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Two Republican women advance to runoff for Hainkel's senate seat
By The Associated Press
Two Republican women will meet in a runoff election July 9 to succeed the late state Sen. John Hainkel in a state Senate seat in southeast Louisiana.
On Saturday, state Rep. Diane Winston, R-Covington, won the primary election with 32 percent of the votes, or 5,611 votes, according to unofficial results from the Louisiana secretary of state.
Julie Quinn, a former Jefferson Parish School Board member, came in second, outpacing the other five contenders in the race. She won 24 percent of the vote, or 4,243 votes.
The Senate 6th District straddles Lake Pontchartrain, taking in Mandeville, Madisonville and parts of Tangipahoa Parish on the north shore of the lake; and on the south shore it stretches from Uptown New Orleans to Metairie.
Winston was the only candidate from north of Lake Pontchartrain, where about 53 percent of the district's voters live in St. Tammany and Tangipahoa parishes.
The 67-year-old state representative is known for her legislative record supporting women's and children's issues, local projects, the arts and the environment.
Quinn served on the Jefferson Parish School Board and worked as a corporate lawyer.
Her husband, Patrick Quinn, owns Decatur Hotels, the largest locally owned hotel company, which operates 17 sites.
The other candidates in the primary were: Democrat Una Anderson, Orleans Parish School Board member; Republican Jack Capella, former interim Jefferson Parish district attorney; state Rep. John LaBruzzo, R-Metairie; former Public Service Commissioner John Schwegmann, no party affiliation; and Ponchatoula lawyer Arden Wells, no party affiliation.
Hainkel, who died on April 15, was the only member of the state Legislature to serve as both House speaker and Senate president. |
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