Elections and Voting

Democrat Chasity Verret Martinez won a Feb. 2026 Louisiana state House special election, defeating Republican Brad Daigle 62%–38% in a district President Trump carried by 13 points in 2024 — roughly a 37‑point swing — despite Republicans outspending her about 3‑to‑1. Republicans had targeted the vacancy after the previous Democratic incumbent was appointed to a state commission, but Democrats held the seat; observers and the DLCC framed the result as part of a broader pattern of Democratic overperformance in specials (eight GOP-held legislative flips since Trump returned to the White House) while Republicans have recorded none.