Does close count?
That’s the question among Louisiana’s politically obsessed, now that Republican U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow has survived an U.S. Senate race against Democratic farmer Jamie Davis.
In Washington, it doesn’t. A senator who wins by fewer than 26,000 votes out of almost 1.5 million cast – Letlow’s stunningly narrow margin of victory — is a senator nonetheless, for six long years. That goes for Letlow just as it did three decades ago, when Democrat Mary Landrieu first won the same seat by even fewer votes.
Back home, though, , on a night when fellow Democrats racked up seemingly impossible wins elsewhere, felt seismic.
Don’t forget that when this crazy election cycle started, most Republicans didn’t consider Democrats a factor, and most experienced Democrats didn’t either.
President Donald Trump, Gov. Jeff Landry and their allies set out to use the new party primary to take out fellow Republican Bill Cassidy, who committed the original MAGA sin of trying to hold Trump accountable for the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Letlow was chosen as the instrument of Trump’s vengeance, and she played her assigned role perfectly. Never once did she stray from the abject loyalist script, which was supposed to carry her to an easy general election win. And Democrats who had much longer track records than Davis, folks like former Gov. John Bel Edwards, former Lt. Gov. and New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu and U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, settled in as spectators.
But then the tide turned against Trump, creating a blue wave that carried into places few ever expected — including the bright red Deep South, where Republican assaults on the legacy of civil rights and voting rights cut deep. As Election Day approached, Democratic powers-that-be started Polls and vibes suggested he was gaining momentum, and Tuesday’s results showed it was far more than wishful thinking.
Columnist Stephanie Grace
And so Louisiana woke up the morning after to three things: An entirely expected winner, an equally unexpected new political landscape and a whole lot of questions about what comes next.
Among them:
Is Louisiana still a one-party state as it has been in federal elections since 2008, the last time Mary Landrieu won reelection?
That’s surely not a given, particularly considering the broader pattern of Southern states supporting Democrats in remarkable numbers. Sure, much of the present anger is particular to Trump, but it’s also aimed at the politicians who’ve coddled him at every turn and driven by a broad frustration over government’s lack of responsiveness to voters’ real concerns.
What did those other states do that Louisiana didn’t to pave the way for victory?
Well, a lot. Democrats scored big wins in Texas and Georgia for both Senate and governor, but only after people like Beto O’Rourke and Stacey Abrams ran and lost, but built infrastructure and hope in the process. Same for Mississippi, where, amazingly, the U.S. Senate race remains too close to call.
U.S. Senate candidate Jamie Davis gives a speech during an election party at the Hilton Baton Rouge on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Staff photos by Javier Gallegos
Javier Gallegos
In contrast, Louisiana’s Democratic party has been limping along for years. If it is to become truly competitive, it’s time to study and emulate what those other states have done.
And if Democrats are now competitive in Louisiana, who will their standard-bearers be, particularly since the party hasn’t had much of a pipeline in modern times?
Mitch Landrieu and Edwards are still around, although Edwards would need to challenge a newly approved constitutional amendment if he wants to run for another gubernatorial term. Carter is gaining seniority in the new House Democratic majority, but he too could run statewide. On the rise are people like New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno and Public Service Commissioner Davante Lewis. And Davis now gets to claim his place in line, courtesy of his impressive showing.
What does this mean for Landry, whose political operation ran Letlow’s complacent campaign and who faces his own reelection bid next fall?
Senate candidate Julia Letlow takes the stage with her family on election night after a win at the University of Louisiana Monroe in Monroe, La., Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026. STAFF PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER
Sophia Germer
Nothing good. In case the governor wasn’t already feeling the heat, Davis, fresh off his 49% showing, had this to say: “Jeff Landry: You are on notice. There are a whole heap of voters who have something to say about how you’ve been running this state.”
And finally, what kind of senator will Letlow be, now that the president is so badly weakened?
She’s the only one of Trump’s hand-picked candidates to actually win a Senate race, and the new Democratic majority and likely many fellow Republicans have soured on him. So the all-in-for-Trump caucus could be a pretty lonely place.
So I guess the real question is: What else has she got?