Nick Albares has ended his campaign for U.S. Senate, effectively clearing the way for a Democratic runoff between Jamie Davis and Gary Crockett after a primary that exposed just how different Louisiana’s closed Democratic electorate looks from the version many campaigns seemed to be targeting.
In a Tuesday statement, Albares said that although votes are still being tabulated and results remain unofficial, he had decided “it is time to end my campaign for the U.S. Senate and continue my work for dignity, solutions, and results through other means.”
“I’m grateful to everyone who supported this campaign which was rooted in building an authentic community,” Albares said.
Albares’ decision comes just days after Louisiana’s first closed congressional primary in generations, an election that reshaped both sides of the U.S. Senate race. On the Republican side, U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy failed to advance, with Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow and state Treasurer John Fleming moving on to a June 27 runoff.
Albares’ withdrawal appears to mark the end of a campaign that had tried to carve out a lane as the most policy-forward and institutionally connected Democrat in the race. A former policy adviser to Gov. John Bel Edwards, Albares campaigned on lowering health care costs, protecting Medicaid, fighting Washington corruption and requiring billionaires to pay their fair share.
“Our campaign was focused on the dignity of every person, lowering healthcare costs, protecting Medicaid for the hundreds of thousands of families who rely on it, ending the corruption in Washington that is driving up costs, and ensuring that billionaires pay their fair share,” Albares said.
Albares entered the race with support from several recognizable Democratic and labor-aligned figures, including former Gov. Edwards, and presented himself throughout the campaign as a serious, polished candidate with a command of policy details. His campaign made the case that a Democrat could compete statewide by focusing on kitchen-table concerns, public services and practical results.
But the primary electorate told a different story.
Louisiana’s newly restored closed primary system concentrated the Democratic electorate into a smaller, more partisan pool of voters. In an off-cycle special election environment, that electorate was not only overwhelmingly Democratic, but likely older, more habitual and more heavily shaped by the Black voters who remain the backbone of the Louisiana Democratic Party. That created a political environment where forum performances, endorsements and policy fluency were not necessarily the deciding factors.
Davis, who had drawn support from progressive activists and appeared to connect with a different slice of the Democratic base, outperformed expectations and emerged as the clear winner. Crockett, a data scientist, Navy veteran, and political consultant, also became one of the major surprises of the race, benefiting from a political moment in which many voters appeared to simplify the contest around identity, familiarity and the basic shape of the Democratic electorate.
Albares’ campaign had hoped his endorsements, experience and message discipline would help solidify him as the leading alternative to Davis. Instead, his exit underscores one of the central lessons of the race: institutional support does not automatically translate into votes, especially in a low-turnout closed Democratic primary where the most consistent base voters are older, Black and often reached through political networks that do not always overlap with the campaign class.
Still, Albares framed the end of his campaign as a continuation rather than a retreat.
“I am proud of the campaign as we advocated for Louisiana families,” he said. “I look forward to staying engaged in our political process as we organize communities to achieve real policy results.”
Albares’ departure now leaves Davis and Crockett to compete directly for the nomination. Davis enters the runoff with the advantage of having led the field and demonstrated real support among the voters most likely to decide the contest. Crockett enters as the surprise contender, with a chance to prove his first-round showing was not simply a function of voter sorting, low information, or a fragmented field.
For Louisiana Democrats, the runoff will test whether the party can generate excitement around a Senate race in a state where Republicans remain heavily favored in the general election. But it will also test something more immediate: whether Democratic campaigns in Louisiana are willing to be honest about who their base is, how that base votes, and what it actually takes to reach them.