KEY TAKEAWAYS: Judge Billy Burris announced his candidacy for a vacant Louisiana Supreme Court seat. The race is for the Northshore-based District 1 seat vacated by William Crain. Burris will face Judge Blair Downing Edwards in a May 16 Republican primary. The contest will be among the first u sing Louisiana’s new semi-closed primary system.   Judge William “Billy” Burris announced Monday he will run for the Louisiana Supreme Court seat representing the Northshore that Associate Justice William Crain vacated to join the federal bench in December. A native of Franklinton, Burris has served on the 22nd District Court, which covers St. Tammany and Washington parishes, since 2018. He will face Judge Blair Downing Edwards, from the First Circuit Court of Appeal, in the race. Both candidates are Republicans and will be on the ballot for the May 16 Republican primary once they officially qualify Feb. 11-13. Burris’ candidacy already has the backing of political action committees for the state’s largest conservative business groups, including Louisiana’s two biggest oil and gas associations whose members regularly have complex litigation before the state Supreme Court. He has also earned the endorsement of the Louisiana Motor Transport Association, a trucking industry group that wants to curb expensive lawsuit settlements over motor vehicle accidents, which the court also oversees. “Like President Trump’s judicial appointees, I believe the role of a judge is not to make law, but to apply it faithfully,” Burris said in a written statement included in the news release announcing his candidacy. Burris received his bachelor’s degree from LSU and graduated from Southern University Law Center. His experience includes overseeing criminal and civil cases, according to the news release. He is also a member of the Federalist Society, a national conservative legal association, and the National Rifle Association. He and Edwards come from families with a history in politics. Burris took over his seat on the 22nd Judicial District Court from his father, Judge William J. Burris, who was on the bench from 1997 through 2017. Edwards is the wife of retired Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Daniel Edwards and the sister-in-law of former Gov. John Bel Edwards, who are both Democrats. Burris has also been linked to Crain, who he is seeking to replace on the Supreme Court. In 2024, Burris oversaw Crain’s divorce proceedings and granted Crain’s unusual request for a seal that kept Crain’s divorce records out of the public eye for several months. Public figures have traditionally not been allowed to keep their divorce documents private in Louisiana. Crain voluntarily lifted the seal on his divorce in August of 2025 after it had been finalized and a few weeks before it was announced he was a nominee for a federal judgeship. The District 1 seat on the Louisiana Supreme Court covers Livingston, Tangipahoa, Washington, St. Tammany and St. Bernard parishes as well as portions of Orleans Parish. It is one of the first races where Louisiana’s new semi-closed party primary system will be used, meaning only Republicans and independent voters registered with no political party will be able to participate in the election. ...read more read less