Saturday, May 2—The ANTIGRAVITY voter guide team has been at work for months preparing for this election—as have the scores of candidates, their staff, myriad other media outlets, and even governmental entities like the secretary of state’s office, election officers statewide, and poll workers. So we are publishing this at the start of early voting, even as the governor aims to alter the ballot in the wake of the recent Supreme Court decision Louisiana v. Callais which declared the state’s Congressional districts—designed to create two majority-Black districts in response to a lower court’s ruling—”an unconstitutional racial gerrymander” while further limiting the power of the federal Voting Rights Act. The ruling, according to Verite News, threatens to “gut Black political representation” across all levels of government.
We always include in our preamble the disclaimer that “news relevant to this ballot will continue to break,” but this latest subversion of democracy by Governor Landry finds us in unprecedented territory. We will publish this guide as written, compelled to document this moment, a kind of political Pompeii where we see an alternate timeline, frozen in its tracks, before this latest unravelling of our democratic institutions pushes us further into authoritarianism. We will do our best to update this guide, though we are all but mere citizens at the end of the trough like you, dear reader, and are subject to the same whiplash. Even diligent lawmakers like state Representative Mandie Landry are scrambling, or as she puts it: “I am guessing the legislature will try to pass new maps before we end on June 1, or maybe we’ll come back, who knows. I predict a 6-0 map. Truly shameful to be from Louisiana right now.”
This voter education guide is published primarily as a resource and does not constitute an endorsement of any candidate or proposition by ANTIGRAVITY Magazine.
AI was not used to write or compile any portion of this voter guide.
Welcome once again to your ANTIGRAVITY voter education guide for the May 16 election. On this ballot, you will be voting (depending on your party affiliation) for U.S. senator, associate Supreme Court justice, Public Service Commission, Louisiana board of education, a handful of judges, and five constitutional amendments. The only race currently affected by the governor’s push to redistrict is The House of Representatives, which will still appear on your ballot, and we suggest still casting a vote while you’re there—as of press time, Louisiana is being sued for suspending an active election.
We have published these guides since 2014—previously in collaboration with the New Orleans Harm Reduction Network and now under the ANTIGRAVITY banner. We utilized national media, local media, and social media. Our research included but was not limited to public records, campaign finance reports, court filings, and real estate records.
Despite lacking faith in politicians or the political order, we create this document as a way to dissect and map power. We do not offer endorsements, but we do provide summaries, as this is a resource designed to aid and alleviate the work for you, the reader. News relevant to this ballot will continue to break. We are but one resource, and we hope that you consult as many as possible before heading to the polls.
We suggest you bring a photo ID to the polls, but if you do not have one you can still cast a ballot by signing a voter affidavit which vouches for your identity. The secretary of state audits all voter affidavits after the election to ensure that you are who you say you are.
If you have a disability, you are entitled to receive assistance to cast your vote. If your assigned polling place is not accessible, report the issue to the ADA compliance officer at ada@sos.la.gov or 225-362-5113.
The makeup of the ballot, including texts of propositions, as well as information about how, where, and when to register and vote is based on information provided by the Louisiana secretary of state and the City of New Orleans website. For info on what your ballot looks like, as well as information about disability and voting, go to the SoS website, voterportal.sos.la.gov.
If you find that you cannot in good conscience cast a vote for a specific ballot measure, you are allowed to skip that ballot item. According to the secretary of state’s office, “A voter cannot cast a blank ballot; otherwise, they are free to vote for as many or as few races/questions as are on their ballot—from all of them to just one of them.”
This voter guide is offered without cost or sponsorship as a service to our beloved readers, but donations are accepted to help cover research fees and labor. A suggested donation of whatever your lifestyle considers $10 is appreciated. Payments can be made via Venmo or PayPal to @antigravitymag (all one word, no dashes). Please include “Voter Guide” or “VG” in the comment or memo.
In case you weren’t having enough trouble keeping up with all these elections, Louisiana has moved to a closed primary system for congressional and certain statewide elections, meaning that you have a whole new set of rules to learn—congrats! But don’t fear, we’re going to explain how it works, how to navigate it, and what it means for tracking elections. We also suggest looking at PAR Louisiana’s guide to help understand what’s changing.
On this ballot, voters will be limited to their own party to decide which candidate receives their respective party nomination. This means that for primary elections Democrats can only vote on Democratic candidates and Republicans can only vote on Republican candidates. Voters registered with no party affiliation can choose which party primary to vote in for the entire election cycle—both this election and any runoffs—at the polls. (You must vote in the same party during any runoff as you vote in this election). People registered in parties with no candidates facing off in a primary, e.g., the Libertarian or Green party, aren’t able to vote in the primaries. In cases where a party has an uncontested race—such as the Democratic races for the Public Service Commission District 1 and U. S. Representative 1st Congressional District—that race will not appear on this ballot. These uncontested candidates will appear on the ballot for their respective races on November 3, during the general election. This means that you haven’t seen the last of many of these races—and it’s time to understand what we’re moving towards in November.
Because closed primaries don’t allow voters to weigh in on the opposing party, there is a push for registered Democrats to register as No Party so that they can have a say in who faces the Democratic opponent. By the time this guide is live it will be too late to change your party affiliation for this race, but it’s something to consider for next time. If you think this all sounds ridiculous, confusing, and unnecessary, let your representatives know!
Additionally, there has unfortunately been a pretty successful push in the Louisiana legislature to decrease the number of judges in Orleans Parish (on top of eliminating the Clerk of Court for Criminal District Court following Calvin Duncan’s landslide victory), and it remains unclear which seats would be eliminated. While this does not immediately affect how you vote on May 16, it is helpful to be aware of the steps that the Louisiana state government is taking to actively undermine voters in Orleans Parish. So do your research and be prepared to fight for your vote after it has been cast. Things are dark, and they seem to be getting darker, but there is strength in numbers—and the numbers show we are plenty.
U.S. Senator
Democratic Party
Nicholas “Nick” Albares
Gary Crockett
“Jamie” Davis
Nick Albares is one of three Democratic candidates running for Bill Cassidy’s U.S. Senate seat. Albares is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame (BA, Theology, Peace Studies) and Georgetown University (Master of Public Policy). In an interview with The Bayou Progressive, Albares explained that Hurricane Katrina and the policy failures that led to so much of the disaster inspired him to go into public policy and service. He worked as a senior policy analyst at Louisiana Budget Project (now known as Invest in Louisiana) before being recruited to work as a policy advisor for former Governor John Bel Edwards. While working in the Edwards Administration, Albares’ projects included working on policy to protect Medicaid expansion, an issue that remains a priority for him. For the past six years, he worked with Volunteers of America Southeast Louisiana, first as the Director of Government and Community Relations, and for the past three years as the Vice President, Strategic Development & Public Policy. He is also on the board for the New Orleans social justice art non-profit Got Got Studios.
Albares, along with the other Democratic candidates in this race, will not commit to any politically ideological shorthand (e.g., progressive, moderate) for where he falls on the spectrum of Democratic Party candidates, instead stating that he is a “dignity Democrat,” and that “I believe in the dignity of every person, and that’s where our policy ought to start.” According to his campaign website, his priorities are healthcare coverage and medical infrastructure; public health and behavioral health; family and child well-being; worker and economic security; and rooting out corruption. As is fitting for a policy guy, Albares does not just list these priorities but also gives a brief summary of his policy plans, which include continuing the work he did under the Edwards Administration through further expansion of Medicaid (reversing the $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts under the Trump administration) and opposing cuts to Medicare. He received the sole endorsement from GNO AFL-CIO.
Albares supports a constitutional amendment to protect abortion rights. In an interview with The Bayou Progressive, he makes it known that he believes in climate change and following the science to invest in clean energy, but also believes that transitioning to clean energy will need to reckon with Louisiana’s oil and gas industries. What that might look like is not known, however, and does raise some questions about how willing he might be to stand up to these industries. He is staunchly opposed to the war in Iran and believes that Congress should hold the executive branch in check (it is amazing that that is seen as a progressive view these days). When asked by The Bayou Progressive about how he, as the sole white candidate in the Democratic race and a new face to politics, would appeal to Black voters across Louisiana, Albares answered, “I take special care to remember the responsibility that I have… to stand in solidarity with Black communities throughout the state of Louisiana, and I don’t take that lightly.”
