Louisiana will hold some of its primary elections on May 16, though its House primary races have been delayed at the direction of Gov. Jeff Landry (R-LA).
Landry announced the delay after the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling late last month in Louisiana v. Callais, which held the state’s creation of a second minority-majority district in compliance with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. In his executive order delaying the races, he stressed that it only applied to the state’s five House seats.
“This is a mandatory step prior to the Governor issuing an executive order suspending the upcoming Louisiana U.S. House races,” he said. “All other races on the ballot, besides the U.S. House races, will continue as scheduled, with early voting beginning on Saturday.”
Voting rights groups have sued the state to stop the delay. Roughly 42,000 people had voted in absentia by the time Landry pushed the House primaries back.
In the meantime, the primaries for all other statewide offices are going ahead. The highest profile race is the primary challenge to incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), the latest target of President Donald Trump’s revenge tour. The election is his first since turning against Trump, being one of the few Republicans to vote to impeach him in January 2021. Cassidy refused to back Trump publicly after the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, but was protected from the wrath of his electorate as he was last reelected in 2020 while still an ally of Trump.
Trump is highly popular among Louisiana Republicans, boasting an 83% approval rating. Cassidy’s approval ratings have long been underwater, currently standing at just 30% approving and 49% disapproving among Republicans.
Cassidy seems poised to lose his primary, likely not even making it to a runoff. In an April Emerson poll, Cassidy was in third place with 21% of the vote. His Trump-endorsed rival, Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA), is neck-and-neck with Louisiana State Treasurer John Fleming. The two are likely to head to a runoff.
Louisiana also has one competitive Supreme Court primary election in District 1. Judge William Burris and Judge Blair Downing Edwards are running to fill the seat of Will Crain, whom Trump appointed to the U.S. District Court for Louisiana’s Eastern District.
The race has been highly contentious, with each campaign trading barbs. Each accuses the other of being too liberal and boasts its own Christian conservative credentials. This focus comes as 2026 marks the first year Louisiana will adopt closed primary elections, meaning only party members can vote in each race.
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The most heated ad, sponsored by Edwards, claimed that Burris “protected pedophiles” through lenient rulings. The First Principles PAC, backing Burris, aired an ad claiming Edwards was “so liberal she won judge of the year from transgender loving, sex change promoting, DEI radicals?”
Whoever wins the Republican primary is essentially guaranteed to win the general election, with no Democrats posing a serious challenge in the deep-red state.