Republican U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow won Louisiana's open U.S. Senate seat in the Nov. 3 election, but Democrat Jamie Davis came far closer than forecasters predicted, as Democratic gains reached nearly every corner of the state.
Letlow received 745,963 votes, or 50.9 percent, to Davis' 720,106, or 49.1 percent, according to unofficial returns. The 25,857-vote margin was less than 2 percentage points in a race prognosticators had rated safely Republican.
Davis, a farmer and former Tensas Parish police juror, ran an aggressive ground game that drove strong turnout in Democratic strongholds including New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Caddo Parish. Exit polling cited by WWL showed Democrats gaining close to 10 points over the 2024 presidential results in nearly every parish, with some parishes swinging more than 30 points.
Davis conceded the morning after the election and has not ruled out a run for governor. On election night he addressed Gov. Jeff Landry directly, telling supporters, "Jeff Landry, you're on notice."
Letlow knocked incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy out of the Republican primary in May and defeated Treasurer John Fleming in the June party runoff. She becomes the first Republican woman Louisiana has elected to the U.S. Senate and will serve a six-year term alongside Sen. John Kennedy.
Four of Louisiana's six U.S. House members won new terms outright: Steve Scalise in the 1st District, Troy Carter in the 2nd, Clay Higgins in the 3rd, and Mike Johnson in the 4th. With Democrats winning control of the House nationally, Johnson will not return as speaker.
The 5th and 6th districts head to Dec. 12 runoffs. In the 5th, Democrat Pat Moore faces Republican Gabe Firment.
Voters approved seven of 10 constitutional amendments, including a lifetime two-term limit for governors, a ban on post-conviction bail for people convicted of certain crimes against children, a $150,000 income cap for the senior assessment freeze, and a ban on expropriation by foreign adversaries. They rejected Amendments 2, 5, and 10, which dealt with property tax millage rollforwards, paying down state retirement debt, and tax breaks for rehabilitated blighted property.
Republican Stephanie Hilferty won the Public Service Commission District 1 seat with 58.9 percent. Statewide turnout was about 50 percent, with roughly 1.5 million ballots cast, according to preliminary Secretary of State figures.
Livingston Parish remained one of Letlow's strongest bases. She carried about 73 percent of the parish's roughly 43,500 votes, a margin of nearly 20,000 and one of her largest of the night.
Two contests on Livingston Parish ballots remain undecided and go to the Dec. 12 runoff:
Several parish races were settled outright. Assistant District Attorney Brad Cascio defeated former state Rep. Sherman Mack to succeed retiring 21st Judicial District Attorney Scott Perrilloux. Denham Springs City Judge Jerry Denton Jr. won reelection over Steven Farber by 3,625 votes. School Board members Jeff Frizell (District 3) and Cecil Harris (District 5) were reelected, and voters renewed fire protection millages in Districts 8 and 9.
There will be no runoff for the Denham Springs City Council. After LPN sought clarification, the Louisiana Secretary of State's office confirmed that the top five finishers in the at-large race fill the council's five seats.
The new council members are:
Incumbent Robert Poole (R) finished sixth with 1,540 votes, 7 behind Lawson. Voters cast 9,763 votes in the race, with turnout at 35.4 percent. Council members serve four-year terms.
All results are unofficial until certified by the Secretary of State.
