BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A former state lawmaker appears to be returning to the Louisiana House without an election after no one else signed up to run against him for the vacant seat.
Republican Rep. Brett Geymann of Lake Charles was the only contender to sign up for the special election for the District 35 seat representing Beauregard and Calcasieu parishes before the three-day qualifying period closed Friday, according to information from the secretary of state's office.
Geymann had previously held the seat for 12 years before he was forced out by term limits in 2016. At the time he was a leader of the chamber's “fiscal hawk” movement of conservatives seeking more financial discipline in state spending practices. He ran unsuccessfully for a U.S. House and state Senate seat after that.
The election had been scheduled for Feb. 6. The seat was open because Republican Stephen Dwight of Lake Charles resigned from the 105-member chamber after winning a fall election to become Calcasieu Parish district attorney.
