The special session is over and two major pieces of legislation came out of it. Lawmakers approved a Congressional map with two majority Black districts and Louisiana’s federal elections will shift from open primaries to party primaries starting in 2026. Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says Governor Landry advocated hard for party primary elections.
“He didn’t get everything he wanted, the legislature is not included, statewide elected officials are not included, but the way we elect our Congressmen, the way we elect our United States Senator he did change that,” said Pinsonat.
Elections for the Louisiana Supreme Court, Public Service Commission, and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will also move to party primaries in 2026. Unaffiliated voters will be able to vote in those primary elections.
Landry says the outcome of the special session is a win for the people of Louisiana.
“We finally have started the structural change necessary in our electoral process to make Louisiana a great state,” said Landry.
Governor Landry is expected to sign the new Congressional districting map. It includes a second majority-minority district, which is what a federal judge ordered the Louisiana Legislature to do. Landry says it was important for lawmakers to redraw the political boundaries.
“We have finally taken the pen out of the hand of a federal judge and placed it back in the people of the state to draw our Congressional maps,” said Landry.
Comments