Louisiana State Senate District 26
Louisiana State Senate District 26 is represented by Bob Hensgens (R).
As of the 2020 Census, Louisiana state senators represented an average of 119,525 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 116,768 residents.
About the chamber
Members of the Louisiana State Senate serve four-year terms with term limits.[1] Louisiana legislators assume office at noon on the second Monday in January after their election.
Qualifications
According to Article III, Section 4, of the Louisiana Constitution, candidates must meet the following qualifications in order to run for the state legislature:
| “ | All candidates shall be qualified electors ... By the date of qualification, the candidate shall have attained the age of 18 years, resided in Louisiana for the preceding 2 years, and been actually domiciled for the preceding year in the legislative district from which the candidate seeks election. At the next regular election for members of the legislature following legislative reapportionment, an elector may qualify as a candidate from any district created in whole or in part from a district existing prior to reapportionment if he was domiciled in that prior district for at least 1 year immediately preceding his qualification and was a resident of Louisiana for the 2 years preceding his qualification.[2][3] | ” |
Salaries
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
| State legislative salaries, 2023 | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $16,800/year | $175/day. |
Term limits
- See also: State legislatures with term limits
The Louisiana legislature is one of 16 state legislatures with term limits. It has been a term-limited state legislature since Louisiana voters approved Amendment 2 in 1995, as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment. The first year that the term limits enacted in 1995 impacted the ability of incumbents to run for office was 2007. Under Louisiana's term limits, state senators can serve no more than three four-year terms.[1]
Vacancies
If there is a vacancy in the Louisiana State Legislature, the vacant seat must be filled by a special election. An election is required if there are six months or more left in the unexpired term. The presiding officer in the house where the vacancy happened must call for an election no later than 10 days after the vacancy occurred. The presiding officer must determine the dates for the election along with all filing deadlines. The person elected to the seat serves for the remainder of the unexpired term.[4]
See sources: Louisiana Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18:601
District map
Redistricting
2020-2022
On February 8, 2024, the U.S. District Court for Middle Louisiana struck down the state's legislative maps and declared them to be in violation of the Voting Rights Act.[5][6] According to the ruling, the court found the following:
| “ | [T]he Enacted State House and Senate Maps crack or pack large and geographically compact minority populations such as Black voters in the challenged districts 'have less opportunity than other members of the electorate to participate in the political process and to elect representatives of their choice,' and the Illustrative Plan offered by the Plaintiffs show that additional opportunity districts can be 'reasonable configured.'[6][3] | ” |
The legislative maps that both chambers passed during a special legislative session in February 2022 became law 20 days after their passage as Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) neither signed not vetoed the redistricting plans. The legislative redistricting plan passed the state Senate, 25-11, with all votes in favor by Republicans and 10 Democrats and one Republican voting against. The state House of Representatives approved it by a 82-21 vote with 68 Republicans, 12 Democrats, and two independents voting in favor and 20 Democrats and one independent voting against.[7][8] After the legislature voted on the maps, Tyler Bridges wrote in The Advocate, "Without much fuss, the Republican-controlled Legislature...approved new district boundaries for the state House and Senate that would maintain GOP legislative dominance for the next decade."[9]
Edwards announced on March 9, 2022, that he would not act on the legislative boundaries, releasing a statement that said, in part, "While neither the congressional or legislative maps passed by Louisiana’s Legislature do anything to increase the number of districts where minority voters can elect candidates of their choosing, I do not believe the Legislature has the ability to draw new state House and Senate maps during this upcoming legislative session without the process halting the important work of the state of Louisiana. At a time when we face unprecedented challenges, but have unprecedented opportunities to make historic investments in our future, the Legislature should be focused on the issues in the upcoming session and not concerned about what their own districts will look like in the 2023 elections."[10]
How does redistricting in Louisiana work? In Louisiana, both congressional and state legislative districts are drawn by the state legislature. These lines are subject to veto by the governor. In the event that the legislature is unable to approve state legislative district boundaries, the state supreme court must draw the lines. There is no such practice that applies to congressional districts.[11]
The state legislature has adopted guidelines for redistricting. These guidelines suggest that both congressional and state legislative districts be contiguous and "respect recognized political boundaries and the natural geography of the state to the extent practicable." These guidelines are non-binding; as such, the legislature may alter them at its discretion.[11]
Louisiana State Senate District 26
until January 7, 2024
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Louisiana State Senate District 26
starting January 8, 2024
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Elections
2023
See also: Louisiana State Senate elections, 2023
Louisiana elections use the majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.
