A conservative longtime deputy of Attorney General Jeff Landry will face a New Orleans trial lawyer and political newcomer in the November runoff election to replace Landry as Louisiana’s top lawyer.
Liz Murrill, the current solicitor general and a Republican, appeared to secure a place in the runoff after obtaining just shy of 50% of the vote in Saturday’s primary election with nearly all of the votes counted. Democrat Lindsey Cheek finished second, edging out State Rep. John Stefanski, R-Crowley, who finished third. Candidates needed to obtain more than half of the vote to win outright and avoid a runoff.
The results are good news for Murrill because voters in deep-red Louisiana are more likely to back a Republican than a Democrat in a head-to-head contest. But they also marked a victory for Cheek, whose campaign focused on protecting people from greedy companies and pollution and who advanced despite being a political novice.
Landry committed to vacating the attorney general’s office when he decided last year to run for governor.
The runoff election to replace Landry will shape Louisiana’s relationship with the federal government and debates over oil and gas policy, abortion and LGBTQ+ health care — the kinds of topics Landry has litigated with gusto over the years.
It became the most bruising statewide contest on the ballot as Stefanski and Murrill vied for Republican votes against a third GOP candidate, Marty Maley, and Cheek sought to differentiate herself from fellow Democrat Perry Walker Terrebonne.
Murrill on Saturday called the primary results affirmation of a campaign in which she blanketed TV stations with ads touting conservative principles and pitched herself as a seasoned law practitioner. Behind the scenes, Murrill has engineered many of Landry’s legal arguments during his nearly eight years in office.
"I'm proud of the results we saw today which I believe reflect the enthusiasm this state has for my proven track record defending this state and our conservative values," Murrill said in a statement.
Cheek, who could not immediately be reached, championed expanding abortion access and creating protections for consumers navigating Louisiana’s troubled insurance marketplace on the campaign trail, among other progressive priorities.
Murrill was viewed for months as the front-runner due to her support from donors — many of whom she shares with Landry — and the visibility that cash allowed her to maintain through television, radio and digital advertising. She is a member of the Federalist Society, a legal group that espouses no partisan affiliation but is closely aligned with conservative priorities including the drive to overturn Roe v. Wade. Murrill is considered the race’s most conservative candidate.
The question of who might compete with her in the runoff hinged on a battle between Stefanski and Cheek to marshal enough support from a subset of moderate votes to edge out the other candidate. Louisiana’s breakdown of voters usually assures Democrats a seat in runoff elections; but internal polls discussed by political insiders and at least one public survey conducted in the run-up to the primary showed Cheek and Stefanski neck-and-neck for votes.
In the end, Cheek eked out enough votes to advance.
Stefanski, an attorney from the small town of Crowley who in the Legislature authored hefty fentanyl penalties and helped craft GOP congressional maps, had cast himself as a tough-on-crime candidate who has shown the ability to collaborate.
A Stefanski spokesperson declined to comment on the results.
Political insiders have described Murrill’s campaign as a surrogate operation of Landry’s given the pair’s professional connections and the fact that they share many of the same donors and campaign consultants. Murrill has decried that description as sexist, saying her credentials should speak for themselves.
If both she and Landry win their respective races, Murrill has said she would run the attorney general’s office independent from Landry’s influence, though some political analysts say there is little doubt the two would enjoy a cozy relationship.
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Republican and Democrat to compete in runoff for Louisiana attorney general - NOLA.com
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