When a special election was set for swing district HD60 on February 7th - during Mardi Gras season and the week before Valentine’s Day - insiders predicted low turnout and little engagement from African American voters in this largely rural district. 

The Westside Sponsoring Committee (WSC) organized for a different result.

After beginning a rural organizing strategy including five parishes (Iberville, West Baton Rouge, Pointe Coupee, East and West Feliciana), leaders identified and engaged 2,500 low-propensity African American voters through phone and text outreach. They also visited Black churches, barber shops and grocery stores and collaborated with allies, including: Black Voters Matter, local and state NAACP partners, VOTE, Louisiana Progress, Power Coalition, AFL-CIO, Iron Workers Union, and Westside Rural Organizing Project - to drive the Get Out the Vote effort.

"This is (a) test of our work to build power and increase voter turnout in the region.  We have a shared interest in building a strong collaborative to have our voices heard,"

WSC leader Kelly Ward said.

Leaders also convened both candidates at historic Plymouth Rock Baptist Church, a Civil Rights landmark. In 1963, James Farmer was smuggled out in a coffin to escape a planned Klan lynching. In 2026, congregational leaders reflected it was the first time a white Republican candidate had ever visited their church.

Despite predictions of 10% turnout, overall turnout reached 27.5%, with 37% turnout among African American voters.

This builds on WSC’s GOTV campaign last year that doubled projected turnout and helped defeat Amendment 3, which would have tried children 10-17 as adults.

Across rural and small-town Louisiana, WSC leaders are demonstrating that organized people — rooted in institutions and acting together — can shape political outcomes.

Louisiana's 2 Biggest Races Won't Have a Major Democrat: 'We Can't Coerce Anyone to Run,' The Times Picayune [pdf]