Steve Scalise is seeking a 10th term representing Louisiana’s 1st Congressional District, which he has represented since 2008. The House majority leader faces three challengers, but the race is widely considered his to lose, according to Louisiana Illuminator.
Those on the ballot include Scalise, Republican Randall Arrington of Ponchatoula, Democrat Lauren Jewett, and No Party candidate E. “Liddy” Glass, according to WDSU. The station describes Scalise as the frontrunner in the race and notes that, if elected again, he would enter a 10th term in the position. The district covers 10 parishes in Southeast Louisiana, stretching from the Northshore to the New Orleans metro area and into parts of the Bayou and River parishes, per the same report.
Jewett, a New Orleans-area educator, has secured the endorsement of the Louisiana Democratic Party and has reported raising about $675,000, according to the Shreveport Times. Scalise and House Speaker Mike Johnson have both been raising money for Republican candidates across the country, the paper reports — a reflection of the stakes national party leaders are attaching to this year's midterms even in a seat considered safely in GOP hands.
What the campaign-finance figures show
The figures cited here do not provide a like-for-like comparison of all four candidates’ fundraising and spending: the Shreveport Times reported that Jewett had raised about $675,000, but the article gives no comparable spending totals. The Federal Election Commission cautions that its election-finance table includes only candidates who registered and filed a financial report and may not reflect the most recently submitted filings.
A District Considered Safely Republican
Scalise’s district, which includes suburban New Orleans and part of the coast, is considered a safe Republican seat, according to the Sacramento Bee. WWL Louisiana also described him as heavily favored. The station reported that his campaign has emphasized economic growth, expanded energy exploration, lower gas prices and border security.
In comments reported by WWL Louisiana, Scalise said the party holding the White House historically loses seats in midterm elections, and Republicans were working to overcome that pattern by increasing turnout. He also pointed to the narrow House majority, describing the country as divided, and characterized Donald Trump’s 2024 win—in which Trump carried all seven swing states—as an electoral landslide.
National Stakes Loom Over a Local Race
Republicans enter the 2026 elections with 219 House members, one more than the minimum needed for a majority if all seats are filled, according to The Associated Press. Democrats need to gain three seats compared with their 2024 total to take the chamber, the AP reports, noting that the president’s party tends to lose ground in midterms. WWL Louisiana reported that analysts and oddsmakers expected Democrats to gain the House and possibly the Senate, amid voter dissatisfaction over Trump’s job performance, the economy and the continuing war in Iran.
Scalise told WWL Louisiana that if Republicans retain the House, Mike Johnson would remain speaker and Scalise would seek another term as majority leader, though he said those plans depend on the election results. The station also reported that Scalise campaigned for dozens of Republican candidates in competitive races before Election Day.
Election Day and a Watch Party in Metairie
WWL Louisiana reported that Scalise planned to watch election returns with family and senior advisers at a gathering scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Drago’s Seafood Restaurant in Metairie’s Fat City area.
As of the results snapshot captured by the New York Times, no Louisiana parishes had finished reporting votes, and the 2026 Louisiana 1st Congressional District election showed zero votes and zero percent for each listed candidate across 522 precincts. The Times notes that Louisiana's six U.S. House races are open primaries, and if no candidate receives a majority of the vote, the top two finishers will advance to a Dec. 12 election.
Louisiana’s runoff rule and the midterm record
Louisiana’s six U.S. House races use open primaries, the New York Times results page cited above says. If no candidate receives a majority, the top two finishers advance to a Dec. 12 election. The broader midterm history offers context, not a forecast for this district: according to U.S. House of Representatives History, Art & Archives, the House has changed majorities in a midterm election a little more than one-third of the time since the start of the modern party system.
