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Louisiana: Runoffs in Two Congressional Districts
By Hastings Wyman
Southern Political Report
March 10, 2008 —
In the first partisan primaries in the state since the 1970s, Louisiana voters in two congressional districts failed to produce a nominee in Saturday’s primaries. Republicans in the 1st District and Republicans and Democrats in the 6th District will go to the polls again in April 5 runoffs to choose their standard bearers for the May 3 General Election.
1st District (Metairie, etc.)
In the contest to replace former US Rep. Bobby Jindal (R), who resigned to become governor, on the Republican side, state Sen. Steve Scalise led with 16,799 votes (48%) to 9,631 (28%) for state Rep. Tim Burns, who will face him in the runoff. Slidell Mayor Ben Morris received 7,388 (21%) and businessman David Simpson 932 (3%).
Scalise, 43, a computer systems engineer, served three terms in the state House of Representatives prior to his election to the state Senate. In 2004, when the seat was vacated by newly-elected US Sen. David Vitter (R), Scalise earned the gratitude of the local GOP establishment by abandoning his own campaign for the 1st District seat in favor of Jindal. Much of the district’s Republican leadership backed him in his current campaign.
Burns, 50, is in his fifth year in the state House. He is a small businessman. A member of Phi Beta Kappa at Tulane University, he has taught law and business courses at several Louisiana universities. He is the author of several books on these subjects.
In the Democratic Primary, University of New Orleans psychology professor Gilda Reed, 60, who was endorsed by labor unions, easily defeated Air Force retiree M. V. “Vinny” Mendoza by 11,721 (70%) to 5,083 (30%).
The 1st District is heavily Republican; President Bush carried it with 71% in 2004. Whoever wins the GOP runoff is likely to win in the General Election.
6th District (Baton Rouge, etc.)
The primaries to choose a successor to US Rep. Richard Baker (R), who resigned to enter private business, failed to produce a winner in either party. On the GOP side, Louis “Woody” Jenkins, a longtime state legislator and a major force among the state’s conservative Republicans, received 14,849 votes (49.86%), narrowly missing a victory without a runoff. In second place was businesswoman Laurinda Calongne with 7,584 (25%), who will face Jenkins in the runoff. Other contenders were former Baker aide Paul Sawyer with 6,924 (23%) and Michael Cloonan, an industrial contracts manager, with 425 (1%).
Jenkins is no stranger to close races. In 1996, he lost a US Senate runoff to Mary Landrieu (D) by 49.8% to 50.2%, a result he unsuccessfully challenged in Congress and the courts. Jenkins, 61, is a community newspaper publisher and former television broadcaster. In this campaign, as in his earlier efforts, he had the support of conservative groups, including the Club for Growth and the National Taxpayers Union. However, he reached out to more moderate territory in this campaign, featuring a photograph of himself with John McCain on the front page of his website. He is favored in the runoff.
Laurinda Calongne founded a successful business focusing on healthcare and business consulting. She was appointed to the Louisiana Health Works Commission by then-Gov. Mike Foster (R). She has also taught at Louisiana State University. She is a longtime Republican activist and fundraiser and ran a well-financed campaign. If Sawyer, who attacked Jenkins aggressively during the campaign, gives strong backing to Calongne, she could give Jenkins a tough runoff battle.
On the Democratic side, state Rep. Dan Cazayoux, who lost a bid for speaker of the Louisiana House earlier this year, faces a runoff with state Rep. Michael Jackson, an African American whose politics are somewhat moderate. Trial lawyer Cazayoux, who had labor union support, received 16,596 votes (35%) to Jackson’s 12,882 (27%). Also running were Jason DeCuir with 8,790 (19%), Andy Kopplin with 8,176 (17%) and Joe Delatte with 1,017 (2%). DeCuir, an attorney, is an African American who lost a close state senate race here last year. Kopplin is a former chief of staff to Gov. Kathleen Blanco (D) and former director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority. Joe Delatte is a construction worker who, despite his last place finish, gets first prize for the best campaign slogan: “Regular Joe for Congress.” In addition to the nominees of the two major parties, Ashley Casey, a former aide to millionaire gubernatorial candidate John Georges, is one of three independents in the General Election. Casey, who has the support of Georges, could be a factor in the General. She has said if elected she would caucus with the Republicans.
The 6th District votes Republican, but not strongly as the 1st District, and Democrats are expected to target this one. President Bush carried it with 59% in 2004 and Jindal carried it with 56% in the 2007 governor’s race. But Democrats believe that an influx of voters -- many of them African-American -- from New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina makes the district more winnable for them. They are sure to be encouraged by the greater turnout in the Democratic Primary in the district, 47,461 Democrats to 29,782 Republicans.Baker, who resigned in January in the middle of his 11th term in Congress, faced his last opponent of any consequence in 1998, when he narrowly defeated (51% to 49%) Marjorie McKeithen (D), daughter of the secretary of state and granddaughter of a governor.
Demographically, the 6th District is 63% white, 33% black. About 10% of the district’s voters identify as Cajuns, or of French descent, which could help Cazayoux.
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