# Elections in Louisiana

Elections in Louisiana :
Federal government
Presidential elections
1812
1816
1820
1824
1828
1832
1836
1840
1844
1848
1852
1856
1860
1864
1868
1872
1876
1880
1884
1888
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Presidential primaries
Democratic
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Republican
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
U.S. Senate elections
1812
1813
1813 sp
1817
1818
1818 sp
1819
1823
1824
1824 sp
1825
1829
1831
1831 sp
1833 sp
1835
1836 sp
1837
1837 sp
1840
1843
1844 sp
1847
1847 sp
1848
1852
1853
1853 sp
1859
1868
1876
1876 sp
1879
1882
1889
1891
1894
1894 sp
1896
1900
1904
1908
1910 sp
1912
1914
1918
1918 sp
1920
1924
1926
1930
1932
1936
1936 sp
1938
1942
1944
1948
1948 sp
1950
1954
1956
1960
1962
1966
1968
1972
1974
1978
1980
1984
1986
1990
1992
1996
1998
2002
2004
2008
2010
2014
2016
2020
2022
2026
2028
U.S. House of Representatives elections
1812
1814
1816
1818
AL sp
1820
1822
1824
1826
1828
1830
1832
1834
1st sp
3rd sp
1836
1838
1840
3rd sp
1843
1844
4th sp
1847
1849
1850
2nd sp
3rd sp
1851
1853
1855
1857
1859
1868
1870
1872
4th sp
1873
4th sp
1874
1876
1878
5th sp
1880
1882
1884
1886
2nd sp
1887
6th sp
1888
1889
3rd sp
1890
1892
1894
4th sp
1896
5th sp
1898
1899
5th sp
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
1st sp
1909
2nd sp
1910
2nd sp
1912
1914
1916
1918
1920
1922
1924
2nd sp
1926
1927
7th sp
1928
1929
3rd sp
1930
1931
8th sp
1932
1934
1936
1938
1940
1942
1944
3rd sp
1946
1948
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1960
1961
4th sp
1962
1964
4th sp
1965
7th sp
1966
1968
1970
1972
7th sp
1973
2nd sp
1974
1975
6th sp
1976
1977
1st sp
1978
1980
3rd sp
1982
1984
1985
8th sp
1986
1988
4th sp
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
1999
1st sp
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
1st sp
6th sp
2010
2012
2013
5th sp
2014
2016
2018
2020
2021
2nd sp
5th sp
2022
2024 :
State government
General elections
2007
2010
2011
2015
2019
2020
2023
Gubernatorial elections
1812
1816
1820
1824
1828
1830 sp
1834
1838
1842
1846
1849
1852
1855
1859
1863 (C)
1864 (U)
1865
1868
1872
1876
1879
1884
1888
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1975
1979
1983
1987
1991
1995
1999
2003
2007
2011
2015
2019
2023
2027
Lieutenant gubernatorial elections
2011
2015
2019
2023
Attorney General elections
2007
2011
2015
2019
2023
Treasurer elections
2017 sp
State Senate elections
2019
2023
House of Representatives elections
2023 :
Ballot measures
2004
Amendment 1 :
Baton Rouge
Mayoral elections
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024 :
New Orleans
Mayoral elections
1866
1930
1934
1946
1950
1958
1962
1965
1969
1973
1977
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2017
2021
2025
City Council elections
2006
2010 :
Shreveport
Mayoral elections
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022 :
Government :
vte :
The political balance in Louisiana was heavily affected by the post-Hurricane Katrina departure from New Orleans. Heavily Democratic New Orleans lost some 1/3 of its population. The overall effect reduced the Democrats' base of support in the state and turned Louisiana into a Republican-leaning state thereafter. New Orleans remained Democratic, electing Mitch Landrieu as mayor in February 2010. In the 2008 elections, Louisiana sent a mixed result, with the election of U.S. Senator John McCain for President and the reelection of Democratic U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu. The other senator, at the time, was Republican David Vitter.
Since that election, Republicans have rapidly come to control nearly every federal and statewide office. Both U.S. Senators, Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy, are Republicans. Republicans also hold four of the six U.S. Representative seats from Louisiana. Every statewide office is held by a Republican, and both chambers of the state legislature are majority Republican. By contrast, in 1960, not a single Republican served in either house of the Louisiana legislature. The first Republicans to serve in the legislature since Reconstruction were not elected until 1964, and both—Morley A. Hudson and Taylor W. O'Hearn—came from Shreveport.