In a March 28 interview with Louisiana First News, Albares spoke about the need to oppose the SAVE Act and make voting more accessible to eligible voters, invoking John Lewis. On his campaign Instagram account, he has a detailed post explaining changes to Louisiana voting. In the same Louisiana First News interview, Albares provided three strategies that Louisiana Democrats could take to win: 1) tap into shared values with voters (e.g., gas prices, tariffs, cuts to medical care); 2) organize for greater voter turn-out; and 3) go into every community and listen to people. His approach to this race, and politics in Louisiana in general, seems to be to not water down the Democratic message but to translate it to people who might otherwise automatically tune out when a Democrat is speaking.
On his campaign website, Gary Crockett has an open accessibility menu (with options to increase and decrease font size, etc.), a feature that is not always seen on such websites, even for more progressive candidates. Crockett grew up in poverty in the small city of Tallulah in northeast Louisiana. He served in the U.S. Navy for 24 years. In a candidate debate at Southern University on April 21, Crockett stated that he has more experience than current Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
Crockett is a business leader who owns Branae Holdings LLC. According to a recent interview with The Bayou Progressive, Crockett owns businesses related to cybersecurity, construction, and aerospace defense contracting. In that same interview, Crockett describes his politics as “conservatively progressive,” which he sees as progressivism wrapped up in practicality and values, and which seems a bit like he just doesn’t want to commit to what his actual political views are. He also seems to equate having values with conservatism. In the interview, he gives some conflicting views on abortion but also states that he would approve a constitutional amendment to protect abortion access. Crockett’s other priorities, as listed on his website, include protecting Medicare, Medicaid, and SNAP; lowering insurance costs; supporting small businesses; and “ensuring our budget reflects our values” by protecting programs for children, seniors, veterans, and working families. His campaign website also explains how the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) will negatively affect residents of Louisiana.
On the topic of AI, Crockett states that he does not believe it takes away as much as people think, arguing that people will still need to be involved to make sure AI functions, focusing on the job aspect of AI and not any of the other myriad issues. He used AI in campaign materials as well. In an April 21 post in the Facebook group “What’s Poppin Shreveport Bossier,” he commented that he is “against data centers in population dense areas” but did not elaborate.
Jamie Davis is a third-generation row crop farmer from Tensas Parish in the northeast part of the state, farming on land that his grandfather once worked as a sharecropper and which Davis now owns. He was elected as a police juror to the Tensas Parish District 7 police jury seat in 2015, serving as vice president of the Jury (essentially the parish council) for his four-year term. Davis ran and lost the race for District 21 state representative in 2023. He currently represents the 5th Congressional District on the Louisiana Democratic Party Executive Committee, and received the endorsement of the Democratic State Central Committee (DSCC). According to Davis, he is “not an extremist who has a far-left philosophy… I’m a farmer who is raising a family as well as crops. I’m a commonsense meat and potatoes politician who wants to make life better for those who are struggling.”
As with Albares and Crockett, Davis is opposed to the OBBBA and wants to roll back many of its provisions, including those related to Medicaid cuts. He is a proponent of expanding access to affordable healthcare, increasing the minimum wage, affordable education, and protection of reproductive freedom, stating on the issues page of his campaign website: “Religious freedom is a Constitutional right to be protected. Government should not unduly limit reproductive freedom on religious grounds.” On immigration, his stance is that “We should enforce our borders and immigration laws consistent with the due process and Constitution. Strict enforcement can and should be consistent with respect for humanity and our history as a nation of immigrants and the productive role of immigrants in our economy. We need to update our immigration laws to provide both legal pathways and strong enforcement,” though what that would actually look like is not clear, especially at a time when strong enforcement of immigration is the issue, not the solution.
Davis compares himself to deceased Republican Senator John McCain, claiming that he will put “common sense and Country over Party.”
Summary: All three candidates are opposed to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and have listed among their many priorities the protection of Medicare, Medicaid, and SNAP, investment in education, and protection of reproductive freedom. None will commit to any politically ideological shorthand for where they are on the spectrum of Democratic Party candidates. Although he has not held any political office, Albares has the most experience in politics, having worked in policy for his entire career, which includes working on Medicaid expansion under former Governor John Bel Edwards. Crockett is a business owner and military veteran who is “against data centers in population dense areas” but is not entirely opposed to AI and used AI-generated images in his campaign. Davis is a farmer who represents the 5th Congressional District on the Louisiana Democratic Party Executive Committee, and who received the sole endorsement of the Democratic State Central Committee (DSCC). His stance on immigration is somewhat contradictory, calling both for strong enforcement and updating legal pathways for immigrants.
U.S. Senator
Republican Party
“Bill” Cassidy
John Fleming
Julia Letlow
Mark Spencer
Senator Dr. Bill Cassidy is seeking a third term but is facing an uphill battle, as some recent polling shows him losing to Julia Letlow, largely because he’s on President Trump’s shitlist. In the wake of the January 6th insurrection, Cassidy was one of seven Republican senators to vote to convict Trump for his role in inciting the riot. Trump, never missing a moment to be petty, has made it part of his mission to have Cassidy ousted from Congress. Cassidy’s vote years ago is coming back to haunt him, resulting in him doing whatever is necessary to get back in the president’s good graces—most notably, confirming RFK Jr., an anti-vaxxer, to be head of the nation’s health department. This despite Cassidy’s record of advocating for vaccinations throughout his career. And yet, Trump has endorsed Julia Letlow. Adding another blow is that Governor Jeff Landry has also endorsed Letlow, which is uncommon, as Louisiana governors have typically not endorsed to unseat incumbent candidates of their own party. However, Cassidy was endorsed by two prominent GOP senators in Tim Scott and John Thune, Jefferson Parish Councilwoman-at-Large Jennifer Van Vrancken and other prominent local politicians, and the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America Candidate Fund, among others.
Cassidy is on the “normal” end of the conservative spectrum and does have a history of bipartisan legislation, like a recent bill meant to strengthen healthcare cybersecurity. In the aftermath of the murder of Renee Good by ICE agents, he called for an investigation into the very public and viral murder. Watchdog group Republican Accountability, according to an archived page, gives Cassidy an A on their democracy scorecard, and Cassidy negotiated an infrastructure deal worth $1.3 billion that made Louisiana the first state in the country to get federal funding for broadband expansion. He’s recently started appealing to conservative Democratic Party voters to switch their party registration in order to vote for him in Louisiana’s new closed-primary system.
However, there’s likely more bad than good to the senator. In the past, he defended U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and stated Christine Blasey Ford, Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser, was being puppeteered by Democrats. He refused to renew the unemployment stimulus during COVID, and joined Senator John Kennedy in attempting to strip 21 million people of their health insurance. He also voted against the “Respect for Marriage Act,” a law that eventually passed and was meant to strengthen protections for same-sex marriage. His 2026 campaign website shows he’s a proponent of school choice, against Medicare-for-all, anti-reproductive rights, and advocates for “securing the border,” despite living in a state that has no proximity to the border, and in a time where Border Patrol and ICE have received great scrutiny.
His campaign as of January had raised $17 million and had $11 million on hand. PACs supporting him are expected to spend between $13 million and $15 million on his behalf. As of April, Cassidy reported having $7.2 million on hand. If there’s an upside to Cassidy, it’s that he sometimes has a spine, unlike many of his colleagues, at least in the instance of voting to impeach Trump. Downside is that he was willing to compromise the oath he took as a doctor to get back in the good graces of the president, showing he is willing to do what is politically expedient over what is right.
One poll taken in February showed John Fleming taking the lead in the race, despite much of this election’s focus being on Cassidy and Letlow. But it’s important to note Fleming paid for that poll himself. However, a separate poll also taken in February does show him in the lead. Fleming is Louisiana’s current treasurer and a bit out of touch: He once stated in a complaint about a proposed tax hike by President Obama, “by the time I feed my family, I have maybe $400,000 left over.” In addition, he isn’t very good at spotting satire, as he once believed that an Onion article titled “Planned Parenthood Opens $8 Billion Abortionplex” was the real deal. He’s the former deputy chief-of-staff to President Trump, and has also worked as an entrepreneur, a physician, a coroner, and he was a U.S. House representative from 2009 to 2017 in Louisiana’s 4th Congressional District.
