On Saturday, April 24, Cassie Williams and Michael Melerine were in a runoff for BESE District 4. BESE is short for the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. The BESE District 4 seat represents ten parishes in Northwest Louisiana including Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, De Soto, Natchitoches, Red River, Sabine, Vernon, Webster, and Winn.

When the all of the votes were tallied, Michael Melerine won by a large margin.  In the ten parishes, 38,087 votes were cast.  Melerine received 62% of votes and Williams received 38%.  

Melerine won by a large margin in eight of the ten parishes, with the exceptions being Bienville and Caddo parishes.  In those parishes, Williams won by a slim margin.  In Bienville Parish, Williams received 52% of the vote to Melerine’s 48%.  

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