Letlow, Davis win Senate primary runoffs in Louisiana; will face off in November

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Julia Letlow and Jamie Davis will face off this fall for U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy’s seat after winning their respective party runoffs Saturday night.

Letlow won the Republican runoff over John Fleming with 57% of the vote, less than an hour after polls closed on June 27. Davis won the Democratic nomination in a landslide, securing 80% of the vote over Gary Crockett.

Letlow, Davis claim victories

“I’ll fight for our families, I’ll fight for our farmers. I’ll fight for our teachers. I will fight for our parents. I’ll fight for our law enforcement. I will fight for everyone in this room, and we are just getting started,” Letlow said.

Davis said the issues driving his campaign cross party lines.

“Everybody wants better healthcare. Everybody wants better education for their children. Everybody wants a leg up with affordability. And everybody wants the Constitution to be upheld. Those issues are nonpartisan. I don’t have to change nothing but keep working,” Davis said.

Low turnout, Trump endorsement shaped Republican race

Estimated turnout was about 18% of registered voters. Political analyst Jim Engster said the low turnout actually benefited Fleming, who captured 43% of the vote, but was not enough to overcome President Trump’s endorsement of Letlow.

“He really had the 8 ball against him when President Trump endorsed Julia Letlow. President Trump is Hercules of Republican politics, and he’s carried this state three times by about 60 percent of the votes each time,” Engster said.

Engster said the results reflect the broader political landscape in Louisiana.

“It says that it’s more of the same. We’re a Republican state, and until further notice, we vote red in major elections,” Engster said.

New closed primary system draws scrutiny

Saturday’s election was the first major cycle under Louisiana’s new closed party primary system, in which Democratic voters could only choose Democratic candidates and Republican voters could only choose Republican candidates.

Engster said the change had a significant impact on participation, pointing to Cassidy’s vote totals as an example.

“Bill Cassidy might very well have held onto his seat in an open primary. After all, in the last open primary, he got 1,228,000 votes. This time he got 99,000 votes, so that’s a big difference,” Engster said.

Engster said critics of the closed primary system will use the turnout figures to make their case.

“It’ll be a case in which those who are against the closed primary will make the case that ‘The open primary may have its flaws, but more people participate. And after all, that is what we want. We want more people voting in our elections,” Engster said.

Road to November 2026

History suggests Republicans hold the advantage heading into the general election. Engster noted that Louisiana’s last elected Democratic senator was Mary Landrieu in 2008.

“It would really be a political miracle for Jamie Davis to win. Those things happen, but right now it’s a long shot, and there’s a lot of heavy lifting for him to do and for the Democratic Party to do to try to make up the inherent gap that is evident in Louisiana politics,” Engster said.

Letlow and Davis will face off in the general election on November 3.

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