(the Center Square) — With incumbents in five of six Louisiana congressional districts running against poorly-funded opponents, the campaign expenditures on average were down in this election.
The Federal Election Commission compiles each candidate’s campaign donations and expenditures starting January 1 in the non-election year until mid-October of an election year. Representatives are up for reelection every two years, so this cycle includes receipts from Jan. 1, 2023 until Oct. 16, 2024.
The District 1 seat went back to incumbent U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La, to no surprise. Scalise is a good measuring stick for how much a winning representative needs each year because he’s been in office for well over a decade.
This year, he received almost $13.5 million and spent $14.3 million. That number steadily declined in recent history with $33.7 million spent in 2020, and $20.1 million in 2022. All three of those numbers are up drastically from previous years he ran.
The 2nd Congressional District winner, incumbent U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, D-La., saw a similar trend. Carter received $1.8 million, and spent $1.4 million in this election. In 2022, he spent $3.1 million, despite having less competition than this go round.
The 3rd Congressional District was also won by an incumbent, U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La. Higgins received $950,000, spent almost $600,000. In 2022, he spent $1.1 million.
However, unlike with Scalise, his numbers didn’t drastically increase or decrease over time. In 2020 he spent $740,000, and in previous elections spent between $400,000 and $800,000, making 2022 the outlier
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La, is the exception to the rule thus far. The 4th Congressional District incumbent spent $1.1 million in 2022, and about the same the years before, only slightly increasing over time.
In 2024 Johnson received $17.4 million, and spent $16.5 million, ahead of his competition by millions. This is most likely because before the 2024 election, Johnson was not the House Speaker, so this year he had much more of a war chest.
The trend is back on track in the 5th Congressional District with incumbent U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La. She received $2.5 million in 2024 and spent $1.5 million. In 2022 she spent about half a million more at $2 million.
In the 6th Congressional District the Pelican State had its only competitive race. Sen. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, received $1 million in 2024 and spent over $800,000.
U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., the incumbent of the previously drawn district , spent $1.5 million in the 2022 election cycle.
Along with campaign expenditures, voter turnout was down in 2024, as previously reported by The Center Square.
