Republican state Rep. Stephanie Hilferty has won her party’s primary for the open seat in the Louisiana Public Service Commission’s 1st district, comprising much of metro New Orleans and neighboring parishes.
Hilferty pulled in 62% of the vote.
Her victory over former Jefferson Parish councilman John Young sets up a Nov. election against Democratic candidate Connie Norris — who was unopposed in her primary — and independent candidate Chris Justin, who did not qualify for the closed party primary in May.
Hilferty, who received a slew of endorsements from both statewide political figures and parish officials in the district, said if elected, she would rein in bureaucracy and demand transparency from utility companies.
Republicans currently hold a one-seat majority on the five-member PSC, which oversees the state’s utilities — ranging from regulating some of its largest corporations, like Entergy, to how much customers pay for power.
Each of the two races for the seats opening on the PSC will fill the seats of the PSC’s longest-serving members: Republican chairman Eric Skrmetta of the 1st district, a traditional GOP stronghold in both state and national politics, and Democrat Foster Campbell of the 5th district, which encompasses much of North Louisiana.
Both were first elected in the early 2000s and reached their term limits this year, just as numerous large-scale industrial projects they’ve voted in favor of connecting to the grid — like hyperscale AI data centers — have entered construction or neared final approval.
A final vote on a new effort to construct seven additional gas power plants to service an AI data center in Richland Parish is expected to occur Nov. 18, after both open seats are filled but before the new commissioners are sworn into office.
Both Skrmetta and Campbell have been strong supporters of those efforts, and Skrmetta has long been more of the reliable pro-utility votes on the commission.
The two candidates replacing them will be inheriting relatively new territory for the PSC, and a delicate balancing act between state policy shifts targeting more industrial investment, while also limiting increases for ratepayers.
Cao edges Schroder for Republican BESE candidacy
Joseph Cao, an attorney and former U.S. congressman, will be the Republican nominee in a special election for Louisiana’s school board.
In Saturday’s runoff, Cao received 52% of the vote, beating Ellie Schroeder, a retired educator and the wife of former Louisiana Treasurer John Schroder, who ran for governor in 2024.
Cao will face Democrat Angela Hershey in November’s race to represent District 1, which covers St. Tammany Parish and parts of Orleans, Jefferson and Tangipahoa.
Hershey, who, like Schroder, taught in St. Tammany, faced no challengers and secured her nomination ahead of the May primary.
Louisiana’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, known as BESE, consists of eight elected regional seats and three at-large members appointed by the governor.
The board directs the state’s department of education, sets policies that impact schools — including testing requirements — and makes funding recommendations to the legislature.
Gov. Jeff Landry appointed Cao to the board earlier this year after Paul Hollis vacated his seat to take a job with the Trump administration.
Cao came to the U.S. as a refugee of the Vietnam War. His family eventually settled in Texas, and he graduated from Baylor University in 1990.
He taught middle school and philosophy at Loyola University in New Orleans, where he earned his law degree, and served in the U.S. House from 2009 to 2011.
Cao owns a law firm and lives in Harvey.
