What Louisiana’s 4 US House incumbents raised and spent to keep their seats

The four sitting members of Congress from Louisiana successfully fended off longshot challengers in Tuesday’s election, setting up the strong likelihood that the state will add a fifth Republican for its six U.S. House seats.

Yet House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, will have to cede control of their chamber after Democrats gained a majority of seats in the congressional midterm election.

The Associated Press declared wins for Johnson, Scalise, U.S Reps. Clay Higgins, R-Lafayette, and Troy Carter, D-New Orleans, with most of the votes counted Tuesday night. 

The two remaining U.S. House seats, the 5th and 6th districts, are expected to require runoffs in December.

The following campaign finance data from the Federal Elections Commission reflect contributions and spending in the 2025-26 election cycle as of mid-October. 

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson

• Raised: $24.58 million
• Spent: $19.32 million

Johnson scored a 4th Congressional District win over Democrats Conrad Cable of Farmerville and Matt Gromlich of Greenwood and Republicans Gordon Heslop of Natchitoches and Mike Nichols of Pitkin. He will keep the seat in Congress he has held since 2017. 

Cable was the top-funded candidate opposing Johnson, with more than $1.8 million collected. 

Grow the Majority, a political action committee Johnson started to back Republican candidates, has contributed more than $5 million to his own campaign. The Johnson Leadership Fund added another $1.85 million.

Almost $5.8 million of Johnson’s campaign spending has been with Convergence Media in Alexandria, Virginia, for digital advertising. He’s also given $1.4 million to the National Republican Congressional Committee, which disperses its funding to other GOP candidates. 

As House speaker, Johnson set a record this election cycle by raising more than $150 million for GOP congressional members and candidates. He said on Oct. 8 that his speaker’s super PAC was expected to add another $300 million toward Republican efforts to retain the GOP House majority. 

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise

• Raised: $11.17 million 
• Spent:  $12.39 million

Scalise, who took over the 1st Congressional District seat in 2008, won his race against Metairie Democrat Lauren Jewett, fellow Republican Randall Arrington of Ponchatoula and unaffiliated candidate Liddy Glass of Metairie. 

Scalise’s best-funded challenger, Jewett, raised $716,000. 

The Team Scalise PAC put $5.85 million in his campaign, and the Scalise Leadership Fund added almost $1.9 million. 

The largest single recipient of Scalise’s campaign spending was the National Republican Congressional Committee at $3.77 million. He also spent $1.85 million with the consulting firm Strategic Advance Services.

U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Lafayette

• Raised: $904,294
• Spent: $662,390

Higgins will hold on to the 3rd Congressional District seat he first won in 2016. He drew challenges from Democrats John Day of Lake Charles, Priscilla Gonzalez and Caleb Walker of Lafayette, Republican Kate Cotten of Lake Charles and no-party candidate Tia LeBrun of Sulphur. Day, the Louisiana Democratic Party’s endorsed candidate in the 3rd District, amassed the most of any of Higgins’ opponents with $222,000. Political action committees backing Higgins nearly matched that amount, putting $205,000 behind his re-election. 

The congressman’s PAC, the Higgins Victory Committee, put $486,000 into his campaign.

His largest single expenditure this cycle was a $40,000 donation to the National Republican Congressional Committee.

U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans

• Raised: $1.9 million
• Spent: $1.82 million

Carter did not face opposition in the 2nd Congressional District within his own party, giving him an easy path to victory against Republican Peter Williams of Lettsworth, Libertarian Lisa Ballay of New Orleans and unaffiliated candidates Rocky Beach of Gonzales and Renata “Honey” Collins of New Orleans. 

None of his opponents reported significant campaign donations to the Federal Elections Commission.  

The Troy Carter Victory Fund was the largest single contributor to his campaign with two checks totaling just more than $40,000. Other than that money from his PAC, each of the remaining 1,174 contributions to Carter’s campaign over the two-year election cycle totaled $5,000 or less. Labor unions and corporate PACs made up the lion’s share of those donations.

The largest portion of Carter’s campaign spending — more than $309,000 — went to Angerholzer Broz Consulting, a Washington, D.C., firm that specializes in fundraising.  

The congressman also made two $50,000 donations to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, a group dedicated to building a party majority in the legislative branch.