Elcie Guillory (D)
Term limited in 2007
District Map

2002 Senate Race (Runoff)
Mary Landrieu (D) 9,294 (84%)
Suzy Terrell (R) 1,839 (16%)

2003 Governors Race (Runoff)
Kathleen Blanco (D) 9,130 (80%)
“Bobby” Jindal (R) 2,296 (20%)

2004 Presidential Race
George W. Bush (R) 3,749 (23%)
John Kerry (D) 12,596 (76%)
Others 145 (1%)

2004 Senate Race
David Vitter (R) 2,669 (17%)
Chris John (D) 10,918 (68%)
Others 2,440 (15%)

2006 Secretary of State Race
Jay Dardenne (R) 449 (9%)
Francis Heitmeier (D) 3,004 (58%)
Mike Francis (R) 1,003 (19%)
Mary Chehardy (R) 309 (6%)
Others 390 (8%)

2007 Governors Race
“Bobby” Jindal (R) 2,042 (21%)
Walter Boasso (D) 3,616 (38%)
John Georges (I) 1,513 (16%)
Foster Campbell (D) 2,107 (22%)
Others 315 (3%)

2007 Agriculture Commissioner Race
“Bob” Odom (D) 6,249 (70%)
Mike Strain (R) 1,654 (18%)
Wayne Carter (R) 704 (8%)
Don Johnson (R) 359 (4%)

House District 34 is located in inner city Lake Charles and roughly includes the area between Wardline Road in the east, the Calcasieu River in the west, and the I-210 loop in the south. It has a solid (71%, which is up from 68% in 2003) African-American majority, although precincts near the lake and the northernmost fringe of the district still have a 75% white majority. The district’s voter population has decreased about 5% since the last reapportionment.

The solid African-American majority means that Democrats can depend on receiving a solid majority of the vote in this district; in recent contested elections, Democratic majorities in the district have ranged from 76 to 84% of the vote – even though Chris John only received 68% of the vote here in his 2004 Senate race, it was his highest statewide percentage, and the overall Democratic vote in that race was still a solid 83%.

Since its configuration in 1981 as an African-American majority district, only two people have represented the district in the state house. African-American Democrat Wilford Carter served from 1983 to 1993. During his tenure, he received strong opposition in his 1987 and 1991 re-election races, and was forced into a runoff in 1991. Shortly after his 1991 re-election, Rep. Carter was elected to a judgeship in 1992, and African-American Democrat Elcie Guillory succeeded him. After winning the January 1993 runoff with 55% of the vote, he has been easily re-elected since then.

Though Representative Guillory is term-limited, we see this seat as a Democratic hold in 2007. In fact, there are seven Democrats running: Lake Charles City Council members A.B Franklin and Rodney Geyen, Judge (and former state Representative) Wilford Carter, Calcasieu Parish Police Juror (and nephew of Rep. Guillory) Tony Guillory, Edwina Medearis-Harrison, Robert Shelton, and Wilford Trahan. Since Mr. Guillory is a nephew of Rep. Guillory. The mix of candidates in this race will make this an interesting race to watch, especially for those who follow Lake Charles politics.

The Lake Charles area was in the northeast quadrant of Hurricane Rita and received quite a bit of wind damage. It will take time for the area to rebuild, and we have seen some out migration from the area, as the district has lost about 900 voters since the hurricanes.