Louisiana: who should earn your vote for Congress in 2026

Opinion · The paper’s scorecard

Louisiana: every race for Congress on the 3 November 2026 ballot, and how the candidates measure up against our standards.

Sitting and former members are scored on the same key votes, read from the official House and Senate roll calls; each vote links to the record. Candidates who have never served in Congress have no votes to score, and outside the battlegrounds we have not researched them, so they are marked as not scored. Where only one candidate could be measured, the mark rates that record on its own; it is not a verdict on the opponent. How the marks work · All states

U.S. Senate R+11

Leans our way: Julia Letlow

Bill Cassidy (R): incumbent lost renomination.

Jamie Davis

Democrat

No congressional voting record; not scored

Leans our way

Julia Letlow

Republican

Scored on 26 key votes · total +1

✓Smaller government
~Small business over giants
✗Live and let live
✓Light touch on tech
✗Free speech
✗No surveillance state
✗Home first, open trade
✓Checks on power
✓Right to bear arms
✓Hard on violent crime

With us (15)

Voted for the Limit, Save, Grow Act tying the 2023 debt-limit increase to spending cuts. Source
Voted for the 2025 package cancelling about $9 billion in approved spending. Source
Voted for a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. Source

Against us (11)

Voted against the 2022 antitrust package funding merger enforcement with fees on the largest deals. Source
Voted against the Respect for Marriage Act. Source
Voted for the 2024 law forcing TikTok's sale or ban. Source

District 1 R+20

No mark

Randall Arrington

Republican

No congressional voting record; not scored

Lauren Jewett

Democrat

No congressional voting record; not scored

Steve Scalise

Republican · incumbent

Scored on 27 key votes · total +0

✓Smaller government
~Small business over giants
✗Live and let live
✓Light touch on tech
✗Free speech
✗No surveillance state
✗Home first, open trade
~Checks on power
✓Right to bear arms
✓Hard on violent crime

With us (14)

Voted for the Limit, Save, Grow Act tying the 2023 debt-limit increase to spending cuts. Source
Voted for the 2025 package cancelling about $9 billion in approved spending. Source
Voted for a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. Source

Against us (13)

Voted against the 2022 antitrust package funding merger enforcement with fees on the largest deals. Source
Voted against the Respect for Marriage Act. Source
Voted for the 2024 law forcing TikTok's sale or ban. Source

District 2 D+25

No mark

Troy Carter

Democrat · incumbent

Scored on 26 key votes · total -3

✗Smaller government
~Small business over giants
✓Live and let live
✗Light touch on tech
~Free speech
~No surveillance state
✓Home first, open trade
✗Checks on power
✗Right to bear arms
✗Hard on violent crime

With us (9)

Voted for the 2022 antitrust package funding merger enforcement with fees on the largest deals. Source
Voted for the Respect for Marriage Act. Source
Voted against the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which civil-liberties groups opposed as a limit on campus speech. Source

Against us (17)

Voted against the Limit, Save, Grow Act tying the 2023 debt-limit increase to spending cuts. Source
Voted against the 2025 package cancelling about $9 billion in approved spending. Source
Voted against a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. Source

Renada Collins

Democrat

No congressional voting record; not scored

Peter Williams

Republican

No congressional voting record; not scored

District 3 R+18

✓ Meets our standards: Clay Higgins

Kate Cotten

Republican

No congressional voting record; not scored

John Day

Democrat

No congressional voting record; not scored

Priscilla Gonzalez

Democrat

No congressional voting record; not scored

Meets our standards

Clay Higgins

Republican · incumbent

Scored on 27 key votes · total +4

✓Smaller government
~Small business over giants
✗Live and let live
✓Light touch on tech
✓Free speech
✓No surveillance state
✗Home first, open trade
~Checks on power
✓Right to bear arms
✓Hard on violent crime

With us (19)

Voted for the Limit, Save, Grow Act tying the 2023 debt-limit increase to spending cuts. Source
Voted for the 2025 package cancelling about $9 billion in approved spending. Source
Voted for a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. Source

Against us (8)

Voted against the 2022 antitrust package funding merger enforcement with fees on the largest deals. Source
Voted against the Respect for Marriage Act. Source
Voted for a further clean extension of FISA surveillance authorities in 2026. Source

Tia LeBrun

Democrat

No congressional voting record; not scored

Caleb Walker

Democrat

No congressional voting record; not scored

District 4 R+17

No mark

Conrad Cable

Democrat

No congressional voting record; not scored

Matt Gromlich

Democrat

No congressional voting record; not scored

Gordon Heslop

Republican

No congressional voting record; not scored

Mike Johnson

Republican · incumbent

Scored on 27 key votes · total +0

✓Smaller government
~Small business over giants
✗Live and let live
✓Light touch on tech
✗Free speech
✗No surveillance state
✗Home first, open trade
~Checks on power
✓Right to bear arms
✓Hard on violent crime

With us (15)

Voted for the Limit, Save, Grow Act tying the 2023 debt-limit increase to spending cuts. Source
Voted for the 2025 package cancelling about $9 billion in approved spending. Source
Voted for a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. Source

Against us (12)

Voted against the 2022 antitrust package funding merger enforcement with fees on the largest deals. Source
Voted against the Respect for Marriage Act. Source
Voted for the 2024 law forcing TikTok's sale or ban. Source

Mike Nichols

Republican

No congressional voting record; not scored

District 5 R+17

No mark

Julia Letlow (R): incumbent retiring to run for u.

Stewart Cathey Jr.

Republican

No congressional voting record; not scored

Misti Cordell

Republican

No congressional voting record; not scored

Omar Dantzler

Republican

No congressional voting record; not scored

Michael Echols

Republican

No congressional voting record; not scored

Gabe Firment

Republican

No congressional voting record; not scored

Austin Magee

Republican

No congressional voting record; not scored

Dan McKay

Democrat

No congressional voting record; not scored

Patricia Moore

Democrat

No congressional voting record; not scored

Antonio Wilson

Democrat

No congressional voting record; not scored

District 6 R+16

No mark

Cleo Fields (D): incumbent retiring to run for louisiana state senate.

Monique Appeaning

Republican

No congressional voting record; not scored

Larry Davis

Republican

No congressional voting record; not scored

Rick Edmonds

Republican

No congressional voting record; not scored

Pat Forbes

Democrat

No congressional voting record; not scored

Lindsay Garcia

Democrat

No congressional voting record; not scored

Chris Johnson

Republican

No congressional voting record; not scored

Michael Mebruer

Republican

No congressional voting record; not scored

Blake Miguez

Republican

No congressional voting record; not scored

Stephen Wagley

Republican

No congressional voting record; not scored

Photo credits. Official congressional portraits are works of the U.S. government and in the public domain.