By Pat Culverhouse
U.S. Representative Julia Letlow and Louisiana State Treasurer John Fleming will be headed to a runoff in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate as the state’s voters overwhelmingly rejected incumbent Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy’s quest for a third term.
Letlow, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, led the way with 44.8 percent of the vote while Fleming picked up 28.3 percent. Cassidy managed 24.8 percent despite outspending his opponents by more than three to one.
In Webster Parish, Fleming led with 46 percent followed by Letlow with 35. Cassidy trailed, picking up just 16 percent of the vote.
Letlow and Fleming will meet in a June 27 runoff to determine who will move ahead in November’s general election against a Democrat opponent.
Voters were able to cast ballots only for their registered party candidates under the state’s new primary system enacted last year.
On the Democrat side of the state’s closed primary vote, Jamie Davis led a three-way race with 47.4 percent while Gary Crockett and Nicholas Albares each showed 26.3 percent in a too-close-to-call race to get into a runoff.
On the numbers side, Crockett showed a lead of just under 300 votes with 99 percent of precincts reporting.
Davis led Webster Parish with 45 percent, Crockett received 29 percent and Albares had 26 percent.
All five proposed amendments to the state constitution failed as voters ignored endorsements from top state officials including Gov. Jeff Landry.
Amendment 1 would have allowed removal of civil service protection from state employees. It failed overwhelmingly with 78 percent voting no. Webster Parish voters agreed, with 76 percent saying nay.
Amendment 2 would have created a separate school system for the city of St. George. Statewide, voters disapproved by a 64-36 percent margin. In Webster, 63 percent voted no.
Amendment 3 wanted to dissolve state savings accounts to pay off teacher retirement system debt and increase teacher and school staff pay. Louisiana voters declined by a 58-42 margin; 59 percent of Webster Parish voters said no.
While the governor and the state’s largest teacher’s union endorsed Amendment 3, some union affiliates remained neutral and many educators spoke out against the measure. The 16 percent failure vote was the closest of any of the five amendments.
Amendment 4 would have allowed local government to shrink or end business inventory taxes. It failed statewide by 66-34 percent. In Webster Parish, voters said no by a 61-39 percent margin.
Amendment 5 would have increased the age for mandatory retirement of judges from 70 to 75 years of age. Statewide, voters turned it down by a 77-23 percent margin. Webster Parish voters disapproved, 74 percent to 26.
In the fifth district Public Service Commission race, Democrat James Green and Republican John Atkins will meet to determine who replaces term-limited Foster Campbell. Green is a Shreveport city council person; Atkins serves on the Caddo Parish Commission. Webster Parish voters went along with district voters in choosing the two.