Meet the Candidates Running for Louisiana’s Public Service Commission

Two open seats on the state’s powerful utility regulating body head to a primary on May 16, 2026

When Louisiana voters go to the polls this May, most of their attention will be fixed on the U.S. Senate race. But tucked into the same ballot sit two contests that may ultimately do more to shape the financial lives of ordinary Louisianans than anything happening in Washington.

Two of the five seats on the Louisiana Public Service Commission are open in 2026. The men and women elected to fill them will inherit one of the most consequential regulatory dockets in state history — and the decisions they make over the next six years will reshape utility rates and energy policy for decades to come.

The PSC doesn’t pass headline-grabbing laws or dominate cable news. Instead, it does something far more consequential: it determines how much the state’s monopoly utilities are allowed to earn, and it sets the rates every Louisiana household and business must pay to keep the lights on.

Those rates have been climbing. Base electric utility rates have increased by roughly 40 percent since 2018, with an additional 40 percent increase projected by 2030. Recent Pelican Institute polling found that two-thirds of Louisiana voters report higher electric and gas bills — and eight in ten blame those increases at least in part on state government and the Public Service Commission itself.

Simply put, these elections matter, so it is important for voters to get to know the candidates and where they stand on important issues.

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the Pelican Institute does not make political endorsements. But we do believe informed voters make better choices — and that Louisianans deserve a clear, honest look at where the candidates stand on the issues that will determine our energy future. This voter guide is designed to do exactly that, giving you a side-by-side look at each candidate’s positions on electricity affordability, utility rate reform, infrastructure investment, consumer choice, and free market competition.

Watch the candidate interviews below and decide for yourself. (*All qualified candidates have been invited, and a number of invitations are pending.)

District 1

District 1 covers Jefferson, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, and Washington parishes — a sprawling swath of southeastern Louisiana stretching from the bayous below New Orleans to the piney parishes north of Lake Pontchartrain. Its current commissioner, Eric Skrmetta, has held the seat since 2009 and is term-limited

Wallace ‘Wayne’ Cooper (R) – District 1

Stephanie Hilferty (R) – District 1

‘Big John’ Mason (R) – District 1

Mark Wright (R) – District 1

John Young (R) – District 1

Chris Justin (No Party) – District 1

Connie Norris (D)  – Invited

District 5

District 5 is currently held by Foster Campbell (D). Campbell is term-limited after 18 years on the commission, closing a chapter in Louisiana political history. His successor will inherit a district that covers northwest Louisiana, from the Texas border to the Mississippi line— a region sitting at the center of the state’s data center construction boom.

John Atkins (R) – District 5

Aiden Joyner (R) – District 5