How to run in Louisiana, 2028
What it takes to get on Louisiana's 2028 ballot for the U.S. House, U.S. Senate or President, from the state's election office and laws.
U.S. House
Who can run
- At least 25 years old
- A U.S. citizen for at least 7 years
- Living in the state when elected (the Constitution doesn't require living in the district)
Getting on the Louisiana ballot
| Where to file | Louisiana Secretary of State, Elections, 8585 Archives Ave., Baton Rouge (congressional and state candidates qualify with the Secretary of State). Qualifying may be done in person, by mail, or through an agent with an agent affidavit. |
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| When | Depends on which system applies to U.S. Representative in 2028. The Secretary of State's 2028 schedule (revised 11/2024, 'subject to change by the Legislature') sets party primary qualifying for December 15-17, 2027 (party primary March 25, 2028; second party primary May 6, 2028) and fall open primary qualifying for July 26-28, 2028 (election November 7, 2028). Under Acts 1 and 640 of 2024, U.S. Representative was a closed party primary office; Act 7 of 2026 moved it to the open primary for the 2026 cycle only, and the Secretary of State's current closed party primary list names U.S. Senator but not U.S. Representative. The 2028 House system has not been stated by the Secretary of State. |
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| How | File a notarized Notice of Candidacy (qualifying form) with the qualifying fee or a certified nominating petition during the qualifying period. Nominating petition signatures may be gathered no more than 120 days before qualifying opens and must be submitted to the registrar of voters in each signer's parish at least 30 days before qualifying ends for certification; the certified petition is then filed with the Notice of Candidacy (R.S. 18:465). |
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| Fee | $1,500 qualifying fee plus $25 campaign sign recycling fund fee; Democratic and Republican candidates also pay the state central committee fee ($750), total $2,275. Paid in cash, certified or cashier's check, or qualifying money order. |
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| Petition instead | In lieu of fees: 750 qualified voters from within the congressional district (R.S. 18:465(C)(3)(b)). For 2026 only, a temporary law allowed 250 signatures from anywhere in the state. |
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Official filing information · U.S. Constitution
U.S. Senate
Who can run
- At least 30 years old
- A U.S. citizen for at least 9 years
- Living in the state when elected
Getting on the Louisiana ballot
| Where to file | Louisiana Secretary of State, Elections, 8585 Archives Ave., Baton Rouge. Qualifying may be done in person, by mail, or through an agent with an agent affidavit. |
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| When | Closed party primary qualifying: December 15-17, 2027, for the March 25, 2028 party primary (second party primary May 6, 2028; general election November 7, 2028), per the Secretary of State's 2028 schedule (revised 11/2024, subject to change by the Legislature). Nominating petition signatures may be gathered from August 17, 2027 and must be submitted to parish registrars by November 17, 2027. |
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| How | File a notarized Notice of Candidacy (qualifying form) with the qualifying fee or a certified nominating petition during the qualifying period (R.S. 18:465). Only Democratic and Republican candidates may run in the closed party primary, and only they may qualify by paying the fee. |
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| Fee | Democratic and Republican candidates: $3,500 qualifying fee plus $25 campaign sign recycling fund fee plus $1,750 state central committee fee (total $5,275). Paid in cash, certified or cashier's check, or qualifying money order. |
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| Petition instead | In lieu of fees: 2,500 qualified voters statewide, at least 250 from each congressional district (R.S. 18:465(C)(1)). |
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Official filing information · U.S. Constitution · Louisiana's 2028 Senate race
President
Who can run: At least 35 years old; A natural-born U.S. citizen; A U.S. resident for at least 14 years (U.S. Constitution).