According to his website, he voted “97% conservative” while in Congress, has an A+ rating from the NRA, and co-founded the far-right Freedom Caucus alongside folks like Florida Governor and former Congressman Ron DeSantis. He’s been endorsed by the Vernon Parish Republican Executive Committee, the Desoto Parish Republican Party, the Caddo Parish Republican Party, and the Bossier Republican Executive Committee. His time in Congress earned him an 85% on the score card for the far-right Heritage Action (Heritage Foundation’s political action committee).
As of March, he had campaign finance receipts totalling a little over $11.2 million—though in quarter 1 of 2026 he only raised $45,000. However, he seems to be self-financing much of his race.
His website doesn’t state what his campaign is actually about and there’s no stated vision for his goals as a senator. But there’s some insight into his views: In an interview in 2023 with Louisiana Illuminator he showed concerns over what materials were available in libraries and the vaccine mandates. Climate change also isn’t something he’s sold on, once saying, “It’s very unscientific to say we had a big rain so it was caused by global warming.” In his time in DC he pushed back on any attempts to address climate change, believing it to be “nonsense for us to waste money unnecessarily on so-called green energy fuel.” He’s against carbon capture, though Governor Landry stated in a video that Fleming voted “six different times to fund and expand CCS [carbon capture and sequestration] projects.”
There isn’t much reporting on what Fleming has done while treasurer for the state, which isn’t shocking, as the position is not prone to making headlines. But what is known is that he suggested the state no longer do business with Bank of America due to their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) policies because he believes they deny banking services to religious organizations, gun manufacturers, fossil fuel providers, and accused them of having a “left-wing agenda.” He proposed paying down the state’s debts with a surplus of cash, and in his time as treasurer, the department launched a K-12 transparency website, which allows people to see the finances of charter and public schools.
Throughout the race to replace Bill Cassidy, Fleming has taken shots at the Governor, Letlow’s campaign, and clashed with Cassidy over his polling numbers. Fleming accused Governor Landry of working “behind the scenes” to get Julia Letlow in the Senate, and called him a liar. Fleming has claimed that former CDC official and Louisiana Surgeon General Ralph Abraham offered him a job at the CDC, which Fleming believes was an attempt to get him to drop out of the race, since Abraham is on Letlow’s campaign team. Fleming is also facing ethics complaints with a watchdog group saying he used government resources for his Senate campaign, which isn’t out of the realm of possibility, since as the owner of Subway franchises during his 2008 congressional run, he would have his employees stuff customers’ sandwich bags with campaign literature.
In short, Fleming doesn’t seem to have much to offer the state as a senator, and has spent much of his time sparring with his opponents and the governor instead of making his beliefs clear to voters.
Julia Letlow is a relative unknown in comparison to Cassidy, which makes it odd that she has had limited media appearances. Since qualifying in mid-February, she has only done six radio or television interviews. In comparison, Cassidy has been briefing reporters weekly. Despite her low media visibility and late entrance into the Senate race, she nabbed endorsements from Jeff Landry and President Trump—but this has more to do with her loyalty to Trump than any of her actual qualifications.
Letlow, who holds a doctorate in communication, came on the scene after her husband died due to COVID. She ran for, and eventually won, her deceased husband’s congressional seat in Louisiana’s 5th U.S. Congressional District. She’s a former high ranking official at University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM), and also worked at Tulane University.
Letlow has stated she has “fought alongside President Trump” and has worked at “standing up for our parents, securing our borders, supporting law enforcement, rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse that drives up inflation, and fighting to fix an education system too focused on woke ideology instead of teaching.” In 2025, she raised a little over $1.4 million, and in quarter 1 of 2026 she has $2.7 million on hand, with $1.9 million raised in the same quarter.
Cassidy, viewed as her main rival in this race, has tried to paint Letlow as being “liberal.” This is due to her past support of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in her bid to be president of ULM. DEI policies have become a point of derangement for the Republican base and politicians alike. Letlow, in a Facebook post of a Breitbart article—a website who was once run by convicted felon and far-right operative Steve Bannon—tried to flip the accusations of DEI support back on Cassidy.
The assertion that Letlow is liberal is asinine. For starters, her website’s home page shows a picture of her speaking at a March for Life conference. She voted for Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill which stripped millions of people of their healthcare coverage. She sports a 94% voter grade for 2025 from Heritage Action, the action committee of the far-right Heritage Foundation which led the charge on Project 2025. According to an archived page on Republican Accountability, she voted against the bipartisan committee meant to investigate the January 6th insurrection, voted against holding Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress, has a D rating on Republican Accountability’s “democracy” scorecard, and would later flip her stance on DEI, saying she saw firsthand how “it was hijacked by the radical left and turned into indoctrination.” She also seems to not be very effective as a lawmaker, as she’s never had a bill signed into law. But what she lacks in effectiveness, she makes up for with party loyalty, as she’s never voted against the party majority. She earned a $1 million donation from a PAC affiliated with the Make America Healthy Again movement—a movement filled with anti-vaxxers. The acceptance of this donation is more galling when remembering her husband died from COVID-19. The reasons for people who hold left-leaning policy positions to vote for her are non-existent, making claims she is liberal moot.
Ready to feel old? Mark Spencer told Ballotpedia that Donald Trump has been his “role model since I was a kid watching The Apprentice.” Spencer describes himself as a “Guns and Bible conservative.” He told Ballotpedia he wants to “ban abortion nationwide” and give the “abortion industry’s” money to “pro-life crisis pregnancy centers;” deport tens of millions of people that he calls terrorists and barbarians; and annex Canada, Greenland, and Cuba. “Right now, the Canadians, Danes, and Communists are trampling on the religious freedom of Christians in these three areas right now,” he claims.
Spencer’s website includes a lengthy proposed new constitution for Canada that he apparently drafted on Valentine’s Day. It includes provisions requiring Canadian officials to take a pledge of allegiance to the United States and authorizing the U.S. president to amend Canadian law, as well as a requirement “that abortion shall be considered a crime of capital murder punishable by death and that all persons involved in the practice of abortion shall be executed, and that all deceased persons who were prominent in the abortion industry shall be dug up, hanged, and burned.”
When not dreaming of annexing other nations, killing medical providers, and mutilating corpses, Spencer sells Mardi Gras supplies. He is the chief operating officer of Mardi Gras Party Sales LLC, according to his LinkedIn page. The company shares multiple addresses with Spencer’s campaign, according to FEC filings and a Facebook page. Spencer’s LinkedIn page also claims that he is a “highly experienced online community manager,” but while his campaign website does include an old-school discussion forum, as of press time only one person had commented besides Spencer himself.
Summary: Mark Spencer wants to ban abortion nationwide and annex Canada, Greenland, and Cuba. Bill Cassidy has gone against Trump before, and has shown a willingness to be bipartisan, but compromised his oath as a doctor to get back in Trump’s good graces by confirming an anti-vaxxer to lead the nation’s health department. Fleming has no clear vision of how he’d represent Louisiana as a senator. Julia Letlow shows she’s all about party loyalty, and currently isn’t an effective lawmaker. Consider which of these candidates you’d prefer to face the Democratic nominee if you are voting in the Republican primary.
U.S. Representative
1st Congressional District
Republican Party
Randall Arrington
Steve Scalise
We last covered Randall Arrington back in 2024 when he ran against Steve Scalise for this seat from the right. Two years later, he’s back, again suggesting Scalise is too soft in the fight against “the Marxists who want to steal your personal liberty and mine.” He claims an endorsement from the Louisiana Republican Assembly, which calls itself “the Republican wing of the Republican party.”
Arrington is a retired naval aviator with a Ph.D. in political science from the University of New Orleans, and he’s taught at “UCLA, Tulane, UCSD, USD, LSU, and UNO,” according to his responses to a Ballotpedia survey. He’s also the author of a book series called Politics in America: Lecture Notes of a Lunatic Professor and a novel called Kerosene Cowboys: Manning the Spare, which appears to be about naval aviators in Belle Chasse and the women who love them. The novel was adapted into a 2014 direct-to-DVD, Top Gun-style film called Red Sky, featuring Bill Pullman and Rachael Leigh Cook, and a brief cameo by Arrington.
“But be fully aware that being in the close proximity of Dr. Randy Arrington is NOT a safe space,” he wrote in the first volume of his Politics in America. “You will be exposed to the Truth and he will endure the consequences.”
