Dan Morrish (R)
Term limited in 2007
District Map

2002 Senate Race (Runoff)
Mary Landrieu (D) 5,713 (54%)
Suzy Terrell (R) 4,809 (46%)

2003 Governors Race (Runoff)
Kathleen Blanco (D) 7,301 (58%)
“Bobby” Jindal (R) 5,271 (42%)

2004 Presidential Race
George W. Bush (R) 11,100 (61%)
John Kerry (D) 6,773 (37%)
Others 261 (2%)

2004 Senate Race
David Vitter (R) 7,534 (43%)
Chris John (D) 8,189 (47%)
Others 1,680 (10%)

2006 Secretary of State Race
Jay Dardenne (R) 1,089 (19%)
Francis Heitmeier (D) 1,424 (24%)
Mike Francis (R) 2,553 (44%)
Mary Chehardy (R) 322 (6%)
Others 389 (7%)

2007 Governors Race
“Bobby” Jindal (R) 6,767 (51%)
Walter Boasso (D) 2,743 (21%)
John Georges (I) 2,058 (16%)
Foster Campbell (D) 1,295 (10%)
Others 279 (2%)

2007 Agriculture Commissioner Race
“Bob” Odom (D) 5,138 (41%)
Mike Strain (R) 5,509 (43%)
Wayne Carter (R) 1,166 (9%)
Don Johnson (R) 858 (7%)

House District 37 is in southwest Louisiana and contains Jefferson Davis Parish and the easternmost fringe of Calcasieu Parish between Wardline Road and the Jefferson Davis Parish line. Overall, the district has a low and unchanging 16% African-American population, with nearly equal percentages in both parishes. About 70% of the voters live in Jefferson Davis Parish, but Calcasieu Parish has slowly been gaining more influence. Though the number of registered voters overall increased about 3%, Jefferson Davis Parish gained only 2%, while the portion of Calcasieu Parish has seen a 5% increase, with some precincts there posting 10 and 20% increases in the past three years.

Politically, the district tends to vote Democratic in statewide elections, but not overwhelmingly; Mary Landrieu, Kathleen Blanco, and Congressional candidate Willie Mount have carried the district, but with 58% of the vote or less. And even though Chris John represented the area in Congress for a decade, he only received a 47-43% plurality here. In presidential elections, the area seems to be trending Republican, as George Bush twice carried the district, with a solid 61-37% margin in 2004. The district’s voting Republican for President twice is especially noteworthy because the last time Republicans carried the district in a presidential race was the 1984 Reagan Republican landslide. And this Republican trend has also begun to show up in legislative races, as the area is represented by Democrats in both the state House and state Senate who switched to the Republican Party. Interestingly, in all elections mentioned above, both parishes have consistently supported the same candidates, although the district’s portion of Calcasieu Parish tends to vote Democratic by a slightly greater margin than Jefferson Davis Parish does.

Since 1971, the district has been represented by three Democrats from Jeff Davis Parish, with the last two being party switchers. Democrat James Martin represented the district from 1971 to 1991. After being pushed into the runoff by Democrat Gerald Theunissen in 1987, Rep. Martin retired in 1991. Theunissen was then elected with 60% in the primary, was unopposed in 1995, and then resigned in 1996 to run successfully for an open state Senate seat (Interestingly, he defeated Republican Mike Francis – a candidate for Secretary of State - 56-44% in the runoff for that race). Theunissen was succeeded by Democrat “Blade” Morrish, who was elected with 72% of the vote in the 1995 primary. Like Theunissen, Rep. Morrish has been unopposed in his re-election bids.

Representative Morrish is term-limited in 2007 and is running for Gerald Theunissen’s term-limited state senate seat. We rate this district as a tossup. Though its electoral performance in statewide races suggests a Democrat would be favored, it’s worth noting that George Bush received 61% of the vote here, and in the past decade, former state Rep. (and state Senator) Gerald Theunissen and Rep. Morrish have not been punished for switching parties. There are four candidates seeking the seat: Republicans “Johnny” Guinn and J.C. Warren, and Democrats Jason Bouley and Kyle Reed.

Southwest Louisiana was in the northeast quadrant of Hurricane Rita and received quite a bit of wind damage, with some storm surge affecting the southern fringes of the district. While it will take time for the area to rebuild, we have not seen an out migration from the area; in fact, the district has gained over 500 new voters since the hurricanes, with a disproportionate share of the gain in voters accruing to Calcasieu Parish.