Kim Landry
Five of the six judges presiding over the 23rd JDC divisions won reelection yesterday when qualifying for the November 3 Election Day came to a close. Only the district’s longest serving judge, Division A’s Jason Verdigets, drew a challenger. Sworn into office in January of 2015, Verdigets will face off against the irrepressible Kim Landry.
The 23rd is comprised of voting precincts in three parishes; Ascension, Assumption and St. James.
Verdigets won his seat in 2014, besting O’Neil Parenton in what was considered a mild upset at the time. Parenton appeared on the ballot without party affiliation, ceding the advantage to the Republican, Verdigets, who dominated north Ascension Parish on his way to a 2-percentage point victory in the three-parish contest.
Parenton garnered 64% of the vote in both Assumption and St. James parishes, still not enough to overcome Verdigets’ 56% vote share in Ascension. Ascension has double the number of voters than the combined population of its two sister parishes. Verdigets would go on to win reelection in 2020 without opposition.
His opponent has run unsuccessfully for two judicial offices. In November of 2018 Kim Landry received 42% of the vote against Erin Wiley Lanoux in the election for Ascension Parish Court Judge. Landry would later go into a runoff for Justice of the Peace – 3rd Justice Court against Lynelle Johnson who received 55% of the vote.
Verdigets and Landry are both qualified as Republicans.
Judge Steven Tureau also picked up an opponent for the Division D seat just before the close of qualifying. Rob Snyder, Jr. joined the fray late Friday afternoon. Tureau, a Republican, was elected in 2020 when he garnered 58% of the vote.
Judge Cody Martin (Division B) won reelection to a second full term when qualifying ended without opposition arising to challenge him.
The lone Democrat among the local judiciary, Judge Keyojuan Gant Turner was reelected without opposition in Division E. Judge Turner won the Special Election to finish the unexpired term of her father-in-law (Judge Alvin Turner) in November of 2023.
Judge John Smith, who was unopposed when he ran to finish Judge Tess Stromberg’s term in Division C in 2024, was reelected without opposition again.
Division F came into being by action of the State Legislature in 2024. Judge Toni Menard won the seat with 69% of the vote on November 5, 2024. Menard was reelected without opposition.
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