When the three-day qualifying window shut Friday, District Attorney Jason Williams had no challenger and a court-shrinking law had reshuffled the Criminal District Court bench. Here is who filed, and how to check your own ballot.

NEWS

By Kim M. Braud | August 8, 2026

Candidate qualifying for the November 3 election closed Friday, August 7, at the end of a three-day window that ran August 5 through 7. In Orleans Parish, the marquee race was decided before a single vote: no one filed to challenge the district attorney.

The parish now heads toward a ballot shaped as much by the Legislature as by the candidates, with a state law that cut three criminal court sections forcing sitting judges to run against one another.

The district attorney's race ended before it began

District Attorney Jason Williams drew no opponent. According to Fox 8 (WVUE), the lack of a challenger means Williams will begin a new six-year term in January 2027 without appearing on a contested ballot. Jefferson Parish DA Paul Connick Jr. and St. Tammany-Washington DA Collin Sims were also returned without opposition.

The outcome closes months of speculation. Fox 8 and nola.com reported that some of Williams' detractors had urged Criminal District Court Judge John Fuller to qualify against him. After the Louisiana Supreme Court upheld the law eliminating his judgeship, Fuller announced on social media that he would not run against any of his colleagues, and he did not file for the district attorney's seat.

No challenger qualified. Jason Williams will begin a new six-year term in January without appearing on a contested ballot.

A smaller criminal court, and incumbents facing incumbents

The reshaping of Orleans Parish Criminal District Court began at the Capitol. Act 748, signed by Gov. Jeff Landry in June, reduced the court from 12 judges to nine by eliminating three sections. A state district judge in Baton Rouge briefly blocked the law, but the Louisiana Supreme Court reversed that ruling in a split decision days before qualifying, according to WWL and WGNO. The eliminated sections were A, E, and J.

With three seats gone and the terms of most sitting judges expiring at the end of the year, several incumbents were left to compete for the nine surviving seats. Fox 8 reported the following contests as qualifying closed:

• Section D: Judge Simone Levine, whose Section A seat was eliminated, against Judge Kimya Holmes.
• Section H: Judge Leon Roche, who currently sits in Section I, against Judge Camille Buras.
• Section I: Judge Rhonda Goode-Douglas, whose Section E seat was eliminated, unopposed.

Judge Fuller, whose Section J seat was cut, did not qualify for reelection.

The full field for the remaining Criminal District Court divisions, along with Civil District Court, Juvenile Court, and the city courts, was not fully detailed in early reporting. Voters can confirm every Orleans Parish race and candidate on the Secretary of State's Candidate Inquiry portal, listed below.

What Orleans voters see at the top of the ballot

Above the local races, Orleans Parish voters share the statewide ballot. The Secretary of State lists November 3 as the general election for the U.S. Senate seat, where Republican Julia Letlow and Democrat Jamie Davis, each the nominee of a closed party primary held earlier this year, meet in the general. Incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy was eliminated in the spring.

The ballot also carries the U.S. House open primary, in which incumbent Rep. Troy Carter, a Democrat, represents most of New Orleans in the 2nd Congressional District. Statewide, voters will also decide Public Service Commission and Board of Elementary and Secondary Education races and nine proposed constitutional amendments. Which specific congressional, PSC, and BESE districts apply to a given Orleans address should be verified on the ballot portal below.

Secretary of State Nancy Landry has called this cycle the "great convergence," citing the roughly 2,700 races and the once-a-decade collision of federal, state, and local contests with the amendments on a single ballot.

How to follow this

The field is set, but the ballot has not yet been certified, and voters can confirm their own races before election day.

• Verify your ballot: The Louisiana Secretary of State's Candidate Inquiry portal lists every qualified candidate by parish and election date. Select Orleans Parish and the 11/03/2026 date at voterportal.sos.la.gov/candidateinquiry.
• Register to vote: The deadline is October 5 in person, by mail, or at an OMV office, and October 13 through the GeauxVote online system.
• Early voting: October 20 through 27, excluding Sunday, October 25, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Absentee ballots: The deadline to request one is October 30 by 4:30 p.m. A voted absentee ballot must reach the registrar by November 2 at 4:30 p.m., other than for military and overseas voters.
• Election day: Tuesday, November 3. Any race without a majority winner advances to a runoff on December 12.
• Local records: The Orleans Parish Clerk of Criminal District Court and the Registrar of Voters maintain the local qualifying and ballot records.

Kim M. Braud is the Founder and Editor of Evans Cutchmore Press, an independent newsroom covering Louisiana and the Gulf South. Her reporting focuses on government accountability, infrastructure, business, culture, and the public policies that shape communities. Her work combines investigative journalism, public records research, and documentary storytelling.

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