Louisiana Democrat Chasity Verret Martinez defeated her Republican opponent by double digits in the special election Saturday night for a state House seat in a district President Trump won by 13 points in 2024.<\/p>\n
Martinez won 62% of the vote compared to 38% for her Republican opponent, Brad Daigle, according to unofficial results from the Louisiana Secretary of State<\/a>.<\/p>\n The special election was held after its former state representative, a Democrat, was appointed by Republican Gov. Jeff Landry to be a commissioner for the state’s Department of Alcohol & Tobacco.\u00a0<\/p>\n Martinez’s win is not a flip since Democrats already held the seat, but Republicans had seen it as a prime pickup opportunity since Mr. Trump won the district three times. Her win was a 37-point swing from the 2024 results, although the district has voted for Democrats at the state and local levels previously.\u00a0<\/p>\n Martinez, a former Iberville Parish councilwoman who focused her campaign on affordability and local issues, was outspent by Republicans 3-to-1.\u00a0<\/p>\n Her victory comes on the heels of the Texas 9th state Senate special election<\/a> last week, where Democrat Taylor Rehmet flipped a seat<\/a> in the largest Republican county in the country \u2014 a seat held by the GOP for over 40 years. While Mr. Trump won that Texas district by 17 points in 2024, Rehmet won his race by 14 points.\u00a0<\/p>\n Republicans have not yet had any special election legislative pickups during Mr. Trump’s second term. Democrats have flipped eight previously GOP-held districts in special elections since Mr. Trump took office. \u00a0<\/p>\n The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the campaign arm of Democratic state legislatures, issued a statement on Saturday night saying Republicans “squandered their first flip opportunity in an election they should’ve had in the bag.”\u00a0<\/p>\n \n More from CBS News\n <\/p>\n \n Go deeper with The Free Press\n <\/p>\n