2023 Louisiana elections

A general election was held in the U.S. state of Louisiana on October 14, 2023, with second rounds held on November 18 where needed. Louisiana uses a two round system, where all candidates from all parties share the same ballot in the first round, and if no candidate wins an absolute majority, a runoff between the top two is held.

Governor

Incumbent governor John Bel Edwards was ineligible to seek a third consecutive term due to Louisiana's term limits.

Lieutenant governor

Incumbent lieutenant governor Billy Nungesser ran for re-election. He had previously expressed interest in running for governor, but decided against it.

Attorney general

Incumbent attorney general Jeff Landry ran for governor. Louisiana Solicitor General Liz Murrill defeated attorney Lindsey Cheek in the runoff.

Secretary of state

Incumbent secretary of state Kyle Ardoin retired. Former state representative Nancy Landry defeated attorney Gwen Collins-Greenup in the runoff.

Candidates
Advanced to runoff
Nancy Landry (Republican), First Assistant Secretary of State and former state representative
Gwen Collins-Greenup (Democratic), attorney and runner-up for secretary of state in 2018 and 2019

Eliminated in primary
Mike Francis (Republican), Louisiana Public Service Commissioner and former chair of the Louisiana Republican Party
Amanda Jennings (independent), insurance agent
Thomas Kennedy III (Republican), businessman
Arthur Morrell (Democratic), Orleans Parish Criminal District Clerk of Court
Clay Schexnayder (Republican), Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives
Brandon Trosclair (Republican), businessman

Declined
Kyle Ardoin (Republican), incumbent secretary of state

General election
Candidate forum
+ 2023 Louisiana Secretary of State candidate forum  Date Host Link Democratic Republican Independent Republican Republican Democratic Democratic RepublicanKey: Participant   Absent   Not invited   Invited  Withdrawn Gwen Collins-Greenup Mike Francis Amanda Jennings Thomas Kennedy III Nancy Landry Arthur Morrell Clay Schexnayder Brandon Trosclair1 Sep. 21, 2023 Public AffairsResearch Councilof Louisiana YouTube        

Polling
 Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Marginof error GwenCollins-Greenup (D) MikeFrancis (R) AmandaJennings (I) ThomasKennedy III (R) NancyLandry (R) ClaySchexnayder (R) BrandonTrosclair (R) ArthurMorrell (D) UndecidedThe Trafalgar Group (R)The Trafalgar Group (R)September 11–15, 20231,062 (LV)± 2.9%14%8%1%5%11%11%3%6%41%

Results

Runoff

Treasurer

Incumbent treasurer John Schroder retired to run for governor. Former U.S. Representative John Fleming defeated Dustin Granger in the runoff.

Candidates
Advanced to runoff
John Fleming (Republican), former U.S. Representative for Louisiana's 4th congressional district (2009–2017)
Dustin Granger (Democratic), financial advisor

Eliminated in primary
Scott McKnight (Republican), state representative

Declined
John Schroder (Republican), incumbent treasurer (running for governor; endorsed McKnight)

General election
Candidate forum
+ 2023 Louisiana State Treasurer candidate forum  Date Host Link Republican Democratic RepublicanKey: Participant   Absent   Not invited   Invited  Withdrawn John Fleming Dustin Granger Scott McKnight1 Aug. 16, 2023 Public AffairsResearch Councilof Louisiana YouTube   

Runoff

Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry
Incumbent Agriculture commissioner Mike Strain ran for re-election.

Candidates
Declared
Mike Strain (Republican), incumbent commissioner

 Results 

Commissioner of Insurance
Incumbent Insurance commissioner Jim Donelon retired.

Candidates
Declared
Tim Temple (Republican), insurance executive and candidate for insurance commissioner in 2019

Declined
Jim Donelon (Republican), incumbent commissioner

 Results 

Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
All eight members of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education were up for re-election.

 State legislature 

 State senate 
All 39 seats in the Louisiana State Senate were up for re-election.
+PartyLeaderBeforeAfterChangeRepublicanPage Cortez (term-limited)2728  1DemocraticGerald Boudreaux1211  1Total3939

 State House 
All 105 seats in the Louisiana House of Representatives were up for re-election.
PartyLeaderBeforeAfterChangeRepublicanClay Schexnayder (term-limited)7173 2DemocraticSamuel Jenkins Jr. (retired)3332 1Independent10 1Total105105

 Local 
 Caddo Parish Sheriff 

The local race for Sheriff in Caddo Parish received national attention when Democrat Henry Whitehorn appeared to win the race by one vote against Republican John Nickelson. After more than 43,000 votes had been cast in the race, a recount still yielded a one-vote victory for Whitehorn. After the recount, Nickelson filed a lawsuit against Whitehorn and local election officials challenging the validity of the results and demanding that either he be declared the victor or a new election be held. A specially appointed judge, Joe Bleich, found that there had been 11 illegally cast votes and ordered a new election to take place no earlier than March 23, 2024. On appeal by Whitehorn, the Second Circuit Court of Appeal upheld the lower court's decision by a 3–2 margin. Whitehorn would go on to win the do-over election, this time expanding his lead to 4,000 against Nickelson, with Nickelson calling Whitehorn to concede the night of the election. After Sheriff Steve Prator's term expired on February 29, Chief Deputy Jay Long was sworn in as interim Sheriff while the special election was still underway. After Whitehorn's victory, he was sworn in as Caddo Parish Sheriff on June 28, 2024.

 First election 
Candidates
Shayne Gibson (Republican), Sheriff of the Greenwood Police Department
Patricia "Pat" Gilley (Democratic), retired attorney and former candidate for Caddo District Attorney in 2020
Eric Hatfield (Republican), Chief Deputy Constable of Caddo Parish
Hersey Jones Jr. (Democratic), neighborhood organizer
John Nickelson (Republican), former member of the Shreveport City Council (advanced to run-off)
Henry Whitehorn (Democratic), former Chief of Police of Shreveport (advanced to run-off)
Results

 Second election 

See also
 Elections in Louisiana
 Politics of Louisiana
 Political party strength in Louisiana

Notes

References

External links
Official campaign websites for Secretary of State
 Gwen Collins-Greenup (D) for Secretary of State
 Nancy Landry (R) for Secretary of State

Official campaign websites for Treasurer
 John Fleming (R) for Treasurer
 Dustin Granger (D) for Treasurer

Official campaign websites for Commissioner of Insurance
 Tim Temple (R) for Insurance Commissioner


Category:2023 elections in the United States by state
Category:October 2023 in the United States
Category:November 2023 in the United States