Loulan Pitre (R)
Term limited in 2011
District Map

2002 Senate Race (Runoff)
Mary Landrieu (D) 6,703 (61%)
Suzy Terrell (R) 4,316 (39%)

2003 Governors Race (Runoff)
Kathleen Blanco (D) 8,158 (61%)
“Bobby” Jindal (R) 5,158 (39%)

2004 Presidential Race
George W. Bush (R) 9,828 (56%)
John Kerry (D) 7,272 (42%)
Others 382 (2%)

2004 Senate Race
David Vitter (R) 7,836 (48%)
Chris John (D) 5,154 (31%)
Others 3,406 (21%)

2006 Secretary of State Race
Jay Dardenne (R) 1,479 (20%)
Francis Heitmeier (D) 2,128 (28%)
Mike Francis (R) 1,815 (24%)
Mary Chehardy (R) 1,291 (17%)
Others 773 (10%)

2007 Governors Race
“Bobby” Jindal (R) 6,355 (52%)
Walter Boasso (D) 1,975 (16%)
John Georges (I) 2,469 (20%)
Foster Campbell (D) 1,125 (9%)
Others 271 (3%)

2007 Agriculture Commissioner Race
“Bob” Odom (D) 5,642 (49%)
Mike Strain (R) 3,438 (30%)
Wayne Carter (R) 1,802 (16%)
Don Johnson (R) 573 (5%)

House District 54 has been held since 1999 by Republican Loulan Pitre. Pitre won the seat in 1999 by defeating Democratic incumbent Mitch Theriot with 52% and holding on in a re-match in 2003 with the same 52% of the vote. This history of closely fought races (since 1987, the district has only has seen only one landslide victory) is why we are profiling District 54 as a “race to watch” in 2007. This district tends to vote Democratic in Presidential and (almost always) in statewide races; a Republican holding this seat is certainly an anomaly. Rep. Pitre, however, noted in a 2005 interview with PolticsLA.com that “while the district does have a Democratic lean the voting pattern is not terribly partisan.”

District 54 is nearly all white and consists of the area of Lafourche Parish south of Highway 90. Most of its residents live along a thin strip of land on either side of Bayou Lafourche, also known as “the longest main street in America.” A small portion of the district lives in Grand Isle, which is technically in Jefferson Parish but only accessible through Lafourche. Bush received 58% of the vote here, which is relatively low considering the district is 95% white.

Though Rep. Pitre could have sought another term, he chose to retire. The Republicans has a major recruiting success this year when former Rep. Theriot switched to the Republican party. He faces two Democratic opponents in the primary: Jerry Gisclair and John Melancon. Even though this district has a Democratic heritage, recent Republican victories here (such as David Vitter’s 49-31% lead), plus Mitch Theriot’s party switch, leads us to rate this district as a “likely Republican hold.”