Kip Holden, Born on August 12, 1952, Melvin Lee “Kip” Holden was the Democratic mayor-president of Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, from 2005 to 2016. He died on May 14, 2025. In addition to Baton Rouge, the parish includes Baker, Central City, and Zachary.
On November 21, Republican Billy Nungesser beat him for lieutenant governor in 2015.
Sharon Weston Broome, a Democrat, became mayor-president when he resigned at year’s end.
Kip Holden Obituary : His Biography and Legal Legacy
Kip Holden Beginnings of formal education
Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge awarded him a BA in journalism in 1974. He earned a Master of Arts in journalism from Southern University in Baton Rouge in 1982. He then received a Juris Doctor from Baton Rouge’s Southern University Law Center in 1985.
Kip Holden Starting a career
Holden was a journalist and lawyer before politics.
He was a Baton Rouge City Police public information officer, Louisiana Department of Labor Workers’ Compensation Office clerk, and US Census Bureau public relations specialist. reference needed In 1975 and 1977, he directed news at WXOK Radio in Port Allen. He reported for WWL Radio in New Orleans from 1977 to 1978. From 1978 to 1979, he covered news for WBRZ Channel 2 in Baton Rouge.
He began teaching adjunct law at Southern University’s Law Center–Baton Rouge in 1991.
He represented District 2 in the Baton Rouge Metro Council from 1984 until 1988. He represented District 63 in Louisiana from 1988 until 2002. He served Louisiana State Senate District 15 from 2002 to 2004.
He unsuccessfully ran for Baton Rouge mayor-president in 1996 and 2000.
Kip Holden 2004 mayoral election
On November 3, 2004, Holden became Baton Rouge mayor-president, succeeding Baker Republican Bobby Simpson. The 2004 Baton Rouge mayoral election took place. On January 3, 2005, Holden was inaugurated.
Holden’s urban Black base was important to his victory, but white suburbanites, including many Republicans, helped him win East Baton Rouge Parish. Many business and industrial leaders, notably Shaw Group CEO Jim Bernhard, supported the second group. The parish voted 54% for President Bush’s re-election and 69% for U.S. Representative Richard Hugh Baker, a surprising show of anger with Mayor-President Simpson. Holden matched Bush for parishwide 54% in the same election.
Holden joined the 2006 Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, co-chaired by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
The Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield, Louisiana, inducted Holden in 2008.
Kip Holden’s 2008 re-election
Reelection in 2012 Main article: 2012 Baton Rouge mayoral contest
Holden comfortably won reelection in the nonpartisan blanket primary on November 6, 2012, alongside the national election. Republican and Metro Council member J. Michael “Mike” Walker Sr., who opposed Holden, blasted the city-parish for protecting Louis Farrakhan during his October 3 Southern University address. Farrakhan thanked Holden and the police chief for escorting him from the New Orleans airport to Baton Rouge in Walker’s ad.
Holden defeated three opponents with 115,305 votes, 60%. Walker placed second with 65,972 votes (34.3%). Two independents contributed 5.7%.
Kip Holden Work further up.
In 2015, Holden placed first among four candidates for Louisiana lieutenant governor with 360,679 votes (33.3%) in the primary. Nungesser qualified for the runoff against Holden with 324,654 votes (30%). John Young placed third with 313,183 votes (28.9%). Elbert Guillory, a retiring state senator, finished last with 85,460 votes, 7.9%. After the second round, Nungesser earned 628,864 votes (55.4%) and Holden 506,578 (44.6%). Holden stole the race in Orleans and East Baton Rouge, which are thickly populated.
Kip Holden’s 2016 congressional run
The 2016 Louisiana 2nd congressional district elections may also interest you.
In 2016, Baton Rouge mayor-president Holden unsuccessfully challenged Louisiana’s second congressional district’s Democratic incumbent, Cedric Richmond. New Orleans has long been the district’s headquarters, but following the 2010 census, it was expanded to include western Baton Rouge, which contains most of the capital’s Black precincts.
Holden earned 20% of the vote, while Richmond received 70%. Sharon Weston Broome, who had previously replaced Holden in the state Senate, became mayor-president after her 52-48 percent victory against Republican state senator Bodi White in the December 10, 2016 runoff.
Kip Holden Death and old age
Holded, 72, died of an illness at a Baton Rouge hospice on May 14, 2025.
Honoring Kip Holden
In moments like these, we feel the loss deeply. Kip Holden had a profound impact on many lives.
If you have any memories or thoughts to share, please feel free to leave a comment below. Let’s come together to remember and celebrate his life.
For additional obituaries and news about prominent individuals, visit people.com’s obituary section.
Please note that some articles may require a subscription to access.
Kip Holden, the first mayor I ever covered, has died after a long illness at age 72. He helped lead a renaissance of downtown Baton Rouge, was known for dressing in costume at events and had a career bookended by natural disasters:www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/…
— Andrea Gallo (@aegallo.bsky.social) 2025-05-14T14:47:52.454Z
Leave a Reply