Louisiana Democrats put up no challenger to U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, right, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, stand for the national anthem during the statue dedication ceremony for civil rights leader Daisy Bates in Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol on May 8, 2024, in Washington, D,C. Bates was a civil rights activist from Arkansas who was a mentor to the Little Rock Nine, a group of Black students who desegregated schools in Arkansas. The statue of Bates is replacing one of Uriah M. Rose, an attorney and former president of the Arkansas Bar Association. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a northwest Louisiana Republican, will face not even token Democratic opposition in his November re-election campaign. 

Johnson is the only member of Louisiana’s delegation who will not face an opponent from the other party. Democrats in Louisiana have faced constant criticism for the sheer number of uncontested races, allowing Republicans to win dozens of state Legislative seats unopposed. 

“There are many Louisianians we know interested in getting rid of him, while we don’t have a candidate running against him this year … we have plenty of Democrats interested in running against him in the future,” Louisiana Democrat Party Executive Director Drew Prestridge said in an interview. 

One Republican, Joshua Morott, qualified to run against Johnson and listed an Arkansas address with the Secretary of State. 

Political consultant Mary-Patricia Wray theorized it could work in Democrats favor to not field a candidate. In the current cycle, Wray is working with state Sen. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, in his congressional bid. 

“It’s actually a flex for Democrats who can have more influence with Johnson if he knows his continued time as speaker is, in part, thanks to them,” Wray told the Illuminator. 

Public Service Commissioner Davante Lewis, one of Louisiana’s highest ranking Democrats, said the focus on redistricting took away from bench-building for the 2024 congressional elections. 

“We were in a constant redistricting battle … that could have changed the maps significantly,” Lewis said in an interview. “Democrats were fighting to make sure we got a second majority-minority district, which took away from the act of planning.” 

“The dynamics of redistricting, the money Speaker Johnson could raise, and the late nature of qualifying didn’t bode well for us to find a candidate,” Lewis added.  

House Republican Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise, a Republican from Jefferson, will face a Democratic challenger who has spent the past two years building her profile in preparation to take on the heavyweight. Mel Manuel of Madisonville is a former teacher and longtime progressive activist who has been heavily involved in the fight against book bans in St. Tammany Parish. 

Also signing up to run against Scalise in the 1st District were Republicans Randall Arrington of Ponchatoula, Ross Shales of New Orleans and Margueritte Swanson of Slidell. Frankie Hyers, an unaffiliated candidate from Metairie, is also in the race.

Far-right U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Lafayette, will face Democratic challengers Priscilla Gonzalez of Lafayette and Sadi Summerlin of Westlake in the 3rd Congressional District. Republican Xan Jones of Lafayette also qualified for the race. 

Most Democratic attention on the newly-configured 6th Congressional District, which Fields is expected to win easily. Fields, who previously served in Congress in the 1990s, will face fellow Baton Rouge Democrats Quentin Anderson and Peter Williams as well as Wilken Jones, a Democrat from Opelousas, and state Sen. Elbert Guillory, a Republican from Opelousas. 

If elected, Fields will replace Republican Rep. Garret Graves, who decided against running for re-election after his district was chosen as the sacrificial lamb to satisfy a federal court ruling that required the state to draw a second majority-Black district. 

The incumbent in the state’s existing majority-Black district, U.S. Rep. Troy Carter of New Orleans, will face one Democratic challenger, Devin Davis of New Orleans, and three Republicans: Devin Graham of Gonzales, Christy Lynch of New Orleans and Shondrell Perrilloux of St. Rose. 

Republican U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow of Start will face token opposition in the form of Democrat Michael Vallien of Baton Rouge and fellow Republican Vinny Mendoza of Ponchatoula. 

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