Louisiana's 6th congressional district special election, 2008
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The February 2, 2008 resignation of Republican Richard Baker triggered a special election for Louisiana's 6th district. In anticipation of this election, party qualifying occurred before Baker's resignation.[1] The timeline mirrored that of the 2008 special election for the 1st congressional district.[1] The two elections were the first Louisiana congressional elections not based on Louisiana's jungle primary system since the 1970s.
Democrat Don Cazayoux won the 6th district election, beating Republican Woody Jenkins by three percentage points, as well as two independent candidates and a member of the Constitution Party.[2] He was sworn in on March 6, switching the party affiliation of the seat. (This was the second time such a party switch occurred due to a special election during the 110th Congress.)
Several Republicans who were considered likely candidates chose not to run. They included Baton Rouge Metro Council member David Boneno[3][4]; Louisiana State Representative Hunter Greene;[5][4][6]; the son of former Louisiana governor Buddy Roemer, Chas Roemer[3][7]; Livingston Parish Assessor Jeff Taylor[7] and Mike Walker[4], another Baton Rouge Metro Council member.
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[edit] Calendar
These were the events leading up to the general special election:[1]
- January 29–31, 2008: Qualifying
- 2008-02-02: Baker resigned
- 2008-03-08: Party primary elections
- 2008-04-05: Party runoff elections
- 2008-05-03: General special election
[edit] Results
Don Cazayoux won the election.[8]
| Louisiana's 6th congressional district special election, 2008[9] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | Don Cazayoux | 49,702 | 49.20% | ||
| Republican | Woody Jenkins | 46,741 | 46.27% | ||
| Independent | Ashley Casey | 3,718 | 3.68% | ||
| Independent | Peter J. Aranyosi | 448 | 0.44% | ||
| Constitution | Randall T. Hayes | 402 | 0.40% | ||
| Total votes | 101,011 | 100% | |||
| Majority | 2,961 | 2.93% | |||
| Turnout | |||||
| Democratic gain from Republican | Swing | ||||
[edit] Candidates
[edit] Democratic
- Don Cazayoux of New Roads[10] — Lawyer and Louisiana State Representative. Elected.
- Lost runoff:
- Michael L. Jackson[7] — Lawyer and current Louisiana State Representative (LA House website)
- Lost primary:
- Jason DeCuir[1] — Lawyer and unsuccessful State Senate candidate
- Joe Delatte[4] — Construction Worker
- Andy Kopplin[7] — Former Chief of Staff to Governors Foster and Blanco, Former LRA Executive Director
[edit] Republican
- Woody Jenkins of Baton Rouge[10][11] — Former Louisiana State Representative, newspaper editor/owner. Lost in general special election.
- Lost runoff:
- Laurinda L. Calongne[7] — Lobbyist, owner of Robert Rose Consulting, a government relations firm.
- Lost primary:
- Michael Cloonan[12] — Naval Veteran, supply chain professional[4]
- Paul Sawyer[4] — Former Baker aide
[edit] Constitution Party
- Randall T. Hayes[12] — satirical candidate, critic of plurality voting, proponent of instant runoff voting.[13] Lost in general special election.
[edit] Independent candidates
- Peter J. Aranyosi[1][13] Lost in general special election.
- Ashley Casey[1] — New media consultant, former press secretary to Gov. Buddy Roemer and Congresswoman Sue Kelly, graduate of Columbia University. Lost in general special election.
[edit] External links
- Don Cazayoux campaign website
- Woody Jenkins campaign website
- Randall Hayes campaign website
- Ashley Casey campaign Website
- Jason DeCuir campaign Website
- Joe Delatte campaign website
- Andy Kopplin campaign website
- Laurinda Calongne campaign website
- Michael Cloonan campaign website
[edit] See Also
- Louisiana's 1st congressional district special election, 2008
- List of special elections to the United States House of Representatives
- United States House of Representatives elections in Louisiana, 2008
- Illinois's 14th congressional district special election, 2008
- Mississippi's 1st congressional district special election, 2008
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f Shuler, Marsha. "Hopefuls join race in 6th District", The Advocate, February 1, 2008.
- ^ Simpson, Doug. "Cazayoux wins 6th District seat in Congress", The Advocate, May 3, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-05-25.
- ^ a b Maginnis, John. "La. Politics by John Maginnis: Big field taking shape in 6th District", Business Report.com, January 15, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-05-25.
- ^ a b c d e f Shields, Gerard. "Richard Baker to resign", The Advocate, January 16, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-01-17.
- ^ Walsh, Bill. "Richard Baker to leave Congress by Feb. 6", The Times-Picayune, January 15, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-05-26.
- ^ The Advocate: Washington Watch for January 28, 2008
- ^ a b c d e BusinessReport.com: Sixth District race: Kopplin in, Taylor out, Roemer undecided
- ^ http://www400.sos.louisiana.gov:8090/cgibin/?rqstyp=elcms2&rqsdta=050308 Last accessed May 4, 2008
- ^ 2008 Special Election Results
- ^ a b Louisiana Secretary of State Unofficial Election Results Inquiry Results for Election Date: 4/05/08
- ^ The Advocate: Washington Watch for January 21, 2008
- ^ a b Two more candidates in 6th Congressional District; no change in 1st — New Orleans News - NOLA.com
- ^ a b Louisiana Secretary of State Multi-Parish Candidate Data Inquiry, includes only final General Election candidates
