Rick Edmonds

Rick Edmonds
Member of the Louisiana State Senate
from the 6th district
Assumed office
January 8, 2024
Preceded byBodi White
Member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
from the 66th district
In office
January 11, 2016 – January 8, 2024
Preceded byDarrell Ourso
Succeeded byEmily Chenevert
Personal details
Born (1956-09-12) September 12, 1956
PartyRepublican
Alma materEast Texas Baptist University
OccupationClergyman

Richard Phillip Edmonds Jr. (born September 12, 1956), is an American pastor and politician from the U.S. state of Louisiana. A Republican, he is a member of the Louisiana Senate from East Baton Rouge Parish. He previously served in the Louisiana House of Representatives.

Career

Edmonds is a former pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church in Shreveport and a former figure in the Louisiana Family Forum. He lives in Baton Rouge and is currently Senior Pastor at First Baptist Church of McComb.[1]

In the 2015 House election, Edmonds unseated a fellow Republican, the moderate Darrell Ourso.[2]

Edmonds was among nine candidates running for secretary of state in the 2018 special election to fill the seat vacated by Tom Schedler.[3] Edmonds finished in fourth place in the race with 164,949 (11 percent).[4] In a runoff election in December, victory went to the Republican interim secretary Kyle Ardoin.

In the 2023 elections, with Bodi White prevented from running for reelection to the Louisiana State Senate due to term limits, Edmonds ran to succeed him as the state senator for the sixth district. He faced Barry Ivey, a fellow state representative, in the primary election.[5] Edmonds defeated Ivey, receiving 62% of the vote.[6]

After Julia Letlow announced that she would run for the U.S. Senate in the 2026 elections, Edmonds announced that he would run to succeed Letlow in the U.S. House of Representatives for Louisiana's 5th congressional district.[7]

References

  1. ^ "About". My Site. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  2. ^ Rebekah Allen. "District 66 incumbent Darrell Ourso loses seat to Family Forum Vice President". The Baton Rouge Advocate.
  3. ^ O'Donoghue, Julia (June 28, 2018). "Rep. Rick Edmonds joins Louisiana Secretary of State's race". NOLA.com. Retrieved January 23, 2026.
  4. ^ "Election Returns". Louisiana Secretary of State. November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  5. ^ Rosato, Chris (January 24, 2023). "Who's up for the job in Senate District 6: at least two say they are". www.wafb.com. Retrieved January 23, 2026.
  6. ^ "Election 2023: Oct. 14 election results". www.wafb.com. October 15, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2026.
  7. ^ LaRose, Greg (January 21, 2026). "Veteran state senator announces bid for Louisiana's 5th District in Congress • Louisiana Illuminator". Louisiana Illuminator. Retrieved January 23, 2026.