The 2016 United States Senate election in Louisiana took place on November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Louisiana, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections.
Under Louisiana's "jungle primary" system, all candidates appeared on the same ballot, regardless of party, and voters could vote for any candidate. Since no candidate received a majority of the vote during the primary election, a runoff election was held on December 10 between the top two candidates in the primary, Republican John Neely Kennedy and Democrat Foster Campbell, where Kennedy won with 60.65% of the vote, giving Senate Republicans 52 seats in the 115th Congress. Louisiana is the only state that has a jungle primary system (California and Washington have a similar "top two primary" system). Kennedy had previously unsuccessfully ran for this seat in 2004 as a Democrat and the state's other U.S. Senate seat in 2008 as a Republican.
Incumbent Republican Senator David Vitter unsuccessfully ran for governor of Louisiana in 2015, and in his concession speech he announced that he would not seek re-election to the Senate in 2016.
In addition to Kennedy and Campbell, four other candidates â Republicans Charles Boustany, John Fleming, and David Duke, and Democrat Caroline Fayard â qualified to participate at a debate at Dillard University, a historically black college, on November 2, 2016 This election is the most recent United States Senate runoff election in Louisiana as of 2024.
Candidates
Republican Party
Declared
- Charles Boustany, U.S. representative
- Joseph Cao, former U.S. representative and candidate for Louisiana attorney general in 2011
- Donald "Crawdaddy" Crawford, business appraiser
- David Duke, former state representative, former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and perennial candidate
- John Fleming, U.S. representative
- John Neely Kennedy, state treasurer, Democratic candidate for this seat in 2004 and nominee for the U.S. Senate Class 2 in 2008
- Rob Maness, retired United States Air Force colonel, and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014
- Charles Eugene Marsala, financial advisor and former mayor of Atherton, California
Withdrew
Declined
- Scott Angelle, Public Service commissioner, former lieutenant governor of Louisiana, and candidate for governor in 2015 (running for LA-03)
- Jay Dardenne, Louisiana commissioner of Administration, former lieutenant governor of Louisiana and candidate for governor in 2015
- Zach Dasher, pharmaceutical representative, cousin of the Robertson family and candidate for LA-05 in 2014
- Brett Geymann, former state representative (running for LA-03)
- Clay Higgins, former St. Landry Parish sheriff's captain (running for LA-03)
- Paul Hollis, state representative and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014
- Bobby Jindal, former governor of Louisiana
- Vance McAllister, former U.S. representative and candidate for the state senate in 2015
- Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, former state representative and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2002
- Melinda Schwegmann, former lieutenant governor of Louisiana, former state representative, and candidate for governor in 1995
- Eric Skrmetta, Public Service Commissioner
- David Vitter, incumbent U.S. senator and nominee for governor in 2015
- John Young, former president of Jefferson Parish and candidate for lieutenant governor in 2015
Democratic Party
Declared
- Foster Campbell, Public Service commissioner, former state senator, candidate for governor in 2007 and for LA-04 in 1980, 1988 and 1990
- Derrick Edwards, attorney and disability rights activist
- Caroline Fayard, attorney and candidate for lieutenant governor in 2010
- Gary Landrieu, building contractor, candidate for the New Orleans City Council in 2012, candidate for LA-02 in 2012 and 2014 and cousin of former U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu and New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu
- Vinny Mendoza, USAF Ret. Veteran, organic farmer and 1st CD candidate in 2004, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014,
- Josh Pellerin, businessman
- Peter Williams, tree farmer, candidate for LA-06 in 2014 and Independent candidate for LA-05 in 2013
Declined
- Jim Bernhard, president of Bernhard Capital Partners, founder and former CEO of The Shaw Group and former chairman of the Louisiana Democratic Party
- Don Cazayoux, former U.S. representative and former United States attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana
- John Georges, businessman, candidate for governor in 2007 and candidate for mayor of New Orleans in 2010
- Kip Holden, mayor-president of East Baton Rouge Parish and candidate for lieutenant governor in 2015 (running for LA-02)
- Robert Johnson, state representative and candidate for LA-05 in 2013
- Eric LaFleur, state senator
- Mary Landrieu, former U.S. senator
- Mitch Landrieu, mayor of New Orleans and former lieutenant governor of Louisiana
- Charlie Melancon, former U.S. representative and nominee in 2010
- Jacques Roy, mayor of Alexandria
- Gary Smith, Jr., state senator
Libertarian Party
Declared
Independents
Declared
Jungle primary
Debates
Endorsements
Polling
Results
Maps
Runoff
Polling
Predictions
Results
Parishes that flipped from Republican to Democratic
Parishes that flipped from Democratic to Republican
By congressional district
Kennedy won five of six congressional districts.
References
Additional candidates<br />
External links