Plaquemines Parish President Keith Hinkley will defend his seat against four challengers this fall, headlined by a rematch with former Parish President Benny Rousselle, after this week's candidate qualifying period closed. The crowded field also includes Democrat Burghart H. Turner along with no-party candidates Sharon Branan Lincoln and Kenneth “Kenny” Woods, setting up a race that could stretch into a December runoff.
According to WDSU, Hinkley is the incumbent parish president and will face Rousselle, Turner, Lincoln and Woods on the November 3 ballot. Rousselle, a Republican, previously served two terms as parish president from 1999 to 2007 — a tenure that included leading the parish through Hurricane Katrina in 2005 — along with stints representing District 105 in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1996 to 1999 and on the Plaquemines Parish Council from 1987 to 1994, according to background compiled from his Wikipedia entry.
This is not the first time Hinkley and Rousselle have squared off. Hinkley won his first term as parish president by defeating Rousselle 53% to 47% in a December 2022 runoff, as reported by St. Mary Now. That runoff followed an even more fractured initial primary, in which Hinkley led with 28%, Rousselle placed second with 26%, then-incumbent Kirk Lepine took 23%, and Turner earned 23% as well, per the same outlet's reporting.
Turner Returns With Council Track Record
Turner, a Democrat, is making his second bid for the parish's top office after his close finish in 2022's four-way primary. He previously served on the Plaquemines Parish Council representing District 6, which covers lower Plaquemines communities including Port Sulphur and Ironton, and was involved in council debates over port development, environmental protection and infrastructure, according to WWL-TV's reporting on his background.
Under Louisiana's open primary system, all candidates for parish president compete on a single ballot regardless of party, and if no one clears 50% of the vote, the top two finishers advance to a runoff. The Plaquemines Parish Clerk of Court has set that potential runoff for December 12, 2026, should the November primary fail to produce a majority winner.
Two-Term Limit Raises the Stakes for Hinkley
The outcome carries added weight for Hinkley specifically. Under Section 3.01.5 of the Plaquemines Parish Charter for Local Self-Government, a parish president cannot serve more than two consecutive four-year terms, meaning a Hinkley win in November would lock in his final term in office under current rules set by Plaquemines Parish Government.
Candidates who qualified during the August 5–7 window this week paid fees set by statute, ranging from $250 for no-party candidates to $446.50 for Democratic candidates, a total that includes a mandatory $25 parish campaign sign recycling fee. Candidate notices were accepted at courthouses in Pointe-a-la-Hache and Belle Chasse, according to the Plaquemines Parish Clerk of Court.
District Attorney's Race Resolves Without a Fight
While the parish president's race grew crowded, the district attorney's contest wrapped up with no contest at all. Leo Palazzo was the only candidate who qualified for the six-year district attorney post after incumbent Charles Ballay opted not to seek re-election, per WDSU's reporting.
Palazzo's uncontested win marks a dramatic reversal from six years earlier. He ran for the same seat in December 2020 and lost to Ballay by just 14 votes — 2,574 to 2,560 out of 5,134 ballots cast — according to The Plaquemines Gazette.
A Shrinking Parish Watches Its Leadership Fight
The election unfolds against a backdrop of a shrinking population base. U.S. Census Bureau estimates put Plaquemines Parish's population at roughly 22,256 residents in 2025, a 5.5% decline from the 23,515 residents counted in the 2020 census, making it Louisiana's 39th most populous parish.
Infrastructure has also loomed large over Hinkley's tenure. In April, Hinkley publicly addressed state authorities and media over resident frustrations with state-mandated tolls and GeauxPass administrative issues on the newly built Belle Chasse Bridge, which connects northern Plaquemines to the Greater New Orleans area, according to WWL-AM's reporting at the time. That fight over bridge tolls has simmered alongside other parish priorities, including the Venture Global LNG buildout and the parish's ongoing road safety planning efforts.
With qualifying now closed, Plaquemines Parish voters will decide the president's race on the November 3 ballot, with a potential runoff looming should the five-candidate field fail to produce a majority winner.
