2016 United States Senate election in Louisiana


The 2016 United States Senate election in Louisiana took place on November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Louisiana, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and [United States House of Representatives United States House of Representatives elections, 2016|elections, 2016|elections] to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections.
Under Louisiana's "jungle primary" system, all candidates appeared on the same ballot, regardless of party, and voters could vote for any candidate. Since no candidate received a majority of the vote during the primary election, a runoff election was held on December 10 between the top two candidates in the primary, Republican John Neely Kennedy and Democrat Foster Campbell, where Kennedy won with 60.65% of the vote, giving Senate Republicans 52 seats in the 115th Congress. Louisiana is the only state that has a jungle primary system. Kennedy had previously unsuccessfully ran for this seat in 2004 as a Democrat and the state's other U.S. Senate seat in 2008 as a Republican.
Incumbent Republican Senator David Vitter unsuccessfully ran for governor of Louisiana in 2015, and in his concession speech he announced that he would not seek re-election to the Senate in 2016.
In addition to Kennedy and Campbell, four other candidates — Republicans Charles Boustany, John Fleming, and David Duke, and Democrat Caroline Fayard — qualified to participate at a debate at Dillard University, a historically black college, on November 2, 2016
This election is the most recent United States Senate runoff election in Louisiana as of 2024.

Candidates

Republican Party

Declared

Withdrew

Declined

Democratic Party

Declared

Declined

Libertarian Party

Declared

Independents

Declared

Jungle primary

Polling

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Charles
Boustany 		Foster
Campbell 		David
Duke 		Caroline
Fayard 		John
Fleming 		John
Kennedy 		Rob
Maness 		OtherUndecided
SurveyMonkeyNovember 1–7, 2016982± 4.6%14%13%3%21%12%21%6%4%6%
SurveyMonkeyOctober 31 – November 6, 2016840± 4.6%15%14%3%20%11%21%6%5%5%
SurveyMonkeyOctober 28 – November 3, 2016646± 4.6%15%14%3%19%11%21%5%4%8%
SurveyMonkeyOctober 27 – November 2, 2016546± 4.6%13%13%3%21%12%21%5%4%8%
SurveyMonkeyOctober 26 – November 1, 2016470± 4.6%13%13%2%21%12%23%4%3%9%
Southern Media and Opinion ResearchOctober 19–21, 2016500± 4.4%14%16%—12%9%22%——27%
The Times-Picayune/LucidOctober 15–21, 2016614± 3.0%12%17%4%12%10%18%4%7%17%
University of New OrleansOctober 15–21, 2016603± 4.0%15%15%2%10%11%22%4%9%12%
FOX 8/Mason-DixonOctober 20, 2016625± 4.0%11%19%5%12%10%24%3%3%13%
Market Research InsightOctober 17–19, 2016600± 4.0%16%14%—12%7%17%——34%
JMC Analytics (R)October 11–15, 2016800± 3.5%16%25%3%10%16%16%3%2%10%
JMC Analytics (R)September 22–24, 2016905± 3.3%15%15%3%12%14%11%4%1%25%
Market Research InsightSeptember 17–19, 2016600± 4.0%12%10%—11%10%18%——39%
Southern Media and Opinion ResearchSeptember 15–17, 2016500± 4.4%15%9%3%11%8%17%3%7%26%
Anzalone Liszt Grove Research (D)August 29 – September 1, 2016605± 4.0%13%7%3%13%6%18%4%5%31%
The Hayride/Remington ResearchAugust 29–30, 20161,017± 3.2%13%16%6%12%6%27%4%—15%
GBA StrategiesJune 6–9, 2016500± 4.4%11%15%—14%9%30%6%12%2%
Anzalone Liszt Grove ResearchMay 31 – June 2, 2016600± 4.0%11%14%—9%7%24%3%–33%
Southern Media and Opinion ResearchMay 19–23, 2016500± 4.4%10%9%—4%5%32%4%3%32%
SurveyUSAMarch 4–8, 2016600± 4.1%10%12%—10%7%21%6%12%15%
Southern Media and Opinion ResearchFebruary 2–4, 2016500± 4.4%10%7%—4%6%22%7%—30%
SurveyUSADecember 4–7, 2015600± 4.1%10%23%—–6%21%9%—19%

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size
error		Scott
Charles
John
John
Mitch
Undecided
MRI600± 4.1%24%15%5%15%30%11%
600± 4%–13%7%18%39%23%

Runoff

Polling

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		John
Kennedy 		Foster
Campbell 		Undecided
University of New OrleansDecember 6, 201677662%33%5%
Trafalgar Group (R)December 5–6, 20162,50056%40%4%
Emerson CollegeNovember 29–30, 201640051%33%16%
Southern Media and Opinion ResearchNovember 28–30, 201650052%38%10%
Tulane UniversityNovember 8–18, 201682060%40%0%
Trafalgar Group (R)November 14–17, 20162,20058%35%6%
The Hayride/Remington ResearchAugust 29–30, 20161,01751%27%22%
SurveyUSAMarch 4–8, 201660054%34%12%

Poll
source		Date
administered		Sample
size
error		John
Neely
Kennedy 		Caroline
Fayard 		Undecided
Anzalone Liszt Grove ResearchAugust 29–September 1, 2016605± 4.0%49%38%13%
SurveyUSAMarch 4–8, 201660054%34%12%

Poll
source		Date
administered		Sample
size
error		David
Duke 		Caroline
Fayard 		Undecided
Anzalone Liszt Grove ResearchAugust 29–September 1, 2016605± 4.0%15%64%21%

Poll
source		Date
administered		Sample
size
error		Charles
Boustany 		John
Neely
Kennedy 		Undecided
SurveyUSAMarch 4–8, 201660022%50%27%

Poll
source		Date
administered		Sample
size
error		Charles
Boustany 		Caroline
Fayard 		Undecided
Anzalone Liszt Grove ResearchAugust 29–September 1, 2016605± 4.0%40%43%17%

Results

Parishes that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Parishes that flipped from Democratic to Republican

By congressional district

Kennedy won five of six congressional districts.
DistrictKennedyCampbellRepresentative
75%25%Steve Scalise
24%76%Cedric Richmond
72%28%Clay Higgins
62%38%Mike Johnson
65%35%Ralph Abraham
66%34%Garret Graves