Hunter Greene (R)
Term limited in 2015
District Map

2002 Senate Race (Runoff)
Mary Landrieu (D) 4,405 (35%)
Suzy Terrell (R) 8,225 (65%)

2003 Governors Race (Runoff)
Kathleen Blanco (D) 4,231 (33%)
“Bobby” Jindal (R) 8,708 (67%)

2004 Presidential Race
George W. Bush (R) 11,907 (67%)
John Kerry (D) 5,591 (32%)
Others 156 (1%)

2004 Senate Race
David Vitter (R) 10,906 (63%)
Chris John (D) 3,608 (21%)
Others 2,702 (16%)

2006 Secretary of State Race
Jay Dardenne (R) 4,488 (70%)
Francis Heitmeier (D) 791 (12%)
Mike Francis (R) 847 (13%)
Mary Chehardy (R) 132 (2%)
Others 172 (3%)

2007 Governors Race
“Bobby” Jindal (R) 7,202 (65%)
Walter Boasso (D) 1,357 (12%)
John Georges (I) 1,294 (12%)
Foster Campbell (D) 1,144 (10%)
Others 109 (1%)

2007 Agriculture Commissioner Race
“Bob” Odom (D) 3,161 (29%)
Mike Strain (R) 5,088 (47%)
Wayne Carter (R) 1,954 (18%)
Don Johnson (R) 513 (5%)

House District 66 is a good example of the changing demographics of East Baton Rouge Parish. When the district was initially created in 1971, it was a North Baton Rouge district bordered by Choctaw, Airline Highway, and Scenic Highway. Its population back then was predominately blue-collar white; most of its constituents worked at one of the nearby industrial plants. As time went on, African-American in-migration, combined with white out-migration, resulted in the district lines shifting steadily to the east and south after the 1981, 1991, and 2001 redistrictings.

Today, the configuration of the district is significantly different than its 1970s configuration –it is now a predominately white-collar district with several affluent neighborhoods. The heart of the district (with about two-thirds of the voters), resides in middle to upper middle-class neighborhoods like Sherwood Forest, Broadmoor, Cedarcrest, and Lake Sherwood Acres. Another 20% of the district lives in middle-class, more blue-collar neighborhoods between Florida and Choctaw like Villa Del Rey and Red Oak. The remaining 15% of the vote lives in apartments and duplexes near I-12.

Though District 66 has steadily become more white collar and affluent with each redistricting, it has also seen significant racial change through the years. Overall, the district has gone from 16 to 23% African-American in three years. The rate of racial change within various parts of the district is even more significant. The middle-class neighborhoods between Florida and Choctaw have gone from 36 to 47% African-American and have a definite Democratic lean – Democrats can count on receiving between 51 and 57% of the vote in recent statewide elections in these precincts. Precincts near I-12 containing a significant population of apartment dwellers have also changed from 31 to 37% African-American; these areas still lean Republican, but only narrowly: Republicans can only count on 50-57% support here. However, the heart of the district, while experiencing a doubling in the African-American population from 7 to 13%, still consistently turns in 70-76% levels of support for Republican candidates.

Overall, the district still has a definite Republican edge; Republicans pretty consistently receive 63 to 67% of the vote in contested elections. This is because the affluent neighborhoods still cast about two thirds of the vote, and while they’ve lost 1% of their voters, the more Democratic precincts have lost 4% of their voters over the past few years.

The changing demographics of the district from blue-collar to more affluent white-collar was also reflected in its representation in the state House. For 28 years, staunchly conservative Democrat Woody Jenkins represented the area. He was typically re-elected without much incident for years. However, the 1991 redistricting, for the first time, gave him staunchly Republican precincts in Sherwood Forest and Broadmoor. Interestingly, he outflanked his Republican opponent by running to her right by accusing her of being supported by militant feminists. This political positioning probably helped him receive 49% of the vote in the affluent areas, which when combined with the 62% of the vote he received in the blue-collar precincts north of Florida Boulevard gave him 54% of the vote in the runoff. He wisely switched to the Republican Party three years later and was unopposed for re-election in 1995.

Rep. Jenkins was interested in higher office for some time, however; he ran against incumbent Democratic senators in 1978 and 1980 and received 40% of the vote each time. He then ran for an open Senate seat in 1996 that Mary Landrieu won by about 5,000 votes. After that, he retired in 1999 to run unsuccessfully for Commissioner of Elections.

Jenkins’ 1999 retirement did not result in a contested seat, however; Republican Mike Futrell jumped in the race early and defeated a lone Democrat with a whopping 82% of the vote. Rep. Futrell was unopposed in 2003, but he resigned in late 2004 after newly elected U.S. Senator David Vitter chose him as his statewide director. Five Republicans and two Democrats sought the seat, but Democrats didn’t even come close to being competitive; their combined vote was only 8% in the primary. However, Democratic support was crucial in helping Republican attorney Hunter Greene defeat EBR Republican chair Sean Riecke 53-47%. While Greene ran well in all parts of the district, his victory margin was augmented by the 68% of the vote he received in the now Democratic leaning precincts between Florida and Choctaw.

The inability of Democrats to contest this district seriously when the seat was open in 1999 and 2005, combined with Rep. Greene’s incumbency (he was unopposed this year and is allowed to serve until 2015), leads us to rate the district as a “Republican hold” now and into the future. Though racial changes in the district might make this district politically competitive in the future, the district’s slow population growth (its voting population decreased 1%) will almost certainly mean that the district will expand to the east ands south to include more Republican precincts after the 2011 reapportionment.