Jim Morris (R)
Term limited in 2019
District Map

2002 Senate Race (Runoff)
Mary Landrieu (D) 5,057 (45%)
Suzy Terrell (R) 6,176 (55%)

2003 Governors Race (Runoff)
Kathleen Blanco (D) 5,020 (44%)
“Bobby” Jindal (R) 6,350 (56%)

2004 Presidential Race
George W. Bush (R) 12,022 (67%)
John Kerry (D) 5,766 (32%)
Others 76 (1%)

2004 Senate Race
David Vitter (R) 10,517 (62%)
Chris John (D) 3,851 (23%)
Others 2,571 (15%)

2006 Secretary of State Race
Jay Dardenne (R) 914 (15%)
Francis Heitmeier (D) 1,646 (28%)
Mike Francis (R) 2,298 (38%)
Mary Chehardy (R) 406 (7%)
Others 720 (12%)

2007 Governors Race
“Bobby” Jindal (R) 6,267 (56%)
Walter Boasso (D) 1,590 (14%)
John Georges (I) 1,179 (11%)
Foster Campbell (D) 2,075 (18%)
Others 114 (1%)

2007 Agriculture Commissioner Race
“Bob” Odom (D) 3,553 (34%)
Mike Strain (R) 3,842 (36%)
Wayne Carter (R) 2,428 (23%)
Don Johnson (R) 759 (7%)

House District 1 is the type of district that exhibits the split ticket behavior of Louisiana voters: supporting Republicans at the national (and even the statewide) level, while electing Democrats locally.

District 1 itself is a mixture of small towns in northern Caddo (through which I-49 North is slated to pass) and Bossier Parishes.  It also includes modestly growing suburbs west and northwest of Shreveport. Bush received 2/3 of the vote here, including over 80% in some of the suburban precincts. This district almost always votes Republican in seriously contested races.

House District 1 was held from 1987 until his death in 2006 by Democrat Roy “Hoppy” Hopkins. Hopkins won the seat in an open race in 1987 with 53%, succeeding Republican Bruce Lynn. He was then re-elected with over 70% of the vote and was twice unopposed. 

We foresaw that this district would be a likely Republican pickup due to its Republican voting history, relatively low (21%) and stable black population, and its history of electing a Republican to the Legislature. Rep. Hopkins, who is considered one of the most conservative Democrats in the house, echoed this sentiment when he told PoliticsLA.com in 2005 that he will likely be “the last Democrat to hold the seat.” And as expected, Republican county commissioner Jim Morris won a smashing 69% of the vote in the special election primary held in early 2007. He was re-elected for a full term with 64% of the vote, with equal percentages in both parishes. We see this seat as a Republican hold for some time to come, as Rep. Morris is allowed to serve three more terms.