UPDATED WITH STORY: Allain wins state Senate race; Olander, Rulf, Duhon re-elected

Robert Allain will succeed his father as the senator for District 21 after defeating longtime St. Mary Parish official Henry "Bo" LaGrange in a Saturday runoff.

Also Saturday, all three St. Mary Parish Council incumbents facing runoffs won Saturday.

Allain, R-Franklin, drew 9,811 votes, or 59%, to 6,826 for LaGrange, or 41%, according to complete but unofficial returns.

LaGrange, a Patterson Republican, served more than 30 years in parish government, including a long stint as chief administrative officer. He outpolled Allain 52%-48% in St. Mary.

But District 21, though centered on St. Mary, touches five other parishes, and Allain owes his victory to his performance there. In Assumption, Iberia, Terrebonne, Lafourche and St.
Martin, Allain's victory margin ranged from 58% to 72%.

"I worked all six parishes equally as hard," Allain said Saturday.

Allain, who has worked in the family sugar cane operation and started his own business, will add to the Republican super-majority in the Senate. He will succeed his father, Bret Allain, also R-Franklin. Bret Allain, who reached the chairmanship of the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Committee, was term-limited after serving 12 years.

Robert Allain said his priority will be reversing outmigration.

"A lot of issues are causing people to leave and businesses to leave," Allain said. "We've got to stop the hemorrhaging."

The keys there, he said, are reforming insurance, education and taxes.

Allain congratulated LaGrange on the campaign and thanked him for offering to serve.

In Parish Council races:

--Rodney Olander of Franklin won a second term in District 3, beating former Parish Council member Peter Soprano, also of Franklin. The final tally was 718, or 55%, for Olander and 585, or 45%, Soprano.

The race highlighted errors in the post-2020 Census Parish Council redistricting. Soprano originally qualified in August to At-Large District 10, only to learn that the new district map put his home outside that district. So he qualified again, this time to run in District 3.

--Incumbent Leslie "Les" Rulf of Patterson won a second term representing District 5. Rulf beat challenger Douglas Streety 493 votes, or 54%, to 422, or 46%.

--In District 8, incumbent Mark Duhon won re-election with 599 votes, or 63%, to 353, or 37%for Carlo Gagliano Jr. Both men are from Amelia.

Duhon and Gagliano had tangled over a rate increase in the water district that serves Amelia and Siracusaville. Gagliano chairs the district board, and Duhon had opposed the increase.

The St. Mary voter turnout in parishwide races was about 24%, according to the Secretary of State's Office.

Most of the action in the parish government races this fall ended before Saturday's runoff, sometimes by candidates who qualified without opposition.

Three candidates who qulified unopposed for the Oct. 14 primary were incumbent Coroner Dr. Eric Melancon and incumbent Assessor Jarrod K. Longman, and Judge Greg Aucoin, who qualified alone to succeed longtime Clerk of Court Cliff Dressel, who is retiring.

Former Franklin Mayor and state Rep. Sam Jones won the parish presidency outright in the Oct. 14 primary, and Chief Deputy Gary Driskell was an easy winner in a four-way race for sheriff. Jones will succeed David Hanagriff, who is term-limited, and Driskell will succeed Blaise Smith, who is stepping down as sheriff after this term.

Dean Adams of Morgan City in At-Large District 11 and Dr. Kristi Prejeant of Centerville in District 9 qualified without opposition for Parish Council. So did J Ina of Franklin in District 2.

Current council Chair Gwendolyn Hidalgo beat two challengers to keep her At-Large District 10 post.

Winning outright in the primary were incumbents the Rev. Craig Mathews of Jeanerette in District 1 and Patrick Hebert of Berwick in District 6.

David Hill of Bayou Vista was the winner in a three-candidate field for the District 4 seat being vacated by Scott Ramsey, who is stepping down.

The primary election claimed one incumbent: James Bennett of Morgan City was defeated by James Davis Jr., also of Morgan City.

Returns
State Senator -- 21st Senatorial District
St. Mary
Early & Absentee Reporting - 1 of 1 parishes
Election Day Reporting - 46 of 46 precincts Votes
3,580 Robert Allain (REP) 48%
3,850 Henry "Bo" LaGrange (REP) 52%
Total: 7,430
Unofficial Turnout: 23.5%

Districtwide
Early & Absentee Reporting - 6 of 6 parishes
Election Day Reporting - 103 of 103 precincts Votes
9,811 Robert Allain (REP) 59%
6,826 Henry "Bo" LaGrange (REP) 41%
Total: 16,637
Unofficial Turnout: 22.8%

Council Member -- District 3
Early & Absentee Reporting - 1 of 1 parishes
Election Day Reporting - 10 of 10 precincts Votes
718 Rodney Olander (REP) 55%
585 Peter Soprano (IND) 45%
Total: 1,303
Unofficial Turnout: 31.7%

Council Member -- District 5
Early & Absentee Reporting - 1 of 1 parishes
Election Day Reporting - 5 of 5 precincts Votes
493 Leslie "Les" Rulf (REP) 54%
422 Douglas Streety, Jr. (REP) 46%
Total: 915
Unofficial Turnout: 22.6%

Council Member -- District 8
Early & Absentee Reporting - 1 of 1 parishes
Election Day Reporting - 6 of 6 precincts Votes
599 Mark A. Duhon (NOPTY) 63%
353 Carlo Gagliano, Jr. (NOPTY) 37%
Total: 952
Unofficial Turnout: 29.3%