1995 Louisiana lieutenant gubernatorial election

1995 Louisiana lieutenant gubernatorial election

←  1991 October 21, 1995 (first round) November 18, 1995 (runoff) 1999  →

Candidate Kathleen Blanco Suzanne Mayfield Krieger Chris John Party Democratic Republican Democratic First round 590,410 43.68% 211,520 15.65% 206,915 15.31% Runoff 964,559 65.25% 513,613 34.75% Eliminated   Candidate Greg Marcantel Charles S. Blaylock Party Republican Republican First round 76,488 5.66% 74,366 5.50% Runoff Eliminated Eliminated

Lieutenant Governor before election Melinda Schwegmann Democratic Elected Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Blanco Democratic

The 1995 Louisiana lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 18, 1995, in order to elect the lieutenant governor of Louisiana. Incumbent Democratic member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission from the 2nd district Kathleen Blanco defeated incumbent Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives Suzanne Mayfield Krieger in the Runoff election.

Background

Elections in Louisiana—with the exception of U.S. presidential elections—follow a variation of the open primary system called the jungle primary or the nonpartisan blanket primary. Candidates of any and all parties are listed on one ballot; voters need not limit themselves to the candidates of one party. Unless one candidate takes more than 50% of the vote in the first round, a run-off election is then held between the top two candidates, who may in fact be members of the same party. Texas uses this same format for its special elections. In this election, the first round of voting was held on October 21, 1995. The runoff was held on November 18, 1995. ^[1]

Primary election

On election day, October 21, 1995, incumbent Democratic member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission from the 2nd district Kathleen Blanco and incumbent Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives Suzanne Mayfield Krieger received the most votes and thus advanced to a runoff election on November 18. ^[2]

Results

Louisiana lieutenant gubernatorial primary election, 1995

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kathleen Blanco	590,410	43.68
	Republican	Suzanne Mayfield Krieger	211,520	15.65
	Democratic	Chris John	206,915	15.31
	Republican	Greg Marcantel	76,488	5.66
	Republican	Charles S. Blaylock	74,366	5.50
	Independent	Eric Guirard	66,947	4.95
	Democratic	Robert Patrick	40,210	2.98
	Democratic	Jay Chevalier	27,900	2.06
	Democratic	Antoine M. Saacks Jr.	22,908	1.70
	Independent	R.A. Galan	18,630	1.38
	Democratic	Julius Leahman	15,461	1.13
Total votes			1,351,755	100.00

Runoff election

On election day, November 18, 1995, incumbent Democratic member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission from the 2nd district Kathleen Blanco defeated incumbent Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives Suzanne Mayfield Krieger by a margin of 450,946 votes, thereby retaining Democratic control over the office of lieutenant governor. Blanco was sworn in as the 50th Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana on January 8, 1996. ^[3]

Results

Louisiana lieutenant gubernatorial runoff election, 1995

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kathleen Blanco	964,559	65.25
	Republican	Suzanne Mayfield Krieger	513,613	34.75
Total votes			1,478,172	100.00
	Democratic hold

References

1. Wayne, Stephen (2008). Parties and Elections in America: The Electoral Process Fifth Edition. Rowman & Littlefield.
2. "LA Lt. Governor - Initial Election". ourcampaigns.com. August 3, 2015. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
3. "LA Lt. Governor - Runoff". ourcampaigns.com. August 3, 2015. Retrieved 2025-09-11.