In congressional elections on Tuesday, Louisiana narrowly Julia Letlow as its newest U.S. senator. We congratulate Letlow on her campaign. She will be the first Republican woman to represent the state in the U.S. Senate.
We also note that her Democratic opponent, Tensas Parish farmer Jamie Davis, made a strong showing, coming within around two percentage points of what would have been a historic upset. In a night when Democrats took control of both the House and Senate, Davis and others clearly benefited from a Black electorate energized following the Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais, which was seen as an attack on the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and an unprecedented mid-decade redistricting, which eliminated Black-majority districts.
With the end of the Republican majority in Congress, Louisiana will see a loss of status as the first state ever to have a House speaker and majority leader serving at the same time. During his tenure as speaker, Mike Johnson, R-Benton, led the Congress to support aid for Ukraine and shepherded President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill to passage. Johnson, who has he won't be seeking a leadership position in the new Congress, will be remembered for his ability to keep a fractured caucus together through difficult votes. Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, said he will seek the top position in the minority party caucus. Also on tap for the new Congress, Rep. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans, is poised to take the top spot in the Congressional Black Caucus.
As the smoke clears from Election Night, one thing should be obvious: When we show up at the polls, our voice matters. Record turnout in Louisiana and around the country showed that voters want their representatives to focus on what affects their everyday lives. Affordability, the war in Iran and tariffs were among the issues topping voter concerns. And they also sought to rebalance the scales, wanting a Congress that will serve as a check on executive power that has gone unchallenged.
We urge Letlow and our congressional delegation to heed that message. Voters want solutions that all sides can sign onto rather than the endless culture wars that only serve to divide us. They want their representatives to vote based on what can benefit Louisiana in the long term, rather than purely partisan politics.
Lastly, we are grateful that the security of our elections has once again been proven. Despite roundups targeting noncitizen voters and election monitors sent to polls, we saw our elections run fairly and efficiently. That's no small feat, and we thank elections officials in every parish and at the state level for making sure that happened.
After elections comes the hard work of governing. We are glad President Trump has expressed his willingness to reach across the aisle and work with Democrats. We hope members of our delegation will embrace that spirit of bipartisanship. If they are listening to the voters, they will.