Every district attorney’s office in Louisiana will be on the ballot in this fall’s elections.
While incumbents generally will have the upper hand, hotly contested races and expected retirements could lead to significant turnover among officials who serve six-year terms and wield tremendous discretionary power to decide who will be prosecuted, and for what.
“The most powerful man in the world is the president of the United States,” says Woody Jenkins, a former state lawmaker who chairs the East Baton Rouge Parish Republican Party. “The second-most powerful man is your local district attorney.”
Though Hillar Moore, the DA in Jenkins’ home parish, is a Democrat, Jenkins says he does not expect Moore to face a strong challenge from the GOP. He says local Republicans generally think Moore is doing a good job and don’t see him as partisan.
However, Moore does appear to have a serious challenger for the first time since his first election in Democrat Ryan Thompson, a former public defender. The two traded shots over an alleged incident of racist vandalism by a 13-year-old boy who Moore’s office charged with a hate crime, with Thompson arguing additional charges are warranted, while Moore accuses him of creating a “false narrative” to advance his campaign.
In Caddo Parish, Sen. Alan Seabaugh is challenging incumbent DA James Stewart, who was first elected in 2015. Seabaugh said he plans to focus his campaign on a “revolving door” for criminals that he blames squarely on Stewart, not on law enforcement or the judiciary.
“We have dozens of people who are murdered by people who should have still been in prison from prior offenses,” Seabaugh says. “They got a slap on the wrist, they got out, and they murdered somebody.”
Stewart has garnered “kudos” from Gov. Jeff Landry. When announcing his bid for reelection, he criticized legislation Seabaugh authored last year that would have allowed district attorneys and the attorney general to transfer 15- and 16-year-olds accused of felony crimes from juvenile courts to state district courts.
Seabaugh says Stewart and Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams, were “both put in office by George Soros.” But while Williams is a frequent punching bag for Landry and Republicans in the Legislature, he doesn’t yet have an opponent back home.
Violent crime in New Orleans is down 60% since the last quarter of 2022, says Rafael Goyeneche, president of the Metropolitan Crime Commission, which tracks felony arrest outcomes in Orleans. Williams is likely to get some of the credit for that, and he should, Goyeneche says.
“It’s not just because of the efforts of the police department,” he says. “It’s because of the combined efforts of the police department and the district attorney’s office to hold violent or repeat felony offenders accountable.”
The race in the 15th Judicial District that includes Lafayette, Acadia and Vermilion is likely to get heated. First-term DA Don Landry faced a scandal in his office when assistant DA Gary Haynes was tried and convicted for taking kickbacks, though Landry himself was not implicated.
Retired Judge Kristian Earles didn’t explicitly mention the scandal when he announced that he would run against DA Landry. But he has made “restoring trust and bringing accountability back to the DA’s office” a pillar of his campaign.
The 10 or so DA retirements announced or expected this year include Don Burkett of Sabine Parish. Burkett, who was first elected in 1984, is the longest-tenured DA in the state and a 2025 inductee in the Louisiana Political Hall of Fame. Anna Garcie, the first assistant DA, and Ronald Brandon, a longtime prosecutor in the office, are running to succeed him.
Another longtime stalwart not seeking reelection is Scott Perrilloux, who has served five terms as district attorney for the 21st JDC, comprising Livingston, St. Helena and Tangipahoa parishes. Assistant District Attorney Brad Cascio announced a bid for his job immediately after he announced his retirement, followed by former Rep. Sherman Mack.
District Attorney Sam D’Aquilla of the 20th JDC (East and West Feliciana) has decided to run for a judgeship instead of reelection. Attorney Cy D’Aquilla Jr., a distant relative who has opposed the DA in court, is running for his job.
Winn Parish District Attorney Chris Nevils is retiring after two decades in office. James Paxton, DA for the 6th JDC (East Carroll, Madison and Tensas) announced his retirement after 18 years in office just this week, effective at the end of the month; he’ll be replaced by First Assistant DA Edwin Moberly.
Longtime LaSalle Parish DA Reed Walters also is stepping down, and his longtime assistant Steve Kendrick wants to replace him.
Qualifying for the Nov. 3 election is scheduled for Aug. 5-7. Runoffs are set for Dec. 12.
Jeremy Alford publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter, or Facebook. He can be reached at JJA@LaPolitics.com.
Exiting project
