ADVOCATE THE
T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
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S u n d ay, M ay 17, 2026
ELECTION 2026
LETLOW TAKES BIG LEAD IN SENATE RACE
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St. George school district fails to pass Voters statewide deny breakaway system
BY CHARLES LUSSIER Staff writer
STAFF FILE PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS
Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming
president’s dislike of him. “Insults bother me only if they come from a person with integrity,” Cassidy said. Saturday night’s result is a victory for not only Trump but also Gov. Jeff Landry, who backed Letlow as well. Landry raised money for two outside groups that didn’t have to report their donors and began relentlessly attacking Fleming when his rise threatened to keep her out of the runoff. Cassidy’s defeat — the first in his career after six victories, beginning with his election to the state Senate in 2006 — will be news throughout the country because media outlets outside Louisiana have reported on his fate as a litmus test of Trump’s influence and popularity. Cassidy, 68, lost even though he and a pro-Cassidy super PAC outspent Letlow and her super PAC by about 4-1. Three Democrats also competed in their party primary on Saturday. Jamie Davis, a corn, soybean and cotton farmer in northeast Louisiana who had the state Democratic Party endorsement, ran first with 48% of the vote. In the race for the other runoff spot: As of 11:07 p.m., Nick Albares, a policy analyst in New Orleans who was backed by his former boss, exGov. John Bel Edwards, was slightly ahead of Gary Crockett, who served
The St. George movement suffered a crushing defeat Saturday after voters both statewide and in East Baton Rouge Parish said a resounding no to forming a public school district to match the young city of St. George, a city whose difficult formation was meant to ease the path to educational independence for the southeastern portion of the parish. The proposed constitutional amendment, the second of five on Saturday’s ballot, failed badly statewide and even more so in East Baton Rouge Parish, where only about three out of 10 voters approved of the new district, according to unofficial results. It needed to pass not just statewide, but also across the entirety of East Baton Rouge Parish. It failed in both. “Obviously, I’m disappointed,” said St. George Mayor Dustin Yates. “I’m disappointed for the kids in St. George. I’m disappointed for the families that have put so much into this for the last 15 years.” Supporters have been striving since at least 2011 to create Louisiana’s 70th public school district and the fifth in East Baton Rouge Parish. They have been following in the footsteps of Baker, Central and Zachary in breaking from the parish school system and forming independent school districts. Backers say the new district is an overdue answer to the poor quality of many Baton Rouge public schools. The East Baton Rouge Parish school system has an overall academic letter grade of a C and is ranked 55th out of 69 districts in the state. Opponents argued that a St. George school district would exacerbate racial segregation in the parish, reduce the quality of education for poorer children left behind in the Baton Rouge public schools and encourage more breakaway school districts in the future. Kaitlyn Joshua, who helped lead that opposition, said she was positive going into election day that the proposed amendment would be defeated, but is surprised at the size of that defeat. “I think we are more alike than we think we are,” Joshua said. “(The voters) were able to read the tea leaves. They knew the amendments were bad and that St. George was bad.” LaMont Cole, superintendent of the East Baton Rouge Parish school system, from which St. George sought independence, did not take a public position ahead of Saturday’s vote. In a statement, Cole credited voters for weighing the issue carefully. “Tonight’s outcome reflects the will of the voters, and I believe our community took this decision very seriously,” Cole said.
ä See SENATE, page 6A
ä See ST. GEORGE, page 6A
U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow
STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
With Trump’s backing, she’ll face Fleming as Cassidy concedes loss INSIDE
BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer
Backed by President Donald Trump’s endorsement, U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow ousted Sen. Bill Cassidy Saturday in Louisiana’s hotly contested Republican Senate primary. State Treasurer John Fleming finished second, with Cassidy running third. “This is not the result I necessarily wanted,” Cassidy told a small crowd of supporters at Boudreaux’s Catering in Baton Rouge, shortly before 10 p.m., adding that he had conceded to Fleming and Letlow. His wife, Laura, stood by his side. The results in the closed party primary mean that Letlow and Fleming will advance to the June 27 Republican Party runoff, while Cassidy’s bid for a third term will end. He is scheduled to leave the Senate in January, only the second senator in Louisiana to lose reelection in 94 years. Letlow won about 45% of Cassidy the vote, compared to 28% for Fleming and 24% for Cassidy. Polls in recent days have shown Letlow with an edge over Fleming in a hypothetical runoff between the two. She will likely have much more money than Fleming — as she did during the primary — which would bolster her chances for becoming the first female Republican senator ever
Roofing contractors install a temporary roof on a home in New Orleans East on Sept. 8, 2021, after damage caused by Hurricane Ida. Louisiana officials are reviewing recommendations for potential historic changes to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including increased state responsibilities and faster payments for disaster relief. STAFF FILE PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER
WEATHER HIGH 84 LOW 74 PAGE 8B
ä All five amendments fail. Page 6A ä New closed party primary causes
confusion at the polls. Page 6A ä Burris wins seat on state Supreme Court. Page 7A ä Cao, Schroder head to runoff for education board. Page 7A in Louisiana. Letlow’s first-place finish — and Cassidy’s crushing defeat — shows the enduring power of Trump’s brand for conservative voters. She didn’t get into the race until three days after she received the president’s endorsement on Jan. 17, and she brandished his support afterward at every opportunity. On Truth Social, Trump thanked “the Great People of the State of Louisiana” for “this Big Victory.” “Bill Cassidy, after falsely using his “relationship” with me during his political career, and winning Elections because of it, voted to impeach me on preposterous charges that were fake then, and now, are criminally insane!” Trump wrote. “His disloyalty to the man who got him elected is now a part of legend, and it’s nice to see that his political career is OVER!” While Cassidy didn’t address Trump by name, he clearly responded to the
La. leaders mull plan to revamp FEMA Task force recommends states take on more responsibility, cost
BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer
WASHINGTON — Louisiana officials are thankful that a Trump administration task force did not recommend shuttering the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but they are still working to un-
derstand a potentially historic revamp that could speed payments even as states shoulder more of the disaster response responsibilities and costs. “There are some things that need to occur with FEMA, some things that need to occur to streamline the way FEMA works. But the devil is in the details,” said Lafourche Parish President Mitch Orgeron. Overall, he likes what he sees, such as sending disaster aid as a block grant directly to the states, but Orgeron said he’s waiting for the specifics on how FEMA will
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implement the suggestions. “I can tell you that if Lafourche Parish had a 50% match on anything related to Hurricane Ida, it would bankrupt Lafourche,” Orgeron said. “If they’re not providing that last-resort assistance, you’re effectively not going to be able to have local government sustainable in the long run. And that’s going to be the key issue.” President Donald Trump appointed a 12-member FEMA Review Council to do a deep dive into the agency’s capabilities and
ä See FEMA, page 8A
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