Nonpartisan primary election
The primary election was canceled. Bob Hensgens (R) won the election without appearing on the ballot.
2019
- See also: Louisiana State Senate elections, 2019
Elections for the Louisiana State Senate took place in 2019. The primary was on October 12, 2019, and the general election was on November 16. The filing deadline for candidates was August 8, 2019.
Louisiana elections use the majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Louisiana State Senate District 26
Incumbent Bob Hensgens won election outright against Jerry Gaspard in the primary for Louisiana State Senate District 26 on October 12, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Bob Hensgens (R) | 79.2 | 27,228 | |
 | Jerry Gaspard (D) | 20.8 | 7,161 | |
| Total votes: 34,389 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2018
A special election for the position of Louisiana State Senate District 26 was called for November 6, 2018. The filing deadline for this race was August 10, 2018.[12] Jean Menard (D), Jerry Gaspard (R), and Bob Hensgens (R) faced off in the special election.[13]
The seat became vacant on December 9, 2018, when Jonathan Perry (R) resigned his seat to become a court of appeals judge.[14]
Louisiana elections use the majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.
Nonpartisan primary election
Special nonpartisan primary for Louisiana State Senate District 26
Bob Hensgens won election outright against Jean Menard and Jerry Gaspard in the special primary for Louisiana State Senate District 26 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Bob Hensgens (R) | 60.0 | 22,361 | |
| Jean Menard (D) | 21.9 | 8,158 | ||
| Jerry Gaspard (R) | 18.2 | 6,777 | |
| Total votes: 37,296 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2015
- See also: Louisiana State Senate elections, 2015
Elections for the Louisiana State Senate took place in 2015. A primary election was held on October 24, 2015, with a general election held in districts where necessary on November 21, 2015. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was September 10, 2015, at 4:30 p.m. CDT.[15]
Louisiana elections use the Louisiana majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50% of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article. Incumbent Jonathan Perry (R) was unopposed in the October 24 blanket primary.[16][17]
2011
- See also: Louisiana State Senate elections, 2011
Elections for the office of Louisiana State Senate consisted of a primary election on October 22, 2011, and a general election on November 19, 2011. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was September 8, 2011. Incumbent Jonathan Perry (R) was unopposed in the October 22 blanket primary.[18][19]
Campaign contributions
From 2003 to 2023, candidates for Louisiana State Senate District 26 raised a total of $1,722,791. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $156,617 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money
| Campaign contributions, Louisiana State Senate District 26 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Amount | Candidates | Average |
| 2023 | $218,848 | 1 | $218,848 |
| 2019 | $119,502 | 2 | $59,751 |
| 2018 | $144,897 | 3 | $48,299 |
| 2011 | $335,572 | 1 | $335,572 |
| 2007 | $381,322 | 2 | $190,661 |
| 2003 | $522,650 | 2 | $261,325 |
| Total | $1,722,791 | 11 | $156,617 |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 legis.la.gov, "About the Legislature," accessed December 16, 2013 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "limits" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Qualifications of Candidates," accessed February 10, 2023
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Louisiana Legislature, "Louisiana Election Code," accessed February 10, 2021 (Statute 18:601, Louisiana Statutes)
- ↑ NOLA.com. "Louisiana must redraw its legislative districts, federal judge rules. Here's why." February 8, 2024
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Twitter. "RedistrictNet," February 8, 2024
- ↑ Louisiana State Legislature, "2022 First Extraordinary Session - HB14," accessed February 24, 2022
- ↑ The Advocate. "Legislature ends redistricting session by passing new maps for state House and Senate, PSC and BESE," February 18, 2022
- ↑ The Advocate. "Legislature ends redistricting session by passing new maps for state House and Senate, PSC and BESE," February 18, 2022
- ↑ State of Louisiana, Office of the Governor, "Gov. Edwards Vetoes Proposed Congressional District Map, Announces Other Action on Newly Drawn District Maps," March 9, 2022
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 All About Redistricting, "Louisiana," accessed April 30, 2015
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Secretary Of State Ardoin Praises Election Decisionm" July 30, 2018
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Candidate Inquiry," accessed August 16, 2018
- ↑ KATC.com, "Special election in November will fill Louisiana Senate seat," July 28, 2018
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "2015 Elections," accessed January 2, 2015
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Candidate Inquiry," accessed October 13, 2015
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official Election Results," accessed November 1, 2015
- ↑ "Louisiana Secretary of State - Official Primary Election Results," accessed October 17, 2013
- ↑ "Louisiana Secretary of State - Official General Election Results," accessed October 17, 2013
