State of the PSC Race, Post-Primary Update

05.20.2026

Democracy & Elections

Utility Regulation

Louisiana Public Service Commission

Hundreds of thousands of Louisiana voters went to the polls over the past few weeks for the Saturday, May 16 election, which included five constitutional amendments as well as a number of local races, and closed party primaries for the United States Senate, the State Board of Education, and crucially for our work here at The Alliance, two open seats on the Louisiana Public Service Commission (PSC).

The outcome of Saturday’s PSC race:

District 1: Republican primary runoff set for June 27
District 5: The full field is set for the November 3 general election

It should be noted that the election was supposed to include the U.S. House of Representatives races as well, but did not due to emergency orders issued by the Governor and legislation passed late last week in response to the Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais.

This is the first time since the adoption of open (also known as “jungle”) primaries in the 1970s that many candidates have faced off for party nominations. The system was put in place by Governor Landry as part of the redistricting special session he called immediately after taking office in early 2024–and despite two years of preparation, there was a great deal of confusion for voters and election officials.

A quick recap on how this system is supposed to work for 2026

To qualify for the the general election, Democratic and Republican candidates for the following offices — United States Senate, the Board of Elementary & Secondary Education (BESE), the Public Service Commission (PSC), the Louisiana Supreme Court (LaSC) — must first win their respective closed primary elections. Third-party and No Party candidates for those offices do not participate in primary elections and were required to qualify via petition signature instead.
The party primaries are what are known as closed primaries — meaning that in order to participate in the Democrat or Republican primaries, a voter must be registered with that party or be a No Party voter who opts to participate in one primary election (note No Party voters can only participate in one primary election, either the Democratic or Republican primary, not both).
If no Democratic or Republican candidate wins more than 50% of the vote in their party primary election, there will be a runoff election between the top two candidates to elect a party nominee for that office. The runoff primary is similarly restricted to voters registered with the party having a runoff election (No Party voters who participate in the first round of primaries can vote in the runoff election for the same party, but cannot switch to vote in the runoff of another party).
Winners of the major party primaries (as well as any qualifying third-party or No Party candidates) will face off in the November general election. If there are only candidates for one party running for an office, the winner of the primary will be declared the uncontested winner of the November general election.

For this most recent election date, there were three PSC primary elections on the ballot across the state — a Republican primary for District 1 and both Republican and Democratic primaries for District 5.

The District 1 Democratic primary went uncontested, meaning that Democratic candidate Connie Norris advanced to the fall election without a primary contest. There is also a No Party candidate, Chris Justin, who has qualified and will be on District 1 ballots this November.

The winners of the PSC November general elections will replace term-limited commissioners Eric Skrmetta (District 1) and Foster Campbell (District 5).

PSC District 1 – Republican Closed Primary

One of the most competitive races on the ballot, the PSC District 1 Republican primary saw five candidates face off, including State House of Representatives members Stephanie Hilferty and Mark Wright, former Jefferson Parish President John Young, Wayne Cooper, and John Mason. Young led the pack with 31% (29,801) of the vote and will face off with the second-place vote earner, Hilferty, who earned 28% (26,500), in a Republican primary runoff in June.

PSC District 5 – Democratic Closed Primary

57,813 North Louisiana Democratic and No Party voters turned out for the Democratic primary between Shreveport City Councilman James Green and Austin Lawson, with Councilman Green earning 76% (44,078) votes to Lawson’s 24% (13,735). Councilman Green is now officially the Democratic nominee for District 5 in the November general election.

PSC District 5 – Republican Closed Primary

The Republican primary for PSC District 5 featured Caddo Parish Commissioner John Atkins and a young conservative activist, Aiden Joyner and saw 76,314 North Louisiana Republican and No Party voters participating in that election. Commissioner Atkins won with 88% (67,436 votes), to Joyner’s 12% (8,878 votes). Commissioner Atkins is now officially the Republican nominee for District 5 in the November general election.

So what happens next?

For voters in North Louisiana, the general election field is set — Commissioner Atkins and Councilman Green will face off in the November election as the Republican and Democratic nominees for District 5. But for those who live in District 1, across Southeast Louisiana, there will be one more election before November — the June 27 primary runoff.

Some important things for voters in District 1 to keep in mind:

The deadline to register to vote in person, by mail, or at an OMV Office is May 27.
The deadline to register to vote through the GeauxVote Online Registration System is June 6.
Early voting is June 12-20 from 8:30am to 6pm (excluding Sunday, June 14, and Friday, June 19, for Juneteeth).
The deadline to request an absentee ballot is June 23 by 4:30pm (other than military and overseas voters). You can request an absentee ballot online through the GeauxVote Voter Portal or in writing through your Registrar of Voters Office.
The deadline for a registrar of voters to receive a voted absentee ballot is June 26 by 4:30pm (other than military and overseas voters).
June 27 is election day, and polls will be open from 7am to 8pm.
To vote in the Republican primary runoff, you must be a registered Republican voter or a No Party voter who either voted in the Republican primary on May 16 or did not participate in the Democratic primary held on May 16.