{{Short description|American pastor and politician}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2021}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Rick Edmonds | state_senate = Louisiana State | district = 6th | term_start = January 8, 2024 | term_end = | predecessor = Bodi White | successor = | state_house1 = Louisiana | district1 = 66th | term_start1 = January 11, 2016 | term_end1 = January 8, 2024 | predecessor1 = Darrell Ourso | successor1 = Emily Chenevert | birth_name = Richard Phillip Edmonds Jr. | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1956|9|12}} | birth_place = Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | party = Republican | education = East Texas Baptist University (BA)<br>New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (MDiv) }} '''Richard Phillip Edmonds Jr.''' (born September 12, 1956), is an American pastor and politician from the U.S. state of Louisiana. A Republican, he is a member of the Louisiana Senate from East Baton Rouge Parish. He previously served in the Louisiana House of Representatives.
==Career== Edmonds is a former pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church in Shreveport and a former figure in the Louisiana Family Forum. He lives in Baton Rouge and is currently Senior Pastor at First Baptist Church of McComb.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About |url=http://www.fbcmccomb.com/about |access-date=2022-05-27 |website=My Site |language=en}}</ref>
In the 2015 House election, Edmonds unseated a fellow Republican, the moderate Darrell Ourso.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/elections/article_f57885d4-9e6d-541d-83f1-f90e87dbed91.html|title=District 66 incumbent Darrell Ourso loses seat to Family Forum Vice President|author=Rebekah Allen|newspaper=The Baton Rouge Advocate}}</ref>
Edmonds was among nine candidates running for secretary of state in the 2018 special election to fill the seat vacated by Tom Schedler.<ref>{{cite web|last=O'Donoghue|first=Julia|title=Rep. Rick Edmonds joins Louisiana Secretary of State's race|website=NOLA.com|date=June 28, 2018|url=https://www.nola.com/news/politics/rep-rick-edmonds-joins-louisiana-secretary-of-states-race/article_bbc80895-545a-5c0e-864a-bb271f55e0eb.html|access-date=January 23, 2026}}</ref> Edmonds finished in fourth place in the race with 164,949 (11 percent).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/Graphical|title=Election Returns|publisher=Louisiana Secretary of State|date=November 6, 2018|accessdate=November 7, 2018}}</ref> In a runoff election in December, victory went to the Republican interim secretary Kyle Ardoin.
In the 2023 elections, with Bodi White prevented from running for reelection to the Louisiana State Senate due to term limits, Edmonds ran to succeed him as the state senator for the sixth district. He faced Barry Ivey, a fellow state representative, in the primary election.<ref>{{cite web|last=Rosato|first=Chris|title=Who's up for the job in Senate District 6: at least two say they are|website=www.wafb.com|date=January 24, 2023|url=https://www.wafb.com/2023/01/24/whos-up-job-senate-district-6-least-two-say-they-are/|access-date=January 23, 2026}}</ref> Edmonds defeated Ivey, receiving 62% of the vote.<ref>{{cite web|title=Election 2023: Oct. 14 election results|website=www.wafb.com|date=October 15, 2023|url=https://www.wafb.com/2023/10/15/election-2023-oct-14-election-results/|access-date=January 23, 2026}}</ref>
After Julia Letlow announced that she would run for the U.S. Senate in the 2026 elections, Edmonds announced that he would run to succeed Letlow in the U.S. House of Representatives for {{ushr|LA|5}}.<ref>{{cite web|last=LaRose|first=Greg|title=Veteran state senator announces bid for Louisiana's 5th District in Congress • Louisiana Illuminator|website=Louisiana Illuminator|date=January 21, 2026|url=https://lailluminator.com/briefs/edmonds-congress/|access-date=January 23, 2026}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{CongLinks|votesmart=165569}}
{{Louisiana State Senators}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edmonds, Rick}} Category:1956 births Category:21st-century Baptist ministers from the United States Category:21st-century members of the Louisiana State Legislature Category:Baptists from Louisiana Category:Living people Category:Politicians from Baton Rouge, Louisiana Category:Politicians from Shreveport, Louisiana Category:Republican Party Louisiana state senators Category:Republican Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives
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