Some candidates in Saturday’s primary election — including Gov.-Elect Jeff Landry — captured the win outright. Others are headed to a runoff.
The jungle primary, where candidates of all parties face off, saw historically poor voter turnout, according to unofficial returns from the secretary of state. In the governor’s race, voter turnout was 35.8%, about 10 points lower than the last gubernatorial primary in 2019.
Here’s a breakdown of the results for other statewide races and constitutional amendments.
Outright win
Voters let Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser keep his job for another four-year term. He won overwhelmingly with 66% of the vote compared to his closest competitor Democrat Willie Jones’ 20%.
The Republican will serve as the No. 2 executive to Landry and is second in line for governor.
The lieutenant governor is also the commissioner of the state department of culture, recreation and tourism.
Nungesser first took the office in 2016. Before that, he served as Plaquemines Parish president from 2007 to 2015, spurred to run because of his frustrations with the slow response to Hurricane Katrina, according to his online biography.
Going to runoffs
Several offices saw no candidate win more than 50% of the vote, which means the top two vote-getters will be headed to a runoff on Nov. 18.
The race for secretary of state will be heading to a second round. The top two candidates are Democrat “Gwen” Collins-Greenup and Republican Nancy Landry, who each got a 19% share of the vote. “Mike” Francis narrowly missed qualifying for the general election with 18% of the vote.
The secretary of state is responsible for managing elections, among other jobs. Kyle Ardoin is the current office-holder.
The battle to succeed Jeff Landry as attorney general will also be decided by a runoff. It’s between “Liz” Baker Murrill, the Republican state solicitor general backed by Landry, and Democratic lawyer Lindsey Cheek.
Murrill captured 45% of the vote in the primary, and Cheek got 23%.
Former U.S. Rep. John Fleming, a conservative Republican, and financial adviser Dustin Granger, a progressive Democrat, will head to a runoff for state treasurer. Fleming led Granger in the primary by 12 points. Republican state Rep. Scott McKnight was eliminated.
Amendments
Voters approved all four amendments to the state constitution on the ballot Saturday. The Public Affairs Research Council, a nonpartisan nonprofit, explained the amendments in its annual guide.
The first one will prohibit the use of funds, goods or services from a foreign government or nongovernmental source in conducting an election in most circumstances. This passed with 73% of the vote.
The second one affirms “that the freedom of worship in a church or other place of worship is a fundamental right that is worthy of the highest order of protection.” This means the strictest judicial review must be applied when reviewing government restrictions on worship, PAR’s guide explained. This amendment was OK’d with 79% of the vote.
The third amendment, approved by 56% of voters, will “require lawmakers to use 25% of any state surplus to pay retirement debt for the four state retirement systems,” the PAR guide explained.
The fourth amendment, passed with 66% in favor, will allow local governments to revoke property tax exemptions for nonprofits “that lease housing and have repeated public health or safety violations,” PAR explained.
Voters will decide on four more amendments and the runoffs on Nov. 18.