Steve Scalise, who once described himself to aTimes-Picayune reporter as “David Duke without the baggage,” has been a pox on the U.S. House since 2008, when he was first elected to represent Louisiana’s 1st Congressional District. He was the House majority whip from 2014 to 2019, the House minority whip from 2019 to 2023, and has been the House majority leader since 2023. Prior to that, he served in the Louisiana Legislature from 1996 to 2008. In total, he has been representing (wreaking havoc upon) Louisiana for 30 years and has a lot of power and influence at both the state and national levels, earning about 70% of the vote in each election. In the past, he has been a featured speaker at the Council for National Policy (CNP), a national organization that shapes right-wing policy. With Shreveport’s own Mike Johnson serving as the Speaker of the U.S. House, this means that Louisiana conservatives hold the two highest positions in the House, continuing to push the Project 2025 Christian nationalist agenda for which Louisiana has been the testing ground. As goes the South, so goes the rest of the country.
Scalise is a staunch Trump acolyte, and claims that Trump visited him in the hospital after he was shot at a congressional baseball game in 2017. Despite almost losing his life in the shooting, Scalise has doubled down on his support for Second Amendment gun rights. He also donated to noted gun rights activist Representative Lauren Boebert in 2021. Scalise is a supporter of the Israeli government and its genocide in Palestine. He has taken several trips to Israel, paid for by the American Israel Education Fund, founded by American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), and CODEPINK reports that he has received over $1 million in campaign donations from AIPAC. He voted in favor to cut U.S. federal funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), further contributing to the violence enacted on Palestinians affected by the genocide in Israel. Naturally, he also threatened funding and accreditation of universities who allowed pro-Palestine protests on campus in 2024.
Scalise has been pushing for the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE America Act), which would disenfranchise millions of voters. Though it was defeated in the Senate in April, Trump, Scalise, and Republicans are not likely to give up the fight. He was also a force behind the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) which, among other things, is poised to enact major slashes to Medicaid and SNAP. He has a long record of voting against LGBTQIA+ rights, including, most recently, supporting the ban of transgender athletes in women’s sports—ironically, one of the officers who saved him after he was shot in 2017 was a queer, Black woman.
We could go on but suffice it to say, Scalise has done a lot of harm in his political career and, as his record shows, will continue to do so if re-elected. It would be naive to overlook the power and influence he has accumulated over the past three decades, but that does not mean that he should not be challenged and that it is not worth trying to unseat him.
Summary: While Randall Arrington does have a Ph.D. in political science, he believes that Scalise is too soft on “Marxists.” Steve Scalise is a staunch Trump acolyte and has been described as “David Duke without the baggage.” Consider which of these candidates you’d prefer to face the Democratic nominee if you vote in the Republican primary.
U.S. Representative
2nd Congressional District
Democratic Party
Troy Carter, Sr.
Renada “Honey” Collins
Troy Carter has more coverage in our voter guides than most politicians. He’s been in politics since he was 27, and has run the gamut of elected offices. He is the quintessential establishment politician who rarely offers a unique—or dare we say brave—stray from toeing the party line. Most recently and notably, that has been his refusal to take any sort of meaningful stance or action on the genocide in Gaza that is being funded with American tax dollars, releasing a statement in 2024 that said “Israel has the absolute right to defend itself from terrorists.” Because his politics lack a distinguishability, we took to doing his birth chart in 2021 to see if maybe the stars could shed some light.
He has sponsored some decent bills, such as protecting people providing and seeking abortions, dental and vision coverage for people on Medicaid, funding breast cancer research, and more. Carter, given his establishment backing and his incumbency, will almost certainly take this round and appear before you again this November.
We last covered business coach, author, and New Orleans native Renada “Honey” Collins when she unsuccessfully ran for mayor last year. At the time, we noted that Collins seemed to equate immigration with challenges to New Orleans culture, even saying she didn’t support offering City government materials in multiple languages. Of course, Collins again appears to be generating campaign materials with artificial intelligence rather than harnessing the talent of actual New Orleans humans.
Her campaign site also calls for “rapid rehousing programs” and “federal grants for entrepreneurs,” and she says she’ll work to lower insurance costs. She told Ballotpedia she also supports a “livable wage” and federal support for local infrastructure. “My focus is on turning federal resources into local solutions that people can see and feel in their own neighborhoods,” she wrote. She also appears to advocate for greater support for nontraditional medicine, writing “Holistic Care deserves the same respect as Western Medicine” on a Facebook post, which also includes the line, “I love ❤️you all like a fat kid loves cake 🎂.”
Collins is the founder of Fresh Awakenings Ministry, which according to its website is raising money toward offering community services and opening a thrift store. She also runs a Luling business called Impacting Potentials, which has been marked as inactive by the Louisiana Secretary of State.
Summary: Troy Carter, with his establishment backing and incumbent status, will almost certainly take this seat again. Renada Collins has some generally good stances but also some xenophobic tendencies and uses AI consistently in her campaign materials.
Associate Justice Supreme Court,
1st District
Republican Party
William “Billy” Burris
Blair Downing Edwards
This seat is vacant after former Justice Will Crain was appointed by Trump as a federal judge serving the Eastern District of Louisiana, which includes New Orleans. Judge Allison H. Penzato from the First Circuit Court of Appeal is serving as justice pro tempore until the seat is filled. The district includes a portion of Orleans Parish, along with Livingston, St. Bernard, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, and Washington parishes. Two Republican judges—both landlords with ties to the energy industry—and no Democrats are seeking the seat.
William “Billy” Burris is currently a district judge in the 22nd Judicial District Court, which serves St. Tammany and Washington parishes. He’s served on that court since 2018, previously running his own legal practice in Franklinton, according to his court bio. “Judge Burris is an Eagle Scout, and an ordained deacon at First Baptist Church, Franklinton,” also according to his bio. “Judge Burris’ hobbies include music, shooting sports, and many outdoors activities.”
According to a press release announcing his candidacy, he’s also a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association, a member of the conservative Federalist Society, and endorsed by two oil-and-gas PACs. Unsurprisingly, the release appears to be laden with conservative dog whistles: “Like President Trump’s judicial appointees, I believe the role of a judge is not to make law, but to apply it faithfully,” Judge Burris said. “Louisiana deserves justices who are firm, fair, and unafraid to uphold the Constitution, even when it’s unpopular. I prioritize public safety, insist on personal responsibility, and treat every litigant with equal respect under the law. I will bring that same steady, principled approach to the Supreme Court.”
He and his wife (a CPA at Ochsner Health Plan) also own Burris Properties LLC, which “owns and rents non-homestead properties,” according to his financial disclosure form.
Blair Downing Edwards is currently a judge on the First Circuit Court of Appeal. “Judge Edwards brings decades of legal experience, a reputation for professionalism, and a record of principled decision-making to the race,” according to her campaign site. “As a longtime Republican, she has built her career on a conservative judicial philosophy, respect for the rule of law, and an unwavering belief that judges must apply the law as written—not legislate from the bench.”
She previously served as a district judge in the 21st Judicial District Court, which serves Livingston, St. Helena, and Tangipahoa parishes, where she was involved in building up the court’s Juvenile Division. Edwards previously worked as an accountant for Texaco and Entergy. She’s married to retired Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Daniel Edwards, the brother of former Governor John Bel Edwards. She vows to “support law enforcement and crack down hard on violent crime” and “protect Louisiana conservative values.”
She also has a rental property business, according to her financial disclosures, and in 2024 separately received more than $100,000 from a “family holding company” called Ross Downing LLC, presumably named for her father, Hammond businessman Ross Downing. In 2011, the Louisiana Board of Ethics found there was no violation of the state Code of Government Ethics in Edwards “using her monthly vehicle stipend to own or lease a vehicle from Ross Downing Chevrolet when her father is the owner of the dealership.”
Summary: William “Billy” Burris is currently a judge and is a big fan of guns, is a member of the Federalist Society as well as a landlord, and spouts the typical conservative dog whistles. Blair Downing Edwards is also a judge and a landlord and was previously an accountant for Texaco and Entergy.
PSC District 1
Republican Party
Wallace “Wayne” Cooper II
Stephanie Hilferty
“Big John” Mason
Mark Wright
John Young
The Public Service Commission is a regulatory agency that oversees utilities in the state—electricity, water, natural gas, telecommunication, even towing companies. The politicians in this seat wield a tremendous amount of power that affects the daily lives of Louisianians, and they typically fly under the radar because it isn’t a very high profile race or office. We covered this office more thoroughly in a previous guide, and we encourage you to return to it to remind you why, especially now, it is important to pay attention to this office.
