# 2021 Louisiana's 2nd congressional district special election

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The 2021 Louisiana's 2nd congressional district special election was held on March 20, 2021, with a runoff being held on April 24, 2021.
On November 17, 2020, incumbent Democratic representative Cedric Richmond announced that he would resign from the United States House of Representatives to serve as the director of the Office of Public Liaison and as a Senior Advisor to Joe Biden. He did so on January 15, 2021, and took his new job when Biden assumed office on January 20, 2021. When congressional seats in Louisiana become vacant, the governor has the ability to call a special election at any time. The special election to fill Louisiana's 2nd congressional district took place on March 20, and a runoff was held on April 24. Troy Carter won the runoff election on April 24, 2021, against fellow Democrat Karen Peterson.

## Primary candidates
### Democratic Party

Of the Democratic candidates, Troy Carter, a state senator, Karen Carter Peterson, a state senator and former chair of the Louisiana Democratic Party, and Gary Chambers, an activist, were considered the frontrunners. Of these candidates, Carter was considered to be moderate, while Peterson and Chambers were considered to be progressives. In the jungle primary, Carter and Peterson took first and second place with 36% and 23% of the vote, while Chambers took third place with 21%. Chambers' result was considered an overperformance, as he significantly outdid his polling numbers. On March 29, Chambers endorsed Peterson.

#### Declared

* Troy Carter, state senator and candidate for this seat in 2006
* Gary Chambers Jr., activist and candidate for Louisiana State Senate district 15 in 2019
* Harold John, postal worker
* J. Christopher Johnson, activist
* Lloyd M. Kelly
* Desiree Ontiveros, small business owner
* Karen Carter Peterson, state senator, former chair of the Louisiana Democratic Party, and runoff-advanced candidate for this seat in 2006
* Jenette M. Porter, small business owner

### Republican Party
#### Declared

* Chelsea Ardoin, HR professional
* Claston Bernard, decathlete
* Greg Lirette, information technology professional
* Sheldon C. Vincent Sr., retired postal worker

### Libertarian Party
#### Declared

* Mindy McConnell, principal

### No party affiliation
#### Declared

* Belden "Noonie Man" Batiste, activist and perennial candidate
* Brandon Jolicoeur, actor

### Endorsements

U.S. Representatives
* Joseph Cao, former U.S. Representative for Louisiana's 2nd congressional district
* Burgess Owens, U.S. Representative for Utah's 4th congressional district
State legislators
* Elbert Guillory, former state senator
* Kathy Edmonston, state representative
* Vernon Jones, former Georgia state representative
Individuals
* Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, podcast and talk show host, president of the Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny (BOND)(1990–present)
Organizations
* Louisiana Republican Party
Executive Branch officials
* Cedric Richmond, Senior Advisor to the President of the United States and former U.S. Representative for Louisiana's 2nd congressional district
U.S. Representatives
* Jim Clyburn, U.S. Representative for South Carolina's 6th congressional district
State legislators
* John Alario, former president of the Louisiana State Senate and former Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives (Republican)
* Don Cravins Jr., former state senator and representative
* Mike Fesi, state senator (Republican)
* Cleo Fields, state senator and former U.S. Representative for Louisiana's 4th congressional district
* Francis C. Heitmeier, former state senator
Local officials
* Sharon Weston Broome, Mayor-President of East Baton Rouge Parish and former Louisiana state senator
Newspapers
* Gambit
* The Louisiana Weekly
* The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate
Organizations
* AFL–CIO
* Forum for Equality
Individuals
* John Iadarola, talk show host, YouTube personality, and political pundit
* Shaun King, author and civil rights activist
* Sam Seder, actor, political commentator, and host of The Majority Report with Sam Seder
* Cenk Uygur, journalist, creator of The Young Turks, and co-founder of Justice Democrats
* Marianne Williamson, author, activist, and candidate for President of the United States in 2020
U.S. Representatives
* Katie Porter, U.S. Representative for California's 45th congressional district
State legislators
* Stacey Abrams, founder of Fair Fight Action, former Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives, and nominee for Governor of Georgia in 2018
Local officials
* LaToya Cantrell, mayor of New Orleans
Organizations
* Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC
* Democracy for America
* EMILY's List
* League of Conservation Voters Action Fund
* Our Revolution
* Progressive Change Campaign Committee
* Sierra Club

