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. State Attorney General Jeff Landry won with over 51% of the vote in the primary. This was the first time a candidate won a Louisiana gubernatorial election without a runoff since fellow Republican Bobby Jindal was re-elected in 2011. Landry easily prevailed over several Republican opponents, including former state chamber of commerce CEO Stephen Waguespack and State Treasurer John Schroder.
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Independent Republican Republican Democratic Democratic RepublicanKey: Participant Absent Not invited Invited Withdrawn Gwen Collins-Greenup Mike Francis Amanda Jennings Thomas Kennedy III Nancy Landry Arthur Morrell Clay Schexnayder Brandon Trosclair1 Sep. 21, 2023 Public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