: Louisiana's 4th congressional district. The 4th district encompasses northwestern Louisiana, taking in the Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area. The incumbent was Republican Mike Johnson, who was re-elected with 64.2% of the vote in 2018.^[1]

Candidates

Declared

• Ben Gibson (Republican), firefighter^[12]
• Kenny Houston (Democratic), small business owner^[12]
• Mike Johnson (Republican), incumbent U.S. Representative^[12]
• Ryan Trundle (Democratic), progressive activist^[13]

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report		July 2, 2020
Inside Elections		June 2, 2020
Sabato's Crystal Ball		July 2, 2020
Politico		April 19, 2020
Daily Kos		June 3, 2020
RCP		June 9, 2020
Niskanen		June 7, 2020

Results

District 5

See also: Louisiana's 5th congressional district. The 5th district encompasses rural northeastern Louisiana, central Louisiana, as well as the northern part of Louisiana's Florida parishes in southeast Louisiana, taking in Monroe, Alexandria, Opelousas, Amite and Bogalusa, LA. On February 26, 2020, Republican incumbent Ralph Abraham announced he would not be seeking re-election for a fourth term, honoring his pledge to only serve three terms in Congress.^[14] Luke Letlow, Abraham's former Chief of Staff, was elected to the seat on December 5, 2020. He was scheduled to assume office on January 3, 2021, but died on December 29, 2020, of complications from COVID-19.^[15] A special election for this seat was held on March 20, 2021, which was won by Letlow's widow, Julia.

Candidates

Declared

• Allen Guillory Sr. (Republican)^[16]
• Lance Harris (Republican), state representative^[17]
• Matt Hasty (Republican)^[16]
• Jesse P. Lagarde (Democratic)^[16]
• Martin Lemelle (Democratic), executive vice president of Grambling State University^[16]
• Luke Letlow (Republican), former Chief of Staff to U.S. Representative Ralph Abraham^[18]
• Scotty Robinson (Republican), Ouachita Parish police juror^[19]
• Candy Shoemaker-Cristophe (Democratic), social worker^[20]
• Phillip Snowden (Democratic)^[16]

Declined

• Ralph Abraham, incumbent U.S. representative^[21]

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report		July 2, 2020
Inside Elections		June 2, 2020
Sabato's Crystal Ball		July 2, 2020
Politico		April 19, 2020
Daily Kos		June 3, 2020
RCP		June 9, 2020
Niskanen		June 7, 2020

Runoff

District 6

See also: Louisiana's 6th congressional district. The 6th district encompasses the suburbs of Baton Rouge. The incumbent was Republican Garret Graves, who was re-elected with 69.5% of the vote in 2018.^[1]

Candidates

Declared

• Garret Graves (Republican), incumbent U.S. Representative^[22]
• Shannon Sloan (Libertarian)^[22]
• Richard Torregano (independent), retired electrical technician^[23]
• Dartanyon Williams (Democratic)^[22]

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report		July 2, 2020
Inside Elections		June 2, 2020
Sabato's Crystal Ball		July 2, 2020
Politico		April 19, 2020
Daily Kos		June 3, 2020
RCP		June 9, 2020
Niskanen		June 7, 2020

Results

See also

• 2020 Louisiana elections

External links

• • • Web site: League of Women Voters of Louisiana . (state affiliate of the U.S. League of Women Voters)
  • . (Guidance to help voters get to the polls; addresses transport, childcare, work, information challenges)

Official campaign websites for 1st district candidates

• Howard Kearney (L) for Congress
• Steve Scalise (R) for Congress

Official campaign websites for 2nd district candidates

• Belden "Noonie Man" Batiste (I) for Congress
• Cedric Richmond (D) for Congress

Official campaign websites for 3rd district candidates

• Rob Anderson (D) for Congress
• Braylon Harris (D) for Congress
• Clay Higgins (R) for Congress
• Brandon Leleux (L) for Congress

Official campaign websites for 4th district candidates

• Ben Gibson (R) for Congress
• Kenny Houston (D) for Congress
• Mike Johnson (R) for Congress
• Ryan Trundle (D) for Congress