In 2010, several Democrats switched parties bringing the statehouse under Republican control. In 2011, the special election victories of Fred Mills and Jonathan Perry switched the balance of power in the state senate, leaving Republicans in control of the state legislature for the first time since Reconstruction. Also, the party switch of Attorney General Buddy Caldwell caused the Republican party to control every statewide office. However, this was broken in 2015, when Democrat John Bel Edwards won the governor's race.
Republicans won the first Senate seat since Reconstruction in 2004, with the election of David Vitter. He became the first popularly elected Republican Senator as well. In 2014, Republicans won both Senate seats for the first time since 1872.
United States presidential election results for Louisiana :
| Year | Republican / Whig | Republican / Whig | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 1,208,505 | 60.22% | 766,870 | 38.21% | 31,600 | 1.57% |
| 2020 | 1,255,776 | 58.46% | 856,034 | 39.85% | 36,252 | 1.69% |
| 2016 | 1,178,638 | 58.09% | 780,154 | 38.45% | 70,240 | 3.46% |
| 2012 | 1,152,262 | 57.78% | 809,141 | 40.58% | 32,662 | 1.64% |
| 2008 | 1,148,275 | 58.56% | 782,989 | 39.93% | 29,497 | 1.50% |
| 2004 | 1,102,169 | 56.72% | 820,299 | 42.22% | 20,638 | 1.06% |
| 2000 | 927,871 | 52.55% | 792,344 | 44.88% | 45,441 | 2.57% |
| 1996 | 712,586 | 39.94% | 927,837 | 52.01% | 143,536 | 8.05% |
| 1992 | 733,386 | 40.97% | 815,971 | 45.58% | 240,660 | 13.44% |
| 1988 | 883,702 | 54.27% | 717,460 | 44.06% | 27,040 | 1.66% |
| 1984 | 1,037,299 | 60.77% | 651,586 | 38.18% | 17,937 | 1.05% |
| 1980 | 792,853 | 51.20% | 708,453 | 45.75% | 47,285 | 3.05% |
| 1976 | 587,446 | 45.95% | 661,365 | 51.73% | 29,628 | 2.32% |
| 1972 | 686,852 | 65.32% | 298,142 | 28.35% | 66,497 | 6.32% |
| 1968 | 257,535 | 23.47% | 309,615 | 28.21% | 530,300 | 48.32% |
| 1964 | 509,225 | 56.81% | 387,068 | 43.19% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 230,980 | 28.59% | 407,339 | 50.42% | 169,572 | 20.99% |
| 1956 | 329,047 | 53.28% | 243,977 | 39.51% | 44,520 | 7.21% |
| 1952 | 306,925 | 47.08% | 345,027 | 52.92% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 72,657 | 17.45% | 136,344 | 32.75% | 207,335 | 49.80% |
| 1944 | 67,750 | 19.39% | 281,564 | 80.59% | 69 | 0.02% |
| 1940 | 52,446 | 14.09% | 319,751 | 85.88% | 108 | 0.03% |
| 1936 | 36,791 | 11.16% | 292,894 | 88.82% | 93 | 0.03% |
| 1932 | 18,853 | 7.01% | 249,418 | 92.79% | 533 | 0.20% |
| 1928 | 51,160 | 23.70% | 164,655 | 76.29% | 18 | 0.01% |
| 1924 | 24,670 | 20.23% | 93,218 | 76.44% | 4,063 | 3.33% |
| 1920 | 38,538 | 30.49% | 87,519 | 69.24% | 339 | 0.27% |
| 1916 | 6,466 | 6.95% | 79,875 | 85.90% | 6,641 | 7.14% |
| 1912 | 3,833 | 4.84% | 60,871 | 76.81% | 14,544 | 18.35% |
| 1908 | 8,958 | 11.93% | 63,568 | 84.63% | 2,591 | 3.45% |
| 1904 | 5,205 | 9.66% | 47,708 | 88.50% | 995 | 1.85% |
| 1900 | 14,234 | 20.96% | 53,668 | 79.03% | 4 | 0.01% |
| 1896 | 22,037 | 21.81% | 77,175 | 76.38% | 1,834 | 1.82% |
| 1892 | 26,963 | 23.47% | 87,926 | 76.53% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1888 | 30,660 | 26.46% | 85,032 | 73.37% | 199 | 0.17% |
| 1884 | 46,347 | 42.37% | 62,594 | 57.22% | 458 | 0.42% |
| 1880 | 38,978 | 37.31% | 65,047 | 62.27% | 437 | 0.42% |
| 1876 | 75,315 | 51.65% | 70,508 | 48.35% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1872 | 71,663 | 55.69% | 57,029 | 44.31% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1868 | 33,263 | 29.31% | 80,225 | 70.69% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1860 | 0 | 0.00% | 7,625 | 15.10% | 42,885 | 84.90% |
| 1856 | 0 | 0.00% | 22,164 | 51.70% | 20,709 | 48.30% |
| 1852 | 17,255 | 48.06% | 18,647 | 51.94% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1848 | 18,487 | 54.59% | 15,379 | 45.41% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1844 | 13,083 | 48.70% | 13,782 | 51.30% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1840 | 11,296 | 59.73% | 7,616 | 40.27% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1836 | 3,583 | 48.26% | 3,842 | 51.74% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1832 | 2,429 | 38.33% | 3,908 | 61.67% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1828 | 4,082 | 46.99% | 4,605 | 53.01% | 0 | 0.00% |

