By Baptist Message staff
WASHINGTON, D.C. (LBM) – U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a member with Cypress Baptist Church, Benton, won re-election, while State Representative Gabe Firment, a deacon and Sunday school teacher with First Baptist Church, Polock, qualified for a runoff, Nov. 3.
Johnson, a Republican, won 58%, or 134,739, of the vote, in the 4th Congressional District race.
“Thank you to the great people of Louisiana’s 4th District for entrusting us with another term tonight!” Johnson wrote on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter). “We are so grateful for your support, and I will never stop fighting for our community, state, or nation.”
Firment, also a Republican, heads to a run-off against Patricia Moore, a Democrat, in the 5th Congressional District race. He received 17 percent of votes to Moore’s 18 percent (39,131 favorable ballots to her 40,789).
In Louisiana a candidate must win more than 50 percent of the vote to win the election. Otherwise, a runoff election is held between the two top vote-getting candidates.
Rick Edmonds, a Republican, pastor with First Baptist Church, McComb, Mississippi, and retired pastor with Calvary Baptist Church, Shreveport, placed third in the 6th Congressional District race and did not qualify for the run-off.
Statewide, two Republicans won re-election in their congressional races: Steve Scalise, 61%, or 159,890, of the vote in the 1st District; and Clay Higgins, 55%, or 129,203, of the vote in the 3rd District.
Troy Carter, a Democrat, won re-election to the 2nd Congressional District race, with 80%, or 192,258, of the vote.
Julia Letlow, a former representative in the 5th Congressional District, won her race for Senate. She defeated Democrat Jimmie Davis by 51%, or 745,963, of the vote.
Nationally, Democrats took control of both chambers. According to the Associated Press, Democrats won the House with a 228-139 lead and the Senate with a 54-44 lead. Some races still were not final.
“Over the past two years, House Republicans have worked alongside President Donald Trump to deliver massive wins for the American people, including secured borders, permanently lower taxes, and safer streets,” Johnson wrote on X. “We left it all on the field in this midterm to continue building on those accomplishments. However, the American people have made the same decision that has been made in all but two midterms in the last century.
“Throughout this campaign, we knew we would have to defy history to keep the House majority. However, my optimism has been driven by the grassroots energy I witnessed firsthand from coast to coast and everywhere in between. From diners to small businesses, farms to warehouses, and at 490 events across 36 states this cycle, I spoke with hard-working Americans who believe in our vision and have benefitted greatly from our policies and fulfilled promises.
“While the outcome of this midterm is not what we’d hoped and fought for, a new battle is just beginning.
“This Democrat House majority will be led by the most radical and extreme leftists in American history. However, Republicans will never stop fighting to defend the Constitution and protect the foundations that have made America the greatest nation in the history of the world.
“We will continue pressing forward with our agenda of common sense, and our vision to make America great again—and come 2028, we WILL take back the House and we will finish the job.”