According to the conservative Pelican Institute for Public Policy, “base electric utility rates have increased by roughly 40 percent since 2018, with an additional 40 percent increase projected by 2030,” and that “two-thirds of Louisiana voters report higher electric and gas bills.”
District 1 covers Jefferson, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, and Washington parishes. This seat has been held by Eric Skrmetta—who helped pass one of the most restrictive net metering caps in the country (which provides retail rate remuneration for rooftop solar owners) and has been known to take large donations from the same utilities he regulates—since 2009; but he’s term limited, so it’s time for someone new to take it.
Wayne Cooper’s website describes him as “a man of many talents,” including leading the “award-winning cooking competition team ‘Blazed & Confused.’” Cooper is the kitchen manager at a juvenile detention center who is dipping his toe into politics because of exorbitant utility bills. Some of his key issues listed include lower utility rates, transparency in rate-setting for utilities, “pro-business, pro-consumer,” and scrutinizing what charges are passed onto consumers after a storm. His website also includes information about the position and districts.
In his interview with the conservative Pelican Institute for Public Policy, Cooper notes that he and his opponents are all saying similar things—lower rates, more accountability—and is forthcoming about how green he would be on the job, saying it’s his “first go around” and that it would be a lot of learning on the job. When asked about data centers, he said “first and foremost I’m pro-business,” adding that he believes there’s room for them if there’s a plan in place. ANTIGRAVITY has previously covered the negative potential impact of data centers in our communities, as well as the environmental and intellectual cost of generative AI.
Stephanie Hilferty is a state representative or, as her campaign website puts it, “a portrait of grace in motion who drafts meaningful laws and brings smart ideas to life.” We’ve previously described her record as “despicable,” pointing to her votes against sanctuary cities, her support for a “heartbeat” abortion ban, and for a bill targeting trans athletes.
She told the Louisiana Illuminator that she sees part of her potential role on the PSC as protecting ratepayers from rising electricity costs and addressing lengthy storm recovery times. “Utilities are critical partners in powering our state, but the Public Service Commission works for the public,” she told the Illuminator. Hilferty also recently authored a bill, supported by New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno and all members of the City Council, that would give the Council more authority over the Sewerage and Water Board.
Similarly, at the candidate forum hosted by the Pelican Institute, she said that’s especially important given that utilities are effectively monopolies, calling for a smooth dispute process for consumers faced with high bills. Her concerns also include the effects on consumers of new power demand from data centers and industrial facilities. “I think we’ve seen President Trump speak on this in saying they should be able to generate their power within their facility, and hopefully that will drive down rates for the ratepayers,” she said.
Hilferty’s ethics filing lists investments owned by Hilferty and her husband, including tech-related companies: chipmakers Nvidia, Broadcom, and Taiwan Semiconductor, as well as the surveillance company Palantir. The couple last year sold stock in Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Tesla, Costco, and Walmart, according to the form. Hilferty is also a commercial real estate agent who “orchestrates market expansion strategies in Louisiana for a portfolio of national retailers, including Mattress Firm, My Salon Suites, HTeaO, and Salad & Go.” She was also involved in getting high-end lamp dealer Visual Comfort its storefront on Magazine Street (at the site of the former Harry’s Ace Hardware), providing residents a new upscale option for using that luxury-priced Entergy power.
Republican attorney “Big John” Mason‘s signature issue is deregulation of the electricity generation market to allow for competition and cut prices. “Monopolies are great—if you’re the monopolist,” said Mason, a registered Republican since age 18, at the Pelican Institute forum. “They suck if you’re the consumer.”
He wants to work with the state legislature to allow more companies to generate electricity—including big industrial plants that he says currently must buy power from monopoly providers like Entergy—and sell it to consumers via the existing power network.
“The bottom line is that COMPETITION LOWERS PRICES!” says Mason on his website. “You’d have a choice of who to buy electricity from, just like you have a choice of what cell phone company you use, or where you buy gasoline.”
Of course, the devil is in the details—California’s initial deregulatory policy infamously led to market manipulation by companies like Enron, Texas’ deregulation reportedly failed to lower prices (and led to soaring consumer prices during shortages), and states like New York and Illinois have faced issues with shady energy providers using aggressive sales tactics and misleading claims to sign people up for service that doesn’t actually lower their bills.
Mason is a criminal defense lawyer with a background in computer science who has previously worked as a college professor. In a previous run in 2020, he told Ballotpedia he wants to give the PSC the ability to regulate internet service so it can respond to consumer complaints and expand access throughout the state.
Mark Wright is a conservative Republican state representative who says he has “earned recognition as a Most Valuable Policymaker by the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, a 100% Pro-Life Career Record from Louisiana Right to Life, a Family Advocate by Louisiana Family Forum, the American Conservative Union’s Achievement Award and Legislator of the Year for the Alliance for Good Government.”
This year in the House, Wright proposed a constitutional amendment that would transfer regulation of New Orleans utilities from the City Council to the state PSC, and one that would allow up to 5% of the state Budget Stabilization Fund (sometimes called the “Rainy Day Fund”) to be invested in precious metals and cryptocurrency. “Now, as a candidate for Louisiana Public Service Commissioner for District 1—which covers both the Northshore, where he and his family live, and the Southshore, where he grew up—Mark is ready to bring his proven conservative leadership to the Commission. He will fight for reliable, affordable energy, modernized infrastructure, and smart policies that ensure Louisiana families and businesses have the power they need to thrive,” according to his website.
He’s also served as vice president of The American Waterways Operators and was vice president of the American Arbitration Association during a wave of post-Katrina mediations, according to his campaign site. Currently, he owns a “management consulting firm” called Strategic Intelligence (“previously as Tchefuncteco”) and a “commodity and foreign exchange trading and investment firm” called Immaculata Trading & Investment Co., according to his ethics disclosure form. We couldn’t find any concrete information about either business.
Wright gave somewhat vague answers when asked about his plans for the PSC at the Pelican Institute event, though his responses suggested he’d take cues from conservative leaders. He alluded to a talk by “someone from the Edison Institute” (a utility industry group) at a conference run by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a group that proposes conservative state legislation around the country, and praised Trump’s energy policy. “You see what the Trump administration’s been doing—really gotta love that for us,” he said.
Attorney John Young is a former Jefferson Parish president, who the Times-Picayune reported presided over “a period of relative calm for Jefferson Parish politics” and whose tenure included the creation of a parish office of the inspector general. Before that, he served as an assistant district attorney and chief of the parish’s courts. “In a moment when the Public Service Commission demands steadiness, integrity, and a prosecutor’s eye for the truth, Louisiana can count on John Young,” according to his campaign website.
Young said at the Pelican Institute forum that he was motivated to run by the data center boom, saying big tech companies like Meta and Anthropic “need to pay for the infrastructure, and they need to pay for 100% of the costs, so that those burdens are not placed on existing ratepayers.” He also vowed to “hold the utility companies accountable to make sure that we’re getting the best price for what services they perform.” Young, according to his ethics disclosure form, currently runs his own business consulting company and law firm, though he said at the Pelican Institute event he intends “to be a full-time public service commissioner.”
On his campaign site, Young offers a 12-point plan for the PSC, including fighting “unjustified rate increases,” accelerating storm restoration, making utility rate increase matters easier to understand, providing bill assistance to “seniors, veterans, and struggling families,” expanding broadband connectivity, and requiring “artificial intelligence and large data centers fund their own power generation to protect ratepayers.”
Summary: Wayne Cooper is running to lower utility bills but may be too “pro-business” to take on the data center issue. Stephanie Hilferty is a conservative lawmaker who may have too much faith in Trump’s musings on data center costs. John Mason’s platform is centered around deregulation, which has a mixed record in other states. Mark Wright is another conservative lawmaker who seems to take his cues from national Republicans, including Trump. John Young is a former Jefferson Parish president who speaks of holding utilities accountable and ensuring tech companies pay their fair share. Consider which of these candidates you’d prefer to face the Democratic nominee if you vote in the Republican primary.