## Louisiana primary

Since 1977, state elections in Louisiana have used the two-round system. The first round of voting has become known as a jungle primary or Louisiana primary, as it serves a similar role to primary elections in other states. On election day, all candidates for the same office appear together on the ballot, often including several candidates from each major party. If one candidate receives over half of the vote in the first round, that candidate wins outright. Otherwise, the top two candidates, regardless of partisan affiliation, proceed to a runoff election.
This primary system is used for state, parish, municipal, and congressional races, but is not used for presidential elections. Louisiana's unique primary system was instituted in 1975 by Democratic governor Edwin Edwards. Until 1997, the open primary election was held in October, meaning that no election would be held in November if the leading candidate won over 50 percent of the vote in October. Between 2008 and 2010, federal races did not use the jungle primary system.
Though strictly speaking it occurs during the general election and so is not a primary election, the general election serves much the same role as a primary if no candidate wins a majority. If no candidate wins a simple majority in the first round, there is a runoff one month later between the top two candidates to determine the winner. This system is also used for United States Senate special elections in Mississippi and Texas, and all special elections for partisan offices in Georgia. It is also used for municipal elections in Chicago.
In May 2005, Louisiana passed a law moving the primary back to October, with provisions intended to follow federal law. In June 2006, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco signed Senate Bill No. 18 (later Act No. 560) into law, which took effect in 2008 and returned Congressional races to the closed primary system.
In 2010, the legislature voted to revert federal elections to the nonpartisan blanket primary system with the passage of House Bill 292, which was signed into law by Governor Bobby Jindal on June 25, 2010. Since Louisiana's primary is virtually identical to the Washington state primary system, which was upheld by the US Supreme Court in Washington State Grange v. Washington State Republican Party (2008), it appears to satisfy constitutional concerns.
Louisiana will revert to semi-open party primaries for Congressional elections starting in 2026, with unaffiliated voters allowed to choose which primary they wish to vote in.

### Comparison with other voting models

The Louisiana primary is a two-round system. The other popular version is the nonpartisan blanket primary (or top two primary) currently used in Washington and California. In both models, all candidates regardless of party identification run against each other in the first round, and (usually) the top two run against each other in a second round. The differences are:
* In the top two system there is always a second round even if the leader gets a simple majority.
* The first round in the Louisiana primary is held on or near election day in November and the runoff is about a month later. The top two primary holds the second round on election day in November and holds the first round months earlier.

## Administration

The only party labels originally permitted under Louisiana law were Democratic, Republican, and No Party; however, as of 2008, candidates may take the identity of any "registered political party". The primary has been used in statewide elections since 1975. The system was designed by then-Governor Edwin Edwards after he had to run in two grueling rounds of the Democratic Primary in 1971 before facing a general election against a well-funded and well-rested Republican, Dave Treen. (Treen was elected governor under the new system in 1979, defeating five major Democratic candidates.)
Louisiana is one of only five states that elects its state officials in odd-numbered years. Louisiana holds elections for these offices every four years in the year preceding a presidential election.
Louisiana is one of 18 states with separate elections for governor and lieutenant governor, a process that has resulted in governor-lieutenant governor pairs from different parties.
Between the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and Shelby County v. Holder (a 2013 Supreme Court case), changes to Louisiana election law required preclearance with the United States Department of Justice. In a 2020 study, Louisiana was ranked as the 24th hardest state for citizens to vote in.
As of 2024, Louisiana is the only remaining state without auditable paper ballots, an established best practice for recounts and audits, in any jurisdiction.