## Jungle primary
### Polling
#### Graphical summary

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Troy Carter (D) | Karen Carter Peterson (D) | Gary Chambers Jr. (D) | Desiree Ontiveros (D) | Other | Undecided |
| Edgewater Research/My People Vote | March 2–7, 2021 | 651 (LV) | ± 3.8% | 35% | 24% | 11% | – | 16% | 15% |
| LexthomResearch and Development, LLC | February 26 – March 3, 2021 | 1,067 (LV) | ± 3.0% | 23% | 17% | 13% | 4% | 3% | 40% |
| Trust the People PAC (D) | February 21–22, 2021 | 620 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 24% | 23% | 6% | 2% | 16% | 29% |
| Silas Lee & Associates (D) | February 12–14, 2021 | 450 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 28% | 19% | 6% | 2% | 8% | 38% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Troy Carter (D) | Cleo Fields (D) | Mitch Landrieu (D) | Helena Moreno (D) | Karen Carter Peterson (D) | Other | Undecided |
| ALG Research (D) | November 2–5, 2020 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.4% | 15% | 14% | 25% | 18% | 4% | 3% | 22% |
| ALG Research (D) | November 2–5, 2020 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.4% | 22% | 17% | – | 24% | 7% | 4% | 22% |

### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| The Cook Political Report | Solid D | March 19, 2021 |
| Inside Elections | Solid D | March 19, 2021 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Safe D | March 18, 2021 |

### Results

2021 Louisiana's 2nd congressional district special election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Troy Carter | 34,402 | 36.38 |
| | Democratic | Karen Carter Peterson | 21,673 | 22.92 |
| | Democratic | Gary Chambers Jr. | 20,163 | 21.31 |
| | Republican | Claston Bernard | 9,237 | 9.77 |
| | Republican | Chelsea Ardoin | 3,218 | 3.40 |
| | Republican | Greg Lirette | 2,349 | 2.48 |
| | Republican | Sheldon C. Vincent Sr. | 754 | 0.80 |
| | Democratic | Desiree Ontiveros | 699 | 0.74 |
| | Independent | Belden Batiste | 598 | 0.63 |
| | Democratic | Harold John | 403 | 0.43 |
| | Libertarian | Mindy McConnell | 323 | 0.34 |
| | Democratic | J. Christopher Johnson | 288 | 0.30 |
| | Democratic | Jenette M. Porter | 244 | 0.26 |
| | Democratic | Lloyd M. Kelly | 122 | 0.13 |
| | Independent | Brandon Jolicoeur | 94 | 0.10 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 94,567 | 100.00 |

#### By parish

| Parish | Troy Carter Democratic | Troy Carter Democratic | Karen Carter Peterson Democratic | Karen Carter Peterson Democratic | Gary Chambers Jr. Democratic | Gary Chambers Jr. Democratic | Claston Bernard Republican | Claston Bernard Republican | Various candidates Other parties | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Margin | Total votes |
| Parish | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | Total votes |
| Ascension | 776 | 33.9 | 653 | 28.5 | 307 | 13.4 | 392 | 17.1 | 162 | 7.1 | 123 | 5.4% | 2,290 |
| Assumption | 373 | 44.9 | 152 | 18.3 | 59 | 7.1 | 149 | 17.9 | 98 | 11.8 | 221 | 26.6% | 831 |
| East Baton Rouge | 2,273 | 26.2 | 3,045 | 35.1 | 2,832 | 32.6 | 164 | 1.9 | 365 | 4.2 | 213 | 2.5% | 8,679 |
| West Baton Rouge | 289 | 20.4 | 334 | 23.6 | 296 | 20.9 | 318 | 22.5 | 177 | 12.5 | 16 | 1.1% | 1,414 |
| Iberville | 622 | 23.9 | 504 | 19.3 | 640 | 24.6 | 583 | 22.4 | 258 | 9.9 | 18 | 0.7% | 2,607 |
| Jefferson | 7,702 | 39.5 | 3,283 | 16.8 | 1,989 | 10.2 | 2,902 | 14.9 | 3,647 | 18.7 | 4,419 | 22.6% | 19,523 |
| Orleans | 18,366 | 38.6 | 12,055 | 25.3 | 12,897 | 27.1 | 1,798 | 3.8 | 2,514 | 5.3 | 5,469 | 11.5% | 47,630 |
| St. Charles | 1,037 | 23.2 | 476 | 10.6 | 334 | 7.5 | 1,495 | 33.4 | 1,133 | 25.3 | 458 | 10.2% | 4,475 |
| St. James | 1,238 | 35.0 | 553 | 15.6 | 317 | 9.0 | 990 | 28.0 | 437 | 12.4 | 248 | 7.0% | 3,535 |
| St. John the Baptist | 1,726 | 48.2 | 618 | 17.3 | 492 | 13.7 | 446 | 12.5 | 301 | 8.4 | 1,108 | 30.9% | 3,583 |
| Total | 34,402 | 36.38 | 21,673 | 22.92 | 20,163 | 21.32 | 9,237 | 9.77 | 9,092 | 9.61 | 12,729 | 13.46% | 94,567 |

## Runoff

A runoff was held on April 24 between Troy Carter and Karen Carter Peterson. In the April 24th runoff, Carter beat Peterson 48,513, 55.2%, to 39,297, 44.8%, with 87,810 votes reported from 100% of precincts.

### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| The Cook Political Report | Solid D | March 19, 2021 |
| Inside Elections | Solid D | April 23, 2021 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Safe D | April 15, 2021 |

### Endorsements

Executive Branch officials
* Cedric Richmond, Senior Advisor to the President of the United States and former U.S. Representative for LA-2 (2011–2021)
U.S. Representatives
* Joyce Beatty, U.S. Representative for OH-3 (2013–present); Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus (2021–present)
* Jim Clyburn, U.S. Representative for SC-6. (1993–present)
* Hakeem Jeffries, U.S. Representative for NY-8 (2013–present)
* Ro Khanna, U.S. Representative for California's 17th congressional district (2017–present)
* Bennie Thompson, U.S. Representative for Mississippi's 2nd congressional district (1993–present)
State legislators
* John Alario, former president of the Louisiana State Senate and former Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives (Republican)
* Don Cravins Jr., former state senator and representative
* Mike Fesi, state senator (Republican)
* Cleo Fields, state senator for Baton Rouge (14th district) and former U.S. Representative for Louisiana's 4th congressional district
* Francis C. Heitmeier, former state senator
Local officials
* Sharon Weston Broome, Mayor-President of East Baton Rouge Parish and former Louisiana state senator
* LaMont Cole, President of Baton Rouge Metropolitan Council
* Helena Moreno, President of the New Orleans City Council and former Louisiana state representative
* Cynthia Lee Sheng, Parish President of Jefferson Parish (Republican)
* Jason Williams, District Attorney of New Orleans
Newspapers
* Gambit
* The Louisiana Weekly
* The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate
Organizations
* AFL–CIO
* Forum for Equality PAC
Governors
* Howard Dean, former governor of Vermont (1991–2003) and former chair of the Democratic National Committee (2005–2009)
U.S. Representatives
* Mondaire Jones, U.S. Representative from NY-17 (2021–present)
* Carolyn Maloney, U.S. Representative for New York's 12th congressional district (1993–present)
* Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, U.S. Representative for New York's 14th congressional district (2019–present)
* Katie Porter, U.S. Representative for California's 45th congressional district (2019–present)
State legislators
* Stacey Abrams, founder of Fair Fight Action, former Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives, and nominee for Governor of Georgia in 2018
Local officials
* LaToya Cantrell, Mayor of New Orleans and former member of the New Orleans City Council
Organizations
* Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC
* Democracy for America
* EMILY's List
* End Citizens United
* League of Conservation Voters Action Fund
* Let America Vote
* Our Revolution
* Peace Action
* Progressive Change Campaign Committee
* Sierra Club

### Results

2021 Louisiana's 2nd congressional district special election runoff :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Troy Carter | 48,513 | 55.25% |
| | Democratic | Karen Carter Peterson | 39,297 | 44.75% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 87,810 | 100.00 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

#### By parish

| Parish | Troy Carter Democratic | Troy Carter Democratic | Karen Carter Peterson Democratic | Karen Carter Peterson Democratic | Margin | Margin | Total votes |
| Parish | # | % | # | % | # | % | Total votes |
| Ascension | 1,113 | 47.5 | 1,228 | 52.5 | 115 | 5.0% | 2,341 |
| Assumption | 441 | 62.6 | 263 | 37.4 | 178 | 25.2% | 704 |
| East Baton Rouge | 3,032 | 35.4 | 5,542 | 64.6 | 2,510 | 29.2% | 8,574 |
| West Baton Rouge | 617 | 48.6 | 652 | 51.4 | 35 | 2.8% | 1,269 |
| Iberville | 1,173 | 48.0 | 1,272 | 52.0 | 99 | 4.0% | 2,445 |
| Jefferson | 11,195 | 67.0 | 5,524 | 33.0 | 5,671 | 34.0% | 16,719 |
| Orleans | 24,160 | 53.0 | 21,467 | 47.0 | 2,693 | 6.0% | 45,627 |
| St. Charles | 2,346 | 70.3 | 989 | 29.7 | 1,357 | 40.6% | 3,335 |
| St. James | 2,356 | 66.2 | 1,202 | 33.8 | 1,357 | 32.4% | 3,558 |
| St. John the Baptist | 2,078 | 64.3 | 1,156 | 35.7 | 922 | 28.6% | 3,234 |
| Totals | 48,513 | 55.25 | 39,297 | 44.75 | 9,216 | 10.50% | 87,810 |