James David Cain (R)
Term limited in 2007
District Map

2002 Senate Race (Runoff)
Mary Landrieu (D) 9,949 (44%)
Suzy Terrell (R) 12,454 (56%)

2003 Governors Race (Runoff)
Kathleen Blanco (D) 13,318 (54%)
“Bobby” Jindal (R) 11,462 (46%)

2004 Presidential Race
George W. Bush (R) 27,406 (70%)
John Kerry (D) 11,277 (29%)
Others 415 (1%)

2004 Senate Race
David Vitter (R) 20,637 (57%)
Chris John (D) 11,226 (31%)
Others 4,309 (12%)

2006 Secretary of State Race
Jay Dardenne (R) 1,982 (15%)
Francis Heitmeier (D) 3,248 (25%)
Mike Francis (R) 5,026 (39%)
Mary Chehardy (R) 1,262 (10%)
Others 1,364 (11%)

2007 Governors Race
“Bobby” Jindal (R) 14,107 (53%)
Walter Boasso (D) 4,042 (15%)
John Georges (I) 3,032 (11%)
Foster Campbell (D) 4,445 (17%)
Others 791 (3%)

2007 Agriculture Commissioner Race
“Bob” Odom (D) 11,504 (46%)
Mike Strain (R) 7,947 (32%)
Wayne Carter (R) 3,341 (13%)
Don Johnson (R) 2,417 (10%)

District 30 contains all of Beauregard and Vernon Parishes, plus the more rural northern and western fringes of Calcasieu Parish. This is an almost all-white district; the 10% African-American voter registration has remained unchanged since the 2001 reapportionment. The district itself has grown at a figure slightly less than the statewide rate over the last few years, but the growth has been uneven. Vernon parish has been losing voters since 2003, while Beauregard and the district’s portions of Calcasieu Parish have grown at slightly faster than the state as a whole.

The district has a conservative tilt, although it is more split in statewide races. George Bush and David Vitter have received healthy (70-29% and 57-31%) support, and Suzy Terrell received 56% of the vote. However, Blanco carried the district with 54% over Bobby Jindal, which helped her win statewide. In all 4 cases, there all three parishes voted for the same candidates. One curious feature of this district is that Chris John actually performed slightly better than his statewide average; that is likely due to the fact that he married Leesville state representative John Smith’s daughter.

The district has also been very steady in its legislative representation. Since 1967, only two individuals have represented the area in the state Senate: Democrat Bryan Poston from Vernon parish from 1967-1991, and Democrat turned Republican James David Cain from Beauregard Parish since then. Only once since 1987 has there been a seriously contested race: James David Cain’s initial election to the Senate after 20 years in the state House. In that 1991 race, he faced Democratic state Representative Allen Bradley of DeRidder and defeated him 56-44%. Even after he switched parties before the 2003 race, he still received 72% of the vote in his 2003 race.

Senator Cain is term-limited in 2007; in anticipation of his retirement, he unsuccessfully ran for Insurance Commissioner in 2006. He is, however, running for his old state House seat, where the incumbent is term-limited. This seat is a good example of why Republican control of the Legislature is not a sure thing. While the district has demonstrated support for Republicans at the national and even the statewide level, and even rewarded Senator Cain for his party switch, the area does not yet have a history of electing Republicans to the legislature. And as such, three Democrats (and no Republicans) are running for the seat: term-limited state representative John Smith, former state Representative and ex-Congressman “Buddy” Leach, and attorney Terry Fowler.