How Louisiana's closed party primaries will work
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Some Louisiana elections will look a lot different this year as closed party primaries begin — reshaping contests like Rep. Julia Letlow's new Trump-backed challenge to incumbent Bill Cassidy's Senate seat.
Why it matters: How and when Louisiana votes is changing for certain races, including the U.S. Senate, which is bound to cause some confusion as voters hit the polls in 2026.
The latest: President Trump endorsed Letlow's then-potential Senate run in a Truth Social post on Saturday, only for the northeastern Louisiana Republican to announce Tuesday that she'll indeed be going after Cassidy's seat.
- Cassidy has served in the Senate since 2015, and has occasionally sparred with Trump. He voted in 2021 to convict Trump of inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection.
The big picture: The Cassidy and Letlow contest tees up an interesting race to watch within Louisiana's closed party primaries this year.
- For decades, Louisiana has had an open primary system, also called jungle primaries. In that system, any registered voter can vote for any candidate during a primary.
- If a candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in a jungle primary, then they win the election outright without any need for a runoff.
Catch up quick: Responding to a call from Gov. Jeff Landry last year, state lawmakers closed party primaries for U.S Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, Louisiana Supreme Court, the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the Public Service Commission.
- The move was controversial, with most voters opposing the move — and somewhat ironic, given Landry himself was elected governor outright during an open primary.
Yes, but: It's a done deal, and now state elections officials are working to make sure voters know what to expect at the polls this year.
- That could be a tall order. According to one recent poll, 43% of voters weren't aware of the change.
How it works: For the affected elections, only registered members of the state's Republican and Democrat parties can vote in their affiliated primaries.
- Each party could have up to two votes (a primary and a primary runoff) before selected party candidates face each other and any qualifying third-party candidates in the general election.
- What candidates should know, via the Public Affairs Research Council.
Between the lines: The state's Independent Party dissolved last year as Secretary of State Nancy Landry readied for the closed party primary change and shifted about 150,000 voters into a larger "unaffiliated" category.
- When those voters head to the polls for primary voting in affected races this year, they can choose to vote in either the Republican or Democratic primary. That choice will stand for both the primary and the primary runoff, unless the voter formally changes their party between those votes.
- Voters who are registered with third parties, such as the Green Party, can only vote in the general election.
The intrigue: Third- or no-party candidates will have a tougher time under the new rules.
- Republican and Democratic candidates can get onto state ballots by paying a qualifying fee or submitting a nominating petition, which requires signatures from between 750 and 2,500 voters, depending on the race.
- But under the new system, third-party candidates can't pay their way onto the ballot. Instead, their only option is to collect signatures and submit them months in advance.
What we're watching: The state is still waiting on the Supreme Court to issue a ruling on its congressional district map, which is at the heart of a case being watched for how it changes interpretations of the Voting Rights Act.
- But Louisiana will use the challenged map for its 2026 midterm elections, the Louisiana Illuminator reports.