BESE District 1
Republican Party
“Joseph” Cao
Michael Hollis
Ellie Schroder
Joseph Cao is the incumbent in this race. He is currently serving in a temporary capacity on BESE, nominated to the office by Governor Jeff Landry in January to replace Paul Hollis, who was selected as director of the U.S. Mint in January. Based in Harvey, Cao is a one-time U.S. congressman (2009-2011), who is currently a practicing senior attorney at the Cao Law Firm, as well as an adjunct professor at Tulane and Loyola Universities and a guest lecturer at LSU Health Science Center. During his time in Congress, Cao was the only Republican to vote for Obama’s healthcare reform bill (though once it came back to the House after making its way through the Senate, he did withdraw support, saying he did not believe it contained sufficient language to prevent federal funding of abortion). Since his initial and only term in Congress, Cao has unsuccessfully lost several other races, including his bid for reelection, a race for attorney general (from which he withdrew) and a race for U.S. senate, and an appeals court judgeship. He has served on several public charter school boards, as well as the Louisiana Board of Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority. Cao supports Governor Landry’s LA GATOR “school choice” accounts, a voucher system that redirects money from public schools to private, often religious, schools.
Mike Hollis is a New Orleans-based businessman and member of a well-known Louisiana political family. The son of the late state senator Ken Hollis, he is running for the seat that his brother, Paul Hollis, left for the directorship of the U.S. Mint. Hollis is currently the senior vice president at HUB International, which acquired his family’s group benefits business Hollis Companies, and has served in leadership positions in the family businesses since 2010. Hollis has stated his support for reducing testing requirements and supporting Governor Landry’s effort to increase funding for LA GATOR school choice accounts. He has served on the boards of New Orleans City Park Board of Commissioners and the Delgado Community College Foundation.
Ellie Schroder is a former teacher and school administrator at the St. Tammany School Parish Board, where she worked from 2008 to 2015 in different capacities. Schroder’s resume cites experience in curriculum development, school improvement planning, teacher development programs, and other related things. Schroder is also a licensed residential contractor who has owned and operated construction companies since 2006. Schroder is married to John M. Schroder, a former state representative and state treasurer, in whose political campaigns and finances she was an active participant. (He is now involved in her campaign as well). Schroder is a member of the Northshore Home Builders Association and the East. St. Tammany Business Alliance. She received the Jefferson Parish GOP endorsement. Her resume cites that she intends to “advocate for policies that promote student success, improve school safety, and enhance teacher development and continue to support the positive outcomes that have recently been achieved across the state.”
Summary: Joseph Cao is a lawyer, professor, and former member of the U.S. House of Representatives who is sometimes willing to vote against his party. Mike Hollis is a businessman who comes from a well-known Louisiana political family but has no firsthand experience. While she has also never held political office, Ellie Schroder, as a career teacher and school administrator, has the most experience with the Louisiana school system. Consider which of these candidates you’d prefer to face the Democratic nominee if you vote in the Republican primary.
Judge Civil District Court
Division M
Stephanie Bridges (D)
Richard Perque (D)
Stephanie Bridges has run for office several times but has yet to win a race. In 2023, she ran for Judge of Civil District Court, Division B, and was nearly disqualified from that race for not filing her 2021 taxes in a timely fashion. The Louisiana Supreme Court ultimately allowed Bridges to run. The Civil District Court judge who ruled against Bridges is her current opponent, Richard Perque.
In a previous guide, Bridges was the president of “New Orleans Council for Community and Justice (‘a human relations organization dedicated to fighting bias, bigotry and racism’)” though it’s unclear if this is still true as their website is inactive and their social media is not up to date.
Bridges’ website says that she will “focus exclusively on domestic cases during her first two years” and move cases along in a timely manner, though not many specifics are offered beyond this. Her website also says that for the last four years she has “organized free weekly notary clinics for seniors, small business owners, and families who couldn’t afford the fees or take time off work.
Her social media is scarce, and she’s using the same Facebook page that she used in 2023 for this campaign. She also has an Instagram account that currently has one post. Her slogan is “Community Over Connections.” Her financial disclosure report notes that Bridges owns a rental property.
As we’ve previously covered, Richard Perque comes from a line of judges and elected officials, and he has run unsuccessfully for Civil District Court judge twice. He also founded DivorcePlus, which helps people navigate divorce services. He’s an attorney specializing in “family law, wills and estates, personal injury, civil rights, and general civil litigation” according to his website.
Perque’s website prominently features an endorsement video from Mayor Helena Moreno, and also answers questions about what civil court does—always a plus coming from candidates. His website also features handwritten recipes from his grandmother, which, politics aside, is worth checking out and maybe bookmarking for later. Other endorsements include sheriff-elect Michelle Woodfork, District Attorney Jason Williams, nearly all councilmembers, and more. Perque has been twice appointed as judge pro tempore for Civil District Court, which is a temporary appointment by the Louisiana Supreme Court. The New Orleans Bar Association voted 86% in favor of Perque over Bridges. His financial disclosure says that Perque is an officer of Dinerral Shavers Educational Fund, whose purpose is “to utilize music and other cultural forms to educate New Orleans youth on the history of this great city.”
Summary: Stephanie Bridges has run for many offices unsuccessfully many times and doesn’t seem to have revised her approach or effectively highlighted what she brings to the office. Richard Perque has run for this office twice, also unsuccessfully, and has been appointed as judge pro tempore twice.
Judge Civil District Court
Division N
Sheryl Howard (D)
Elroy James (D)
According to her website, Sheryl Howard began her legal career in 1992, has worked at many different firms, and currently leads her own firm. She has been appointed judge pro tempore for the Orleans Parish Civil District Court in both 2003 and 2023. She’s done pro bono work for Southeast Louisiana Legal Services, and also lists being a blood donor since 2007 under civic engagement.
According to her Instagram, she’s been endorsed by the Alliance for Good Government, and the New Orleans Bar Association voted 64% in favor of Howard over Elroy James. Her financial disclosure says that Howard has interest in two separate rental properties.
Elroy James has been the Judge of First City Court, Section B since 2023 after running without opposition for the seat. James is a former assistant attorney general who has “won big tax verdicts on behalf of the state” as we wrote in a previous guide. He has also served as the president of Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club as well as king in 2012.
His Instagram boasts support from a wide range of people, from State Representative Alonzo Knox, State Representative Mandie Landry, City Councilmember Eugene Green, and more. James does not seem to have filed his financial disclosure report.
Summary: Sheryl Howard has been appointed judge pro tempore twice for Orleans Parish Civil District Court and began her legal career in 1992. Elroy James is currently the judge of First City Court and is a former assistant attorney general.
Judge Criminal District Court
Section J
John T. Fuller (D)
Andre Gaudin Jr. (D)
John T. Fuller is a well-known defense attorney who has a history of ruffling feathers as well as notorious beef with former District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro. In 2015, Fuller was fined by Judge Franz Zibilich for his comment about the judge’s relationship with Cannizzaro. He was also fined and reprimanded in 2017 for talking to other defendants in a case, though Fuller freely admitted to it and admitted to the lapse in judgment.
A former public defender who now runs his own law firm, Fuller seems to be the progressive pick. He has a decent social media following, where he’s shared endorsements from the Police Association of New Orleans, the Independent Women’s Organization, and more. He was originally disqualified for allegedly failing to be up to date on income tax, but the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled that Fuller could run.
According to his website, he was nominated by the Louisiana Supreme Court to serve as a judge pro tempore in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court but didn’t end up serving. In terms of vision for the seat, he proposes a trial week rather than a trial day, like other parishes do, with the intention of avoiding cases being reset for much later dates.
Andre Gaudin Jr. is the Chief of the Screening Division at the District Attorney’s Office—his website says “he has lead [sic] the team that makes the first call on every felony arrest in Orleans Parish.” His website also says that his reputation as a prosecutor is that of being “tough on violent crime but smart on justice,” though what it means to be smart on justice is unclear. His website says that a program he started, District Screeners Program, eventually became NODICE, a “data-driven initiative” that tracks crime in the city, and supposedly tries to predict it. Despite the flaws with basing policing on data, Gaudin does seem to be focused on more transparency with how cases move through the court.
Gaudin has been endorsed by the Alliance for Good Government, the Greater New Orleans AFL-CIO, and Councilmember Lesli Harris. The New Orleans Bar Association voted 64% in favor of Gaudin over Fuller.
