Louisiana Holds Revamped State and Congressional Primaries

Louisiana voters will participate Saturday in a revamped primary system that uses separate party primaries for most offices instead of the previous jungle primary format. The change, adopted by state lawmakers in 2024, takes effect this year. U.S. House races appear on the ballot but any votes cast in those contests will not be counted after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the state's current congressional map.

The most prominent race is the Republican primary for U.S. Senate. The incumbent is seeking a third term against challengers that include the state treasurer and a U.S. representative who received an endorsement from President Donald Trump in January.

The senator voted more than five years ago to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection. Trump was acquitted in that trial. The primary gives Trump another chance to challenge Republicans he views as disloyal.

Louisiana is not a state that Democrats are targeting to retake Senate control. Voters will also decide primaries for the state Supreme Court, Public Service Commission and state school board. Five proposed state constitutional amendments appear on the ballot.

Registered party members may vote only in their own party's primary. Independent or unaffiliated voters may participate in either primary while those registered with other parties are limited to nonpartisan contests. As of May 1 there were about 3 million registered voters in the state, split roughly evenly between Democrats and Republicans with Democrats holding a slight edge.

Another 813,000 voters were not registered with any party. About 255,000 ballots had been cast early or by absentee as of Thursday, representing turnout similar to the 2024 presidential primaries. In those contests roughly 192,000 votes were cast in the Republican primary and 167,000 in the Democratic primary.