Few surprises in Louisiana on Election Day; runoff next in PSC District 3

Congressional delegation reelected; 2 state senate vacancies filled

By: - November 9, 2022 6:00 am
District 3 Public Service Commissioner Lambert Boissiere, left, will face Davonte Lewis in a Dec. 10 runoff.

Incumbent Lambert Boissiere, left, lost a Dec. 10, 2022, runoff for the Public Service Commission seat in District 3 to Davonte Lewis. (Photos by Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator)

Louisiana had a few surprises on Election Day but none related to the races on the ballot. More than 1.3 million residents voted Tuesday, reelecting the state’s Republican-heavy congressional delegation and sending a key Public Service Commission race to a December runoff. 

The day began with technical difficulties at the Secretary of State’s Office as the online voter portal and the GeauxVote mobile app experienced a surge in online traffic that the state’s servers had trouble handling, according to state election officials.  

Secretary of State spokesman John Tobler said the website never crashed but started displaying an error message to some users. The problem lasted about three hours before it was resolved.

Then Jefferson Parish authorities responded to a bomb threat at a polling location in Kenner. Authorities said a juvenile in Michigan allegedly called in a bomb threat to the Kenner Discovery Health Sciences Academy, a K-12 charter school. Tobler said the threat was not related to the election. Police said the boy allegedly made a similar previous threat.  

A search determined the school was safe, and Ardoin’s staff moved voting machines to a nearby elementary school. Kenner police have issued an arrest warrant for the juvenile.

This would be the only drama during the day as most races unfolded without any surprises or irregularities. 

U.S. Sen. John Kennedy kept his seat with 62% of the vote, fending off a long list of challengers led by Democrats Gary Chambers and Luke Mixon, who received 18% and 13%, respectively.

All of Louisiana’s incumbent House delegates sailed easily to victory as polls predicted. Rep. Steve Scalise received 73% in District 1; Rep. Troy Carter collected nearly 77% in District 2; Rep. Clay Higgins took 64% in District 3; Rep. Julia Letlow captured 67% in District 5; and Rep. Garret Graves got 80% of the vote in District 6. District 4 Rep. Mike Johnson was unopposed. 

Two state Senate races were also decided Tuesday. 

In Senate District 17, Republican Caleb Kleinpeter, a West Baton Rouge Parish Council member, inched out a victory with 51% over Democratic State Rep. Jeremy LaCombe’s 41%. Republican candidate Kirk Rousset, a physician, collected 7.6%.

For state Senate District 5, Rep. Royce Duplessis topped Rep. Mandie Landry, 53% to 47%. Both are New Orleans Democrats.

The District 3 Public Service Commissioner seat, a Democrat stronghold, will be decided in a December runoff as incumbent Lambert Boissiere collected 44% of the vote. Challenger Davante Lewis finished second, with 18% support. Read more

Louisiana voters rejected most of the proposed amendments to the state constitution, including an attempt to prohibit slavery. The author of the amendment opposed the final version because the watered-down wording would allow for involuntary servitude as part of a criminal sentence.

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Wesley Muller
Wesley Muller

Wes Muller traces his journalism roots to 1997 when, at age 13, he built a hyper-local news website for his New Orleans neighborhood. Since then, he has freelanced for the Times-Picayune and worked on staff at WAFB/CBS, the Sun Herald and the Enterprise-Journal, winning awards from the SPJ, Associated Press, Mississippi Press Association and McClatchy. He also taught English as an adjunct instructor at Baton Rouge Community College. Muller is a New Orleans native, Jesuit High School alumnus, University of New Orleans alumnus and a U.S. Army veteran and former paratrooper. He lives in Southeast Louisiana with his two sons and wife.

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