Former state Rep. Nancy Landry, a Lafayette Republican who has worked in Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin’s office for four years, is running for Ardoin’s job.
Landry joins an increasingly crowded field for secretary of state, which is an open seat because Ardoin said in April that he would not run for reelection. Public Service Commissioner Mike Francis and House Speaker Clay Schexnayder, also Republicans, have also announced they are running. So too has Brandon Trosclair, a grocery store owner in Ascension Parish who is working with a group that has made baseless claims of widespread voter fraud.
Landry said in a statement she has the “knowledge and experience to most effectively uphold the integrity of Louisiana’s elections moving forward.”
“I thank Secretary Ardoin for his service, and I look forward to assuring Louisiana citizens that our elections are fair, secure, and accurate,” she said.
The race for secretary of state comes amid a wave of baseless allegations about Louisiana’s election system. Since a national effort to overturn President Donald Trump’s 2020 loss, his supporters have sought to discredit Louisiana elections, claiming widespread fraud. Ardoin complained about the effort in his announcement that he would sit this year's race out. Independent auditors have found Louisiana’s elections are not rife with fraud.
Landry served as a state representative for parts of Lafayette and Vermillion parishes from 2008 to 2019, where she chaired the House Education committee amid a controversial period for state education policy. She was opposed by teachers unions and supported Republican school policies such as support for state vouchers for private schools.
Landry also sought to become House clerk after leaving the Legislature but decided instead to take a job with Ardoin's office.
During her time in the Legislature, she was a family law attorney and worked to provide oil and gas real estate services.
She has not yet filed any campaign finance reports. Francis, a wealthy former oil and gas business owner, has the ability to self-finance his bid; he spent millions on his election to the PSC. Schexnayder had $700,000 on hand as of April, plus another $200,000 in a political action committee that he lists as supporting state Rep. John Stefanksi in a bid for attorney general.
Editor's note, 5/9/23: This story has been corrected to note that Landry decided against running for House clerk.