Getting on Louisiana's presidential primary ballot
| How | Candidate qualifying for the presidential preference primary, held on the last Saturday in March (March 25, 2028) for each party with 40,000 or more registered members in the state; voters may vote only for a candidate of their own party (La. R.S. 18:1280.21). The candidate files a notice of candidacy with the Secretary of State during the qualifying period (name, office, domicile, party affiliation, ballot name, notarized certificate), accompanied by either the qualifying fee or a nominating petition (La. R.S. 18:1280.22). A candidate may withdraw before 4:30 p.m. on the seventh day after qualifying closes. |
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| Where | Louisiana Secretary of State (notice of candidacy). Nominating petitions are first submitted to the parish registrars of voters where the signers reside for certification. |
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| When | Qualifying opens on the third Wednesday in December (La. R.S. 18:467(A)(5)) and closes at 4:30 p.m. on the following Friday (La. R.S. 18:468(A)): December 15 - 4:30 p.m. December 17, 2027. Petition signatures may be obtained no more than 120 days before qualifying opens (from about August 17, 2027) and petitions must reach parish registrars at least 30 days before qualifying ends (by about November 17, 2027) (La. R.S. 18:465, 18:1280.22). (expected: follows state law) |
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| Fee | $1,000 qualifying fee plus any additional party fee authorized by La. R.S. 18:464(B)(5) and (C); payable by cash, certified or cashier's check, or postal, bank or credit union money order (La. R.S. 18:1280.22(A)). |
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| Petition | Alternative to the fee: handwritten signatures of no less than 1,000 registered voters affiliated with the candidate's party from each congressional district (La. R.S. 18:1280.22(A)). |
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Sources: LawPrint (legis.la.gov) · LawPrint (legis.la.gov) (2) · LawPrint (legis.la.gov) (3) · LawPrint (legis.la.gov) (4) · LawPrint (legis.la.gov) (5)
Running as an independent in November
| How | In Louisiana an unaffiliated presidential ticket qualifies through a slate of presidential electors not affiliated with a recognized political party. The slate (one elector from each congressional district and two at large) names the presidential and vice-presidential candidates it supports, and qualifies either by paying the qualifying fee or by nominating petition. Each candidate files a notice of candidacy and a notarized affidavit accepting the nomination. The supported presidential/VP candidates may not be those of a recognized party or of another slate already filed (La. R.S. 18:1254). A petition must state the general election date and a political principle of no more than three words. |
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| Where | Louisiana Secretary of State (La. R.S. 18:1255). Nominating petitions are first certified by parish registrars of voters where the signers reside (La. R.S. 18:465). |
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| When | Opens on the third Tuesday in July and closes at 4:30 p.m. on the first Friday after the third Tuesday in August: July 18 - 4:30 p.m. August 18, 2028. Petitions filed outside this window are null and void (La. R.S. 18:1254, 18:1255). Petition signatures may be gathered no more than 120 days before qualifying opens (from about March 20, 2028) and petitions must be submitted to registrars at least 30 days before qualifying ends (by about July 19, 2028) (La. R.S. 18:465). (expected: follows state law) |
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| Fee | $1,000 qualifying fee, plus the fee under La. R.S. 18:464(B)(5) (La. R.S. 18:1254(A)). |
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| Petition | Alternative to the fee: a nominating petition signed and certified as provided for statewide candidates in Chapter 5 (La. R.S. 18:1254), which currently requires 2,500 registered voters, at least 250 of them from each congressional district (La. R.S. 18:465(C)(1), as amended by Acts 2025, No. 495). |
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| Also | The running mate and full elector slate must be named when the slate qualifies. The Secretary of State's former presidential qualifying packets were no longer online at this check; the petition figure applies the statewide-candidate rule that La. R.S. 18:1254 cross-references and should be confirmed with the Secretary of State. |
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Sources: LawPrint (legis.la.gov) · LawPrint (legis.la.gov) (2) · LawPrint (legis.la.gov) (3)
Campaign money
- Once you raise or spend more than $5,000, file a Statement of Candidacy (FEC Form 2) within 15 days.
- Your campaign committee then files a Statement of Organization (FEC Form 1) within 10 days and reports to the FEC.
FEC: registering as a candidate · FEC campaign guides
Checked November 4, 2026. Rules can change; confirm with Louisiana's election office and the FEC before you file. ← All states
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