Louisiana down ballot state executive elections, 2014

Louisiana Down Ballot State Executive Elections

Primary Election Date November 4, 2014

General Election Date (if necessary): December 6, 2014

Louisiana State Executive Elections Down Ballot Public Service Commissioner

Two down ballot state executive positions, both on the Public Service Commission, were up for election in the state of Louisiana in 2014. The primary election was held on November 4, 2014, with a general election held on December 6 to decide the District 1 race between Forest Wright and Eric Skrmetta. Skrmetta defeated Wright in the general election. Two-term incumbent Foster Campbell (D) defeated challenger Keith Gates (R) for the District 5 seat in the primary election.

Louisiana elections use the Louisiana majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50% of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Wright ran as a Democratic candidate for the District 2 seat in 2012, but was running as a Republican candidate in this election. He joined the race in August 2014 along with Allen "Al" Leone (R) to challenge incumbent Eric Skrmetta (R), who faced ethics concerns over an email with a member of the Gulf State Renewable Energies Industry Association, which lobbies for more lenient rules for the solar energy industry.

Read more about ethics claims and the District 1 race in the race background section. The campaign finance section outlines contributions and expenditures for candidates in both races. Wright and Skrmetta reported more than $200,000 in contributions and $300,000 in expenditures from mid-October to mid-November.

Public Service Commission

Board composition

Two out of five seats on the Louisiana Public Service Commission were up for election in 2014. Each member of the commission is elected to a six-year term.

The board had three Republican members and two Democratic members entering the 2014 election. This board composition remained the same following the election, as Wright and Skrmetta both ran as Republicans.

District	Party	Commissioner	First elected	Term end
1		Eric Skrmetta	2008	2020
2		Scott Angelle	2012	2018
3		Lambert Boissiere, III	2004	2016
4		Clyde Holloway	2009	2015
5		Foster Campbell	2002	2020

Candidates

District 1

General election

Eric Skrmetta- Incumbent
Forest Wright

Lost in primary

Allen "Al" Leone

District 5

Foster Campbell- Incumbent
Keith Gates

District map

Results

General election

Public Service Commissioner of Louisiana, District 1 General Election, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Eric Skrmetta Incumbent	50.8%	120,032
	Republican	Forest Wright	49.2%	116,042
Total Votes				236,074
Election results via Louisiana Secretary of State Vote totals above are unofficial and reflect 100% precincts reporting.

Primary election

Public Service Commissioner of Louisiana, District 1, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Forest Wright	38.4%	99,515
	Republican	Eric Skrmetta Incumbent	37%	95,742
	Republican	Allen "Al" Leone	24.6%	63,622
Total Votes				258,879
Election results via Louisiana Secretary of State

Public Service Commissioner of Louisiana, District 5, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Foster Campbell Incumbent	61.5%	169,098
	Republican	Keith Gates	38.5%	105,918
Total Votes				275,016
Election results via Louisiana Secretary of State

Duties

Article 4, Section 21 B of the Louisiana Constitution outlines the powers and duties of the commission:

• Regulate all common carriers and public utilities and have such other regulatory authority as provided by law.

• Adopt and enforce reasonable rules, regulations and procedures necessary for the discharge of its duties, and shall have other powers and perform other duties as provided by law.

Race background

Ethics concerns for Skrmetta

Eric Skrmetta (R) attracted attention and challengers for his November re-election bid after ethics concerns emerged in early August. The Times-Picayune published a report on August 5, 2014, detailing an email exchange between the commissioner and Andrew B. Ezell from the Gulf State Renewable Energies Industry Association. This exchange reportedly included a request by Skrmetta for the organization's support ahead of the November election in exchange for his vote in support of more lenient metering policies in Louisiana. Ezell sent the request to members of the association on August 2, only four days prior to commission hearings about lifting the state's limit on payments to consumers using solar panels.

