Louisiana voters head to polls Saturday for gubernatorial primary

Louisiana voters head to the polls on Saturday for a free-for-all gubernatorial primary to replace Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, who cannot run again due to term limits.

This race is a prime pickup opportunity for Republicans, with an open seat contest in a state former President Donald Trump won by 19 percentage points in 2020. Edwards won a second term in 2019 by just 3 points, or roughly 40,000 votes. 

The contest is a so-called jungle primary, with candidates from all parties competing on the same ballot. If one candidate wins a majority of the vote, he or she wins the race outright. But if no one wins a majority, the top two vote-getters regardless of party advance to a general election runoff on Nov. 18, which is likely given the crowded field of candidates. 

There are 16 candidates listed on the primary ballot, including eight Republicans and two Democrats, per a sample ballot. The top Democrat is Shawn Wilson, the former state Transportation Secretary who has been endorsed by the state party. He could consolidate Democratic votes and secure one of the spots in the Nov. 18 runoff. 

On the Republican side, state Attorney General Jeff Landry, who has Trump’s endorsement, has been the top-fundraising and top-spending candidate. His campaign has spent more than $8.9 million on ads, more than twice as much as the next highest spender on the airwaves, an outside group tied to the Republican Governors Association that has been attacking Wilson, per the ad tracking firm AdImpact.

Along with Trump, Landry has endorsements from Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La. and Louisiana GOP Reps. Steve Scalise, Clay Higgins and Mike Johnson.

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Abortion has been a dividing line in the race. Landry told the Shreveport Times that he supports the state’s near-total abortion ban, which does not include exceptions for rape or incest. (Edwards signed that abortion ban into law.)

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Wilson has said he is personally “pro-life” (though he recently removed the term from his campaign website) and he has advocated for additional exceptions in the state law, arguing that the government should not have a role in women’s health care decisions.

The other top Republican candidates include state Treasurer John Schroder, state Sen. Sharon Hewitt, and former business lobbyist Stephen Waguespack. Attorney Hunter Lundy, who has largely been self-funding his campaign, is also running as an independent.

Polls close at 9 p.m. ET.