| Elections in Louisiana | |||||||||||
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The 2010 House elections in Louisiana occurred on November 2, 2010, and elected the members of the State of Louisiana's delegation to the United States House of Representatives. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; the elected served in the 112th Congress from January 3, 2011 until January 3, 2013. Louisiana has seven seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States Census.
These elections were held concurrently with the United States Senate elections of 2010 (including one in Louisiana), the United States House elections in other states, and various state and local elections.
Contents |
| United States House of Representatives elections in Louisiana, 2010[1] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | Percentage | Seats | +/– | |
| Republican | 675,386 | 65.20% | 6 | — | |
| Democratic | 311,221 | 30.04% | 1 | — | |
| Independents | 49,340 | 4.76% | 0 | — | |
| Totals | 1,035,947 | 100.00% | 7 | — | |
In his bid for a third term from this sharply Republican[2] district based in the northern suburbs of New Orleans around the shores of Lake Pontchartrain, Republican Congressman Steve Scalise faced a nominal challenge from Democratic candidate Myron Katz and independent candidate Arden Wells. The Times-Picayune endorsed Scalise in his bid for re-election, praising his "ability to forge relationships across party lines for the good of his constituents." [3]
As expected, Congressman Scalise was overwhelmingly re-elected to another term in Congress.
| Louisiana's 1st congressional district election, 2010[1] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | |
| Republican | Steve Scalise (inc.) | 157,182 | 78.52% | |
| Democratic | Myron Katz | 38,416 | 19.19% | |
| Independent | Arden Wells | 4,578 | 2.29% | |
| Totals | 200,176 | 100.00% | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
Republican Joseph Cao shocked the political world by upsetting embattled Democratic Congressman Bill Jefferson when he ran for his tenth term in Congress in 2008; the 2nd district of Louisiana is staunchly Democratic[2] because it is based largely in the city of New Orleans. In 2010, however, more attention was given to the race and Democrats indicated that they were targeting Cao for defeat when he ran for his second term. Congressman Cao built a relatively moderate profile as a Republican and worked to establish a strong working relationship with the African-American community of New Orleans, which political prognosticators identified as the way he would win re-election.[4]
In a crowded Democratic primary, State Representative Cedric Richmond emerged victorious and a tough general election ensued. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee initially indicated that it would invest in the race, but eventually pulled its resources out of New Orleans and moved them elsewhere. Democrats attributed the decision to the fact that Richmond did not need additional resources to win, but Cao claimed that party elders in the Democratic Party investigated Richmond’s background and were disgusted by what they found.
The Times-Picayune, the largest newspaper in Louisiana, endorsed Richmond, asserting that "his energy, legislative experience, and political acuity make him the better choice," though they praised Cao for serving "ably and with integrity during his two years in office."[3]
| Poll Source | Dates Administered | Joseph Cao (R) | Cedric Richmond (D) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anzalone Liszt Research | October 20–21, 2010 | 32% | 49% | - |
| Zata3 | October 20, 2010 | 36.1% | 53% | 8.4% |
| Public Policy Polling | October 2–3, 2010 | 38% | 49% | 13% |
| Anzalone Liszt Research† | September 12–15, 2010 | 36% | 45% | - |
| Market Research Insight† | May 27-June 2, 2010 | 51% | 26% | - |
†Internal poll (Market Research Insight for Cao and Anzalone Liszt Research for Richmond)
| Louisiana's 2nd congressional district election, 2010[1] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | |||
| Democratic | Cedric Richmond | 83,705 | 64.59% | |||
| Republican | Joseph Cao (inc.) | 43,378 | 33.47% | |||
| Independent | Anthony Marquize | 1,876 | 1.45% | |||
| Independent | Jack Radosta | 645 | 0.50% | |||
| Totals | 129,604 | 100.00% | ||||
| Democratic gain from Republican | ||||||
An open seat was created in this Republican[2] district based in the southern suburbs of New Orleans and southeastern Louisiana when three-term incumbent Democratic Congressman Charlie Melancon retired to run for Senate against incumbent Senator David Vitter. In the Republican primary, former Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives Hunt Downer, a former Democrat, squared off against Tea Party-backed candidate Jeff Landry. Though Landry obtained nearly fifty percent of the vote in the primary, it was not enough to cinch the nomination, and he faced a runoff election against Downer, which he was able to win handily.
On the Democratic side, Indian-American attorney Ravi Sangisetty emerged as the nominee after the Democrats’ favored candidate, Scott Angelle, the Louisiana Secretary of Natural Resources, declined to run. Sangisetty surprised many when he raised several hundred thousand dollars while running a below-the-radar campaign.[5] The Times-Picayune declined to endorse either candidate in the election.[3] and Landry was heavily favored to win the seat for the Republicans. In the end, Landry defeated Sangisetty by a comfortable margin to win his first term in Congress.
| Louisiana's 3rd congressional district election, 2010[1] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | |||
| Republican | Jeff Landry | 108,963 | 63.77% | |||
| Democratic | Ravi Sangisetty | 61,914 | 36.23% | |||
| Totals | 170,877 | 100.00% | ||||
| Republican gain from Democratic | ||||||
Though incumbent Republican Congressman John Fleming was elected to his first term in Congress in 2008 by a margin of just a couple hundred votes, he did not face a serious threat to his re-election in this Republican[2] district based in northwestern Louisiana this year. Congressman Fleming was opposed by Democrat David Melville and independent candidate Artis Cash in the general election, whom he was able to crush to win a second term.
| Louisiana's 4th congressional district election, 2010[1] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | |
| Republican | John Fleming (inc.) | 105,223 | 62.34% | |
| Democratic | David Melville | 54,609 | 32.35% | |
| Independent | Artis Cash | 8,962 | 5.31% | |
| Totals | 168,794 | 100.00% | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
Incumbent Republican Congressman Rodney Alexander, the dean of the Louisiana congressional delegation, ran for a fifth term from this Republican[2] district that is largely based in northeastern Louisiana but that also includes some of metro Baton Rogue. Seeing as Congressman Alexander faced only independent candidate Tom Gibbs in the general election, he was overwhelmingly favored to win re-election, which he did handily.
| Louisiana's 5th congressional district election, 2010[1] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | |
| Republican | Rodney Alexander (inc.) | 122,033 | 78.57% | |
| Independent | Tom Gibbs, Jr. | 33,279 | 21.43% | |
| Totals | 155,312 | 100.00% | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
This Republican[2] district, based around the Baton Rouge metropolitan area, has been represented by one-term Republican Congressman Bill Cassidy since he defeated Democratic Congressman Don Cazayoux in 2008. Congressman Cassidy received only a plurality of the vote in 2008, indicating that his victory was tenuous, but in 2010, he did not face a serious challenge to his re-election from Democratic nominee Merritt McDonald. As expected, Cassidy was elected to his second term in Congress in a landslide.
| Louisiana's 6th congressional district election, 2010[1] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | |
| Republican | Bill Cassidy (inc.) | 138,607 | 65.63% | |
| Democratic | Merritt E. McDonald, Sr. | 72,577 | 34.37% | |
| Totals | 211,184 | 100.00% | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
Incumbent Republican Congressman Charles Boustany was unopposed in his bid for a fourth term in Congress, and he was thus automatically re-elected to another term in Congress