Skrmetta denied wrongdoing or an exchange of favors with solar energy firms following the paper's report. He noted in The Times-Picayune that the commission needed to review metering policy due to concerns about the potential bankruptcy of an unnamed solar firm based in the state. He faced scrutiny from challenger Forest Wright (R) and fellow commissioner Foster Campbell (D), though ultimately won re-election in the December general election.

Wright, an energy policy advocate based in New Orleans, cited Skrmetta's email as a motivation for his 2014 campaign. Wright and Skrmetta supported lighter regulations on solar installation firms, though Wright was concerned about the alleged quid pro quo involved in Skrmetta's email. He previously sought the District 2 seat on the board in 2012. Campbell, who won re-election to the District 5 seat, was vocal in opposing changes to existing metering policy and alleged that Skrmetta's behavior was "borderline illegal."

Issues background

Energy policy is a major issue in Louisiana. To learn more, see "Energy policy in Louisiana."

Net metering

Net metering is a billing system where customers who generate their own electricity, usually using renewable sources, such as solar panels, are able to sell their excess electricity back to the grid. This requires electricity to be able to flow both to and from the consumer. According to the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency "net metering is required by law in most U.S. states, but state policies vary widely." While many energy experts support net metering, there is debate over the price at which those generating excess power should be compensated. In some states, consumers are compensated at the full retail rate, while other states compensate individual producers at the wholesale rate. Retail electricity rates are the final prices paid by consumers and include the all the costs of that electricity, from generation to delivery. Wholesale electricity rates "include the cost of the fuel used to generate electricity and the cost of buying the power," but do not include the costs of transporting or delivering electricity.

• Proponents of net metering argue the system is beneficial because it promotes renewable energy and incentivizes consumers to produce their own electricity, which they argue is more efficient. Consumers are often drawn to this program because they can save money by generating their own electricity (as opposed to buying it from a utility company), and they can even receive credit back on their electricity bill for the excess electricity they generated.

• Opponents of net metering argue that customers who sell their electricity back to the grid at the full electricity price are not paying for the fixed costs associated with power generation, such as wires, poles, meters and other infrastructure. According to these opponents, consumers producing their own energy are often still using power supplied by a utility company when their own generation isn't sufficient. For example, on cloudy days those with solar panels must rely on the grid system for electricity. Instead, opponents argue that consumers should be paid the wholesale price for electricity.

In Louisiana, the commercial, residential and agricultural sectors can take advantage of net metering for solar, wind, biomass, hydroelectric, small hydroelectric, renewable fuel cells, geothermal electric and microturbines. Utilities in Louisiana pay the full retail rate for electricity generated from net metering, but once net metering purchases exceed 0.5 percent of a utility's retail peak load they no longer have to offer net metering. Entergy, which serves approximately 1.07 million electric customers in Louisiana, had already reached 75 percent of its 0.5 percent cap on net metering purchases by February 28, 2014.

Endorsements

Skrmetta earned the endorsements of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, the state Republican Party and the Louisiana Sheriff's Organization prior to the November election. Wright received the endorsement of primary candidate Allen "Al" Leone (R) ahead of the general election.

Commission as launching pad

The Louisiana Public Service Commission has served as a stepping stone to higher office in Louisiana. The following chart details past commissioners who eventually won election to the governor's office:

Former commissioners who became governors
Name	Party	Commission service	Gubernatorial service
Huey Long	Democratic	1918-1928	1928-1932
Jimmie Davis	Democratic	1942-1944	1944-1948, 1960-1964
John McKeithen	Democratic	1955-1964	1964-1972
Kathleen Blanco	Democratic	1989-1996	2004-2008

Campaign media

Eric Skrmetta

Eric Skrmetta ad

Forest Wright

Forest Wright ad: The Real Skrmetta

Outside organizations

A radio ad campaign run by Louisiana Conserves PAC against Skrmetta drew attention late in the campaign. Skrmetta claimed that the ads opposing his re-election bid were misleading and defamed his character. On November 24, 2014, Orleans Parish Judge Paula Brown issued a temporary order to halt the ads.