Official campaign websites for 5th district candidates

• Lance Harris (R) for Congress
• Matt Hasty (R) for Congress
• Martin Lemelle (D) for Congress
• Luke Letlow (R) for Congress
• Scotty Robinson (R) for Congress
• Candy Shoemaker-Cristophe (D) for Congress

Official campaign websites for 6th district candidates

• Garret Graves (R) for Congress
• Shannon Sloan (L) for Congress
• Richard Torregano (I) for Congress
• Dartanyon Williams (D) for Congress

Notes and References

1. Web site: Wasserman. David. Flinn. Ally. 2018 House Popular Vote Tracker. Cook Political Report. November 7, 2018. August 27, 2020.
2. Web site: Jacobs . David . Every Louisiana incumbent in U.S. House gets at least one challenger on first day of qualifying . The Center Square . August 27, 2020 . July 23, 2020.
3. Web site: 2020 Senate Race Ratings for April 19, 2019 . The Cook Political Report . September 20, 2019.
4. News: 2020 Senate Ratings . Senate Ratings . The Rothenberg Political Report . October 3, 2019.
5. Web site: 2020 Senate race ratings . Sabato's Crystal Ball . August 28, 2019 . August 22, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190822073139/http://crystalball.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/2020-senate/ . dead .
6. Web site: 2020 Election Forecast. November 19, 2019 . Politico.
7. Web site: Daily Kos Elections releases initial Senate race ratings for 2020 . Daily Kos Elections. February 28, 2020.
8. Web site: Battle for White House. April 19, 2019 . RCP.
9. Web site: 2020 Negative Partisanship and the 2020 Congressional Elections. April 28, 2020. Niskanen Center. July 2, 2020. June 21, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200621124503/https://www.niskanencenter.org/negative-partisanship-and-the-2020-congressional-elections/. dead.
10. Web site: A Look at Candidates Signed up for Louisiana's Fall Election . Associated Press . August 27, 2020 . July 24, 2020.
11. Web site: Ballard . Mark . 3 challengers hope to replace fiery Republican Clay Higgins in lone competitive congressional race . The Acadiana Advocate . August 27, 2020 . August 1, 2020.
12. Web site: Staggs . Sean . Qualifying continues for elections Nov. 3 in Louisiana . KSLA News 12 . August 27, 2020 . July 22, 2020.
13. Web site: Byrd . Logan . Letter: Writer argues Ryan Trundle would be good for workers in Louisiana . Shreveport Times . August 27, 2020 . August 17, 2020.
14. News: Crisp . Elizabeth . February 26, 2020 . Ex-governor candidate U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham won't seek another term in Congress . . . August 27, 2020 .
15. News: Brufke. Juliegrace. December 29, 2020. Louisiana Rep.-elect Luke Letlow dies of COVID-19. The Hill. December 29, 2020.
16. Web site: Parker . Zach . 5th Congressional District race draws nine candidates . The Ouachita Citizen . August 27, 2020 . July 30, 2020.
17. Web site: Jacobs . David . State Rep. Harris announces run 5th Congressional District . Hanna Newspapers . en . March 11, 2020.
18. Web site: Wann . Tyler . Luke Letlow, former Abraham Chief of Staff, announces run for congress . www.knoe.com . KNOE News 8 . en . March 9, 2020.
19. News: Scotty Robinson running for Ralph Abraham's congressional seat . October 25, 2019 . January 12, 2020.
20. Web site: Abraham won't run again for Louisiana congressional seat. My Journal-Courier. Deslatte. Melinda. February 26, 2020. February 27, 2020. February 27, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200227054242/https://www.myjournalcourier.com/news/article/Abraham-won-t-run-again-for-Louisiana-15086716.php. dead.
21. News: Crisp . Elizabeth . February 26, 2020 . Ex-governor candidate U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham won't seek another term in Congress . . . February 26, 2020 .
22. Web site: Tortorich . Michael . Candidates qualify for Donaldsonville, Gonzales races . Gonzales Weekly Citizen . August 27, 2020 . July 29, 2020.
23. Web site: Hilburn . Greg . Congressmen Higgins, Johnson, Graves, Richmond, Scalise qualify for reelection . Monroe News-Star . August 27, 2020 . July 22, 2020.