WASHINGTON (AP) — Louisiana voters will decide which presidential candidates will receive their eight electoral votes in the Nov. 5 election. Also on the ballot are races for the U.S. House and a pair of statewide ballot measures.
The state has been reliably Republican in presidential contests since 2000, and much of the state — outside larger metropolitan areas such as New Orleans and Baton Rouge — has gone for the GOP. Fewer and fewer Louisiana residents are registered Democrats, while the number of GOP voters has grown.
Four of the state’s six U.S. House districts are considered safe for Republicans. A fifth is the New Orleans-anchored 2nd District, which has been safe for Democrats. A new wrinkle is the 6th District, a second majority Black district at the heart of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in May. Two members of the House GOP leadership, Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, are up for reelection.
Louisiana is unique in that the Nov. 5 election is an open primary for non-presidential races. That means the state has not yet held primaries to whittle down the field of candidates for office other than president.
To win a seat on Nov. 5, the top candidate must receive at least 50% of the vote, plus one. If no candidate reaches that mark, the top two vote-getters will go on to a Dec. 7 runoff that is known as Louisiana’s general election. All but one of the contests have at least three people running.
Votes for Democrats may be concentrated in the earliest and latest counts on election night. At the beginning of the night, mail ballots and early in-person votes are centrally tabulated and released as one precinct, usually as the first report. Mail ballots have traditionally skewed toward Democratic candidates, though the gap has been growing smaller. Toward the end of the night, vote counts from New Orleans and East Baton Rouge — Democratic strongholds — tend to come in after many other parishes. The question tends to be what impact those early and late bursts of votes for Democrats will be in an increasingly Republican state.
The AP does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it has determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.
Here’s a look at what to expect in the 2024 election in Louisiana:
Nov. 5.
9 p.m. ET.
8 awarded to statewide winner.
President: Harris (D) vs. Trump (R) vs. Robert Kennedy Jr. (Independent) vs. Chase Oliver (Libertarian) vs. Jill Stein (Green) vs. Cornell West (Justice for All) and four others.
U.S. House and a ballot measure.
2020: Trump (R) 58%, Biden (D) 40%. AP race call: Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, 9 p.m. ET.
Registered voters: 3,019,315 (as of Oct. 1, 2024). About 38% Democrats, 35% Republicans and 28% other.
Voter turnout in 2020 presidential election: 69% of registered voters.
Votes cast before Election Day 2020: about 46% of the total vote.
Votes cast before Election Day 2024: See AP Advance Vote tracker.
First votes reported, Nov. 3, 2020: 9:06 p.m. ET
By midnight ET: about 88% of total votes cast were reported.
Associated Press writer Rebecca Reynolds contributed to this report.
Read more about how U.S. elections work at Explaining Election 2024, a series from The Associated Press aimed at helping make sense of the American democracy. The AP receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
FILE - Democrat state Sen. Cleo Fields speaks during the swearing in of the state Legislature, Jan. 8, 2024, in Baton Rouge, La. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, Pool, File)
FILE - Rep. Steve Scalise, R-LA., speaks during the Republican National Convention, on July 16, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
FILE - Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks at the Capitol in Washington, July 23, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — Maine residents whose sense of safety was shattered last year by a mass shooting marked the anniversary Friday with a memorial service that drew hundreds of people to the city's hockey arena.
Outside the event space, a local museum was collecting mementos and other items related to the tragedy. Among the items left behind was a single shoe from a survivor who lost the shoe’s mate on the night of the shooting. Other items included a pair of bowling shoes.
“We are here to share in those emotions, to help one another and to help us get through this date,” said broadcaster Tom Caron, the event's master of ceremonies.
The killings of 18 people by an Army reservist in Lewiston drove home the stark reality that no corner of the country is safe from gun violence, including a state where people often boast of the low crime rate.
The largest of Friday's gatherings was held at The Colisée arena, where there were to be moments of silence at the time of the shootings. Watch a livestream of the ceremony here.
At the event, some people clutched teddy bears handed out by the American Red Cross. At the front of the stage were 18 chairs, each with a blue heart containing a victim’s name, along with a candle and white flowers. Names of each victim were read aloud with an image projected onto video screens.
Earlier Friday, Arthur Barnard, the father of shooting victim Artie Strout, said it was a day of grieving for his family and others but also a day of action in the campaign for tougher risk protection orders in the state.
“Nothing can bring Artie back. But we can try to ensure no other family has to go through what mine has,” Barnard said in a statement.
The shootings on Oct. 25, 2023, happened at a bowling alley and a cornhole tournament hosted by a bar and grill. The shooter died by suicide, and his body was found two days later.
Elizabeth Seal and dozens of other survivors and relatives of victims recently began the formal process of suing the U.S. Army for what they say was a failure to act to stop the 40-year-old reservist, Robert Card. Seal’s husband, Joshua Seal, was killed in the shootings.
“Once justice is served, I feel maybe we can start that process of healing,” Seal said through an interpreter at an event last week. “But in the meantime, we’re going to stay ‘Lewiston Strong.’”
At the high school, which became a command post with helicopters using athletic fields and hundreds of police vehicles in the parking lot, students marked the anniversary with a moment of silence.
“We will never forget the unimaginable pain and loss that stems from that terrible day,” Superintendent Jake Langlais said in a statement. But, he added, “a lot of good has happened since that terrible day.”
Justin Juray, owner of the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley where the shooting began, said the venue would close for the day Friday to let staff be with their families.
“We don’t need work to add to their stress,” he said. Juray and his wife, Samantha, reopened the bowling alley in May, six months after the shooting. Two staff members were among the eight people killed there.
All told, more than 130 people were present at the two sites, according to the state’s director of victim services. In addition to the 18 killed, there were 13 wounded by gunfire and 20 non-shooting injuries.
Vice President Kamala Harris issued a statement Friday saying the Lewiston community has "responded by reminding the nation of the unacceptable fact that far too many families have experienced the tremendous pain and trauma caused by the epidemic of gun violence."
At the state level, the Maine Legislature responded to the shootings by passing new gun laws that bolstered the state’s “yellow flag” law, criminalized the transfer of guns to prohibited people and expanded funding for mental health crisis care.
Associated Press visual journalists Robert F. Bukaty, Rodrique Ngowi and Nick Perry contributed to this report.
FILE - Pictures of two of the victims of the October 2023 mass shooting by Army reservist Robert Card are seen at a makeshift memorial in Lewiston, Maine, in this Dec. 5, 2023 file photo. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)
Megan Vozzella shows family photos during an interview about her late husband, Stephen Vozzella, who was one of the people killed in a mass shooting on Oct. 25, 2023, in Lewiston, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Oxford, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
FILE - Snow coats crosses at one of several memorials for the victims of last month's mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, in this Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023 file photo. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)
FILE - In this Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023 file photo, mourners sign "I love you" at a vigil for the victims of Wednesday's mass shootings at the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, files)
FILE - Law enforcement continue a manhunt in the aftermath of a mass shooting, in Durham, Maine, Oct. 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
FILE - Lucy Allard, 5, and her brother Zeke Allard, 8, plant crosses in honor of the victims of this week's mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, Oct. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
FILE - People linger after a vigil for the victims of Wednesday's mass shootings, Oct. 29, 2023, outside the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