Louisiana Conserves

Louisiana Conserves ad: We Can't Afford Eric Skrmetta

Campaign finance

District 1

Comprehensive donor information for this election has been collected by Follow the Money. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $1,231,351 during the election. This information was last updated on March 27, 2015.

Campaign Contribution Totals
Candidate	Office	Result	Contributions
Eric Skrmetta	Louisiana Public Service Commission		$803,525
Forest Wright	Louisiana Public Service Commission		$417,475
Allen "Al" Leone	Louisiana Public Service Commission		$10,351
Grand Total Raised			$1,231,351

District 5

Comprehensive donor information for this election has been collected by Follow the Money. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $503,056 during the election. This information was last updated on March 27, 2015.

Campaign Contribution Totals
Candidate	Office	Result	Contributions
Foster Campbell	Louisiana Public Service Commission		$445,451
Keith Gates	Louisiana Public Service Commission		$57,605
Grand Total Raised			$503,056

Past elections

Margin of victory analysis

The average margin of victory in the past five races for seats on the Public Service Commission was 32.8 percent. The smallest margin of victory was 0.9 percent in 2009, while the remaining four elections had margins of victory over 32 percent. The following chart compares the margin of victory for commission candidates with the margin of victory for candidates who won the most votes for the top race on the ballot:

Margin of victory analysis
Year	Commission seat	Commission margin of victory (%)	Party of winning candidate	Top race on ballot	Party of winning candidate	Margin of victory (%)
2012	2	36.7		President of the United States		17.2
2010	3	50.4		U.S. Senate		18.9
2009	4	0.9		-	-	-
2008	1	19.6		President of the United States		18.6
2008	5	56.2		President of the United States		18.6

Notes:

• No state executive, congressional or federal elections were held in 2009.
• In presidential election years, the chart details the margin of victory for the candidate who won the most votes in Louisiana.

2012

See also: Louisiana down ballot state executive elections, 2012

Louisiana Public Service Commission, District 2, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Scott Angelle	57.2%	213,485
	Democratic	Forest Wright	20.5%	76,336
	Republican	Erich Ponti	11.6%	43,287
	Republican	Sarah Holliday	7.6%	28,214
	Nonpartisan	Greg Gaubert	3.2%	11,758
Total Votes				373,080
Election results via Louisiana Secretary of State

2010

Louisiana Public Service Commission, District 3, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Lambert Boissiere III Incumbent	75.2%	63,253
	Democratic	John F. Schwegmann	24.8%	20,821
Total Votes				84,074
Election results via Louisiana Secretary of State

2009

Louisiana Public Service Commission, District 4, 2009
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Clyde Holloway	43.5%	32,258
	Democratic	"Joe" McPherson	42.6%	31,610
	Republican	Gil Pinac	13.9%	10,280
Total Votes				74,148
Election results via Louisiana Secretary of State

2008

Louisiana Public Service Commission, District 1, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Eric Skrmetta	59.8%	222,272
	Nonpartisan	John F. Schwegmann	40.2%	149,227
Total Votes				371,499
Election results via Louisiana Secretary of State

Louisiana Public Service Commission, District 5, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Foster Campbell Incumbent	78.1%	120,805
	No party affiliation	James "Jim" Crowley	21.9%	33,916
Total Votes				154,721
Election results via Louisiana Secretary of State

Key deadlines

Deadline	Event
August 20, 2014	First day for candidate qualification
August 22, 2014	Last day for candidate qualification
November 4, 2014	Primary election
November 17, 2014	Final day for vote certification if no general election is required
December 6, 2014	General election (if necessary)
December 18, 2014	Final day for vote certification if general election is required

Ballotpedia reports

To learn more about developments in this race, check out the following news articles from Ballotpedia: No news has been posted yet for this state.

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Louisiana + Public + Service + Commission + elections"

Louisiana Public Service Commission Elections News Feed

See also

• Louisiana Public Service Commission
• Louisiana state executive official elections, 2014
• Louisiana down ballot state executive elections, 2012
• Energy policy in Louisiana

External links

Suggest a link

• Louisiana Public Service Commission