Summary: John T. Fuller is a well-known defense attorney and former public defender who has a history of ruffling feathers. Andre Gaudin Jr. works for the DA’s office and has a data-driven approach to policing.
Ballot Measures
Once again, the Louisiana legislature has introduced a new slate of constitutional amendments, some of which are rehashes of the previously failed amendments from the March 2025 election. We recommend voters to always exercise extra vigilance with constitutional amendments as the Constitution is one of the few statewide laws that We the People get to directly vote on—and these five deserve extra scrutiny.
The first four of these amendments are heavily backed by Governor Landry and GOP legislators, closely aligned with Project 2025 priorities of downsizing government, shifting the tax burden, and corporate deregulation. Amendments 3 and 4, which both aim to reduce tax revenue and raid education funds established by voters, have been heavily advertised by conservative policy groups and outlets like the Pelican Institute for Public Policy and Citizens for a New Louisiana. This group of amendments illustrates a desire to radically change the role of government to become a forebearer of corporate interests, already steeped in deals with Meta to construct data centers on farmland and with the GEO Group, a privatized prison company, profiting from producing and managing ICE detention centers. Voters, yet again, have the chance to prove their ability to counteract Landry’s overhaul of our state government.
Proposed Amendment No. 1
Act 223 (2025 Regular Session)
Do you support an amendment to allow the legislature to remove or add officers, positions, and employees to the unclassified state civil service? (Amends Article X, Section 2(B))
Amendment 1 aims to grant the authority to unclassify civil servants to the legislature, a power currently held by the Louisiana State Civil Service Commission. “Classifying” state employees is a protective measure from political influence, as they’re hired through a standardized process set by the State Civil Service, are protected from termination without cause, and are paid at standardized salaries. “Unclassified” state employees are easier to hire or remove quickly, and they can participate in political activities. The Pelican Institute of Public Policy supports this amendment to allow for more efficient and flexible staffing that aligns with the needs of elected leadership. Daniel Sullivan, executive vice president of the Louisiana Civil Service League, wrote that this amendment “would then allow any governor, through his politically appointed department heads, to hire whoever he pleases without regard to qualifications, with no requirements on salary.” It has DOGE written all over it.
With the Republican supermajority in the legislature and alignment with Governor Landry, this amendment would allow a pathway for an unchecked process of unclassifying civil servants, opening the risk to a workforce influenced by political appointments that can bypass standard vetting procedures and aren’t subject to fair salaries—ripe conditions for political cronies. As political compositions shift, political appointees can change, creating an unstable workforce that leads to inefficient government operations. That means less work is being done for the people because of political jockeying. If the amendment passes, there are still many unknown details regarding the legislative process to remove civil servants from protected status, including which civil servants and how many.
Summary: Vote no.
Proposed Amendment No. 2
Act 218 (2025 Regular Session)
Do you support an amendment to grant the St. George community school system in East Baton Rouge Parish the same authority granted parishes for purposes of Article VIII, Section 13 of the Constitution of Louisiana, including purposes related to the minimum foundation program, funding for certain school books and instructional materials, and the raising of certain local revenues for the support of elementary and secondary schools? (Amends Article VIII, Section 13(D)(1))
Amendment 2 concerns St. George, an affluent city south of Baton Rouge, allowing it to create a breakaway school district from the East Baton Rouge School System and to receive its own state funding benefits. Creating a new school district requires a statewide vote, which was the whole reason St. George became its own incorporated city in 2019. It follows the same trend as the three other non-Baton Rouge municipalities in East Baton Rouge Parish, which are Baker, Zachary, and Central, all of which became their own cities to create their own school districts. Their school’s performances improved while also taking tax revenue away from Baton Rouge. Reports say that the St. George breakaway district would take $90 million in tax revenue with it, which doesn’t include the $17.6 million of state funding that comes with the redistribution of students, according to the East Baton Rouge School System. This benefit comes from the Minimum Foundation Program, a state funding perk that the new St. George school district would receive once created. Jan Moller of Invest in Louisiana said that this equates to the East Baton Rouge Public School System (EBRPSS) losing 12% of its students, but a quarter of its budget.
This amendment is the result and product of white flight. St. George is more than 70% white and less than 15% Black, compared to the 47% of Black residents in the entire parish. When the school districts separate, the percentage of white students attending EBRPSS schools may drop to 8%. Breakaway school districts not only leave the remaining school district in capital distress, but they also cede resources from educational investment, facility upgrades, and quality educators. Baton Rouge is already ranked the 51st most economically segregated metro area based on education access, according to a report by the Brookings Institution. The St. George breakaway school district would put EBRPSS in a more difficult financial position, affecting access and quality of education for Baton Rouge public school students.
Summary: Vote no.
Proposed Amendment No. 3
Act 222 (2025 Regular Session)
Do you support an amendment to fund a $2,250 teacher pay raise and $1,125 support staff pay raise by utilizing the remaining savings from paying down the debt of the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana with monies from certain constitutional funds? (Effective January 1, 2027) (Amends Article VII, Section 10.8(A)(1), (2), and (4), (B), and (C)(1); Adds Article VII, Section 10.17; Repeals Article VII, Sections 10(F)(4)(d), 10.1, 10.8(A)(3) and (C)(3), and 10.16(A)(9))
Last year, two-thirds of voters statewide denied the state from using its general savings fund and education trust funds to pay down the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL) debt on the premise that the general savings fund is meant for statewide emergencies, not to be used for one-time solutions to long-term financing issues. Same as before, Governor Landry is marketing Amendment 3 as a permanent teacher pay raise, but the amendment language suggests some potential hang-ups. Public schools and universities currently pay fees to their local school boards to pay down the TRSL debt. If passed, the amendment would dissolve three education trust funds—the Louisiana Education Quality Trust Fund, the Louisiana Quality Education Support Fund, and the Education Excellence Fund—which the Legislative Fiscal Office says are worth a combined $2 billion. This money would be used to pay down the TRSL debt, reducing the retirement costs that schools have to pay and using that money instead to implement the $2,250 pay raise for teachers and a $1,125 pay raise for support staff. This is a permanent replacement to the 3-year teacher stipend of $2,000, which effectively makes it a $250 increase from before. If the school boards don’t have the savings to fund the pay raise, the state will fill the gap, which could be up to $50 million that the state will need to shore up somewhere from the state budget, according to state Rep. Jack McFarland, R-Jonesboro. If the amendment passes, the Department of Education is required to calculate the actual costs to fund salary raises for teachers who are and who are not part of the TRSL program. School districts with leftover cash can use it however they wish.
According to the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, the math says that the interest earnings from the three trust funds are outmatched by the cost savings from the lower interest rate payments ($68 million in earned interest versus $236.2 million in savings). Two teacher unions, the Louisiana Federation of Teachers and the Louisiana Association of Educators, support the permanent pay raises stipulated in the amendment.
Even so, a replacement strategy for these trust funds is missing. These funds provide a fixed revenue source of $68 million for early education, K-12, and higher education programs and staff. The Legislative Fiscal Office included in their note that there is no way to estimate the actual financial impact until after the funds are used to pay down the TRSL debt and the interest rates are recalculated. Without a steady funding mechanism, school districts need to be especially careful with spending, as state budgets may change over time, and poorer school districts may have more difficulty receiving the resources they need to improve their performance metrics, increasing disparities in education access over time.
Summary: Vote no.
Proposed Amendment No. 4
Act 221 (2025 Regular Session)
Do you support an amendment to allow a parish to reduce or exempt property tax on property held as business inventory and to provide for the classification of Public Service Property? (Amends Article VII, Sections 10.15(F)(1) and 18(A) and (B); Adds Article VII, Sections 20.1, 20.2, and 21(P))
Amendment 4 allows parishes the option to reduce or exempt businesses from paying inventory tax. Unlike most other states, Louisiana considers a business’ inventory, like grocery produce, new cars, and metal stock, to be property, and so businesses must pay property tax on their inventory each year. This amendment would allow the sheriff, school board, and other parish governance to approve and determine the reduction or elimination of the inventory tax—the decision is irreversible. This is because the state will pay the parish the amount of revenue it would have lost from the inventory tax revenue if they choose to reduce or eliminate it. If parishes eliminate the tax and receive the year’s worth of inventory taxes from the state, then that commitment means parishes can’t backtrack, eliminating the tax and pocketing state dollars.
