Live results: Steve Scalise reelected in Louisiana
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Scalise poses at the Election Night event. Photo: Chelsea Brasted/Axios
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise will keep his congressional seat after Louisiana voters reelected the Republican representative Tuesday.
Why it matters: Scalise currently holds one of the most powerful seats in Congress.
Driving the news: The Associated Press called the race at about 10:15pm Central.
- Because Louisiana uses a jungle primary system, which allows candidates to win outright if they secure more than 50% of a primary vote, Scalise won't have to run in a December run-off.
Between the lines: Facing weak opposition, Scalise spent much of the campaign season stumping for other candidates, as the Times-Picayune has reported.
As the House majority leader chatted with media and supporters at his election night party at Drago's, a plane waited on a nearby tarmac to bring him to Mar-a-Lago in anticipation of a Trump win, per a staffer.
- "People are very optimistic," Scalise told Axios New Orleans, "but it could be a late night, but I hope it gets resolved and President Trump is the winner later tonight."
Zoom in: Scalise represents Louisiana's 1st Congressional District, which wraps around the toe of the state's boot to take in Lakeview, Metairie, and coastal areas through Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes.
- He was first elected to Congress in 2008.