Special general elections are being held for three seats in the Louisiana House of Representatives on March 30.
- In District 17, Rodney McFarland Sr. (D) and Pat Moore (D) are facing off. The seat became vacant after Marcus Hunter (D) was elected to serve as a judge on the Fourth Judicial District. Hunter had represented District 17 beginning in 2012. He won re-election in 2015, winning outright in the primary with 62.0 percent of the vote.
- In District 18, Jeremy LaCombe (D) and Tammi Fabre (R) are facing off. The seat became vacant after Major Thibaut (D) won election to serve as the president of Pointe Coupee Parish. Thibaut had represented District 18 beginning in 2008. He ran unopposed in his re-election campaigns in 2011 and 2015.
- In District 62, Dennis Aucoin (R) and Roy Adams (I) are facing off. The seat became vacant after Kenny Havard (R) won election to serve as president of West Feliciana Parish. Havard had represented District 62 beginning in 2012. He won re-election in 2015, winning outright in the primary with 60.6 percent of the vote.
Special primary elections were also held on February 23 in District 12, District 26, District 27, and District 47. Each of those districts were won outright in the primary. In Louisiana, all candidates, regardless of party affiliation, face off in the primary election. If a candidate receives at least 50 percent of the vote in the primary election, he or she wins outright. If no candidate reaches that threshold, a general election is held between the top two vote recipients.
Prior to these special general elections, the Louisiana House of Representatives has 37 Democrats, 62 Republicans, three independents, and three vacancies. Louisiana has a divided government, and no political party holds a state government trifecta. A trifecta exists when one political party simultaneously holds the governor’s office and majorities in both state legislative chambers.
In 2019, there have been 51 state legislative special elections scheduled or held so far in 19 states. Between 2011 and 2018, an average of 77 special elections took place each year.