The Advocate reports that these payments can range from $500,000 to $15 million. Melinda Deslatte of the Public Affairs Research Council stated at a public forum in February that many parishes would aim to phase out the tax with the state incentive dollars. For parishes like Lafayette, that could be a multiyear process, as the parish makes about $72 million per year on its inventory tax. It’s estimated that the total amount of incentives paid to parishes could range between $218 million and $563 million, depending on the number of parishes and the time to phase out the tax, and the state would use some of the $2.4 billion in funds from the Revenue Stabilization Trust Fund (a.k.a. the Rainy Day Fund) to pay for these incentives.
The Pelican Institute for Public Policy, Louisiana Economic Development, and the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry support this amendment. They believe that removing the tax will lower costs for consumers, allow for tax incentives for new businesses, and encourage competition between parishes. However, Louisiana is already one of the most corporate tax-friendly states in the nation, thanks to programs like the Industrial Tax Exemption Program (ITEP). A 2020 proposition that would have expanded exemption options by ITEP was defeated by voters. This amendment allows for the same, but without the branding. What we know from ITEP is that tax exemptions don’t help consumers, but feed corporations’ bottom lines. This amendment appeals mostly to petrochemical and manufacturing companies that have been lobbying for years to remove this tax, despite already securing a tax credit from the state. Now, AI data centers are becoming new beneficiaries of tax exemptions like these. After parishes are paid their state incentives, they are tasked with managing a budget without this fixed source of revenue, which leads to cutting spending or raising sales or residential property taxes, therefore shifting the tax burden onto families, much like the ITEP program has done.
Coupled with Amendment 3, these amendments would do away with stable revenue sources for parish governments and expect them to make ends meet while corporations get another tax break. If this amendment passes, Dustin Granger, treasurer for the Louisiana Democratic Party, writes, “Louisiana is entering a fiscal crisis after years of corporate tax cuts that drained state revenue. Instead of reversing those policies, the legislature is now scrambling for ways to keep the system going… If Louisiana wants a better future, we cannot keep letting politicians rewrite the rules every time their economic model fails. At some point, the people of this state have to say no—not just to these amendments, but to the entire scam of gutting public strength to serve private power.”
Summary: Vote no.
Proposed Amendment No. 5
Act 219 (2025 Regular Session)
Do you support an amendment to change the mandatory retirement age for judges from seventy to seventy-five, provided that a judge may continue to serve to complete a term of office? (Amends Article V, Section 23(B))
Amendment 5 seems straightforward. It effectively means a judge cannot run for election or reelection once they’ve turned 75 (the current limit is 70). For example, a candidate for the Louisiana Supreme Court can be elected before their 75th birthday and still serve the full 10-year term. Leaders for a Better Louisiana has supported this amendment because it allows preserving “institutional knowledge” (read “maintain control”). A 2016 study by Tulane University revealed that Louisiana’s judges are majority white men: 31.6% of state and federal judges are women, and 22.3% identify as a racial minority. The Power Coalition for Equity & Justice argues that slow judge turnover can prolong this lack of representation, especially with the continued battle over redrawing the judicial districts that threatens fair representation of Black communities. Given the circumstances, this amendment may compound the structural barriers to a fairer and more diverse judgeship in Louisiana.
Summary: Vote no.
Orleans Parish Ballot Measures
Upper Hurstville Security Dist.
$650 Parcel Fee Renewal – CC – 8 Yrs.
Shall the City of New Orleans be authorized to renew the imposition and collection of an annual fee of up to $650 on each parcel of land (excluding any parcel whose owner qualifies for the special assessment level provided by Article VII, Section 18(G)(1) of the Constitution of Louisiana) located within the Upper Hurstville Security District (“District”), delineated by La. R.S. 33:9091.6(B) as the area bounded by Exposition Boulevard, Prytania Street, Nashville Avenue, and Magazine Street, for eight (8) years, beginning January 1, 2027 and ending December 31, 2034, which fee (estimated to be $222,750 in the first year of collection) shall be set by the resolution of the District board of commissioners and used exclusively, subject to a 1% City collection fee, to promote and encourage security within the District and to promote the overall betterment of the District?
This district is seeking authorization to charge property owners $650 per property per year for another eight years.
The district is entitled to use those funds for “security” and “overall betterment,” but a quick look at its financial statements indicate the vast majority of its expenditures—$147,896 out of $171,921 as of the end of 2024—go to fund “patrol and security services.” Other expenditures are “administration and office,” insurance, and a “security camera program.” You can find out more information about the district and its sister organization, a nonprofit called the Upper Hurstville Residents Association, on their joint website. “The Security District uses the fee to pay and manage police or private security officers to proactively patrol and respond to calls for service by those within the boundaries of the district,” that website confirms.
As we’ve said in the past, these sorts of security-centric districts raise questions of equity in receiving additional policing services based on their ability and willingness to pay special property taxes. They also raise questions of democracy, with districts including this one governed by boards appointed by a complex mix of elected legislators and resident groups. In this case, it appears every board member of the Security District—a government entity—is also a member of the association’s board.
Additionally, research by the City Office of the Inspector General in 2013 found districts with such patrols do seem to have lower rates of property crime than elsewhere in the city, but the districts don’t seem to have a significant effect on violent crime or murder rates within their borders.
In this case, it’s also worth noting the district and association offer their own “Ten Commandments” (not the ones that may be required to be displayed in Louisiana schools) that include “install one or more security cameras” and “report all suspicious people to law enforcement and note the time of day.” These seem likely to contribute to a culture of surveillance and paranoia.
“Report all ‘sketchy’ people to New Orleans Private Patrol (NOPP) first and then, if necessary to NOPD,” the organizations tell residents. “When in doubt, call NOPP anyway. Write down the time you called in. Apologies, if in order, for ruffling legitimate feathers, can be made by law enforcement.”
Summary: Say no to privatized police.
Castle Manor Improvement District
$100 Parcel Fee – CC – 5 Yrs.
Shall the City of New Orleans be authorized to impose and collect an annual fee of up to $100 on each residential parcel of land and up to $200 on each commercial parcel of land for the first three years that the fee is collected, and up to $125 on each residential parcel of land and up to $225 on each commercial parcel of land for the next two years of collection on each parcel (excluding any parcel whose owner qualifies for the special assessment level provided by Article VII, Section 18(G)(1) of the Constitution of Louisiana) located within the Castle Manor Improvement District (“District”), delineated by La. R.S. 33:9091.28(B) as the area bounded by Cerise Avenue, the south side of Chef Menteur Highway, Gawain Drive, and the north side of Dwyer Road canal, for five (5) years, beginning January 1, 2027 and ending December 31, 2031, which fee (estimated to be $65,000 in the first year of collection) shall be set by the resolution of the District board of commissioners and used exclusively, subject to a 1% City collection fee, to promote and encourage beautification and security within the District and to promote the overall betterment of the District?
If this item looks familiar, it’s likely because it just appeared on the ballot last October, when residents rejected it by a vote of 273 to 237.
At the time, we pointed out that the district created by the state legislature in 2024 is empowered to use these tax funds for “beautification, security, and supplemental law enforcement” in the district. We still haven’t seen any public statements about how the district board members intend to actually spend those funds: A state database notes that the “board right now is considered inactive due to funding,” after the ballot measure failed last year.
The Broadmoor Neighborhood Improvement District is sometimes cited, including by us, as an example of how these districts can support more than just policing. It supports a community center, mental health counseling, and various arts classes, among other things. But around New Orleans, these districts have typically focused their efforts on paying for additional police patrols within their areas, like the Upper Hurstville Security District discussed above.
Summary: We would encourage voters in the district to contact the district leadership for information about how they intend to spend revenue from this tax, and vote accordingly. Perhaps some of you already did so last fall.
Election Info
The deadline to request a mail ballot is May 12 by 4:30 p.m (other than military and overseas voters).
The deadline for the registrar of voters to receive a mail ballot is May 15 by 4:30 p.m. (other than military and overseas voters).
Early Voting
Early voting for this election begins on May 2 and ends on May 9, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m, excluding Sunday, May 3.
Saturday election day voting hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
City Hall
RM 1W24; 1300 Perdido St. 70112
Algiers Courthouse
RM 105; 225 Morgan St. 70114
Voting Machine Warehouse
8870 Chef Menteur Highway 70127
Lake Vista Community Center
6500 Spanish Fort Blvd. 70124
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