Simone Champagne (D)
Term limited in 2019
District Map

2002 Senate Race (Runoff)
Mary Landrieu (D) 5,032 (49%)
Suzy Terrell (R) 5,145 (51%)

2003 Governors Race (Runoff)
Kathleen Blanco (D) 8,905 (65%)
“Bobby” Jindal (R) 4,832 (35%)

2004 Presidential Race
George W. Bush (R) 10,648 (60%)
John Kerry (D) 6,749 (38%)
Others 240 (2%)

2004 Senate Race
David Vitter (R) 7,116 (43%)
Chris John (D) 6,997 (43%)
Others 2,346 (14%)

2006 Secretary of State Race
Jay Dardenne (R) 849 (16%)
Francis Heitmeier (D) 1,392 (27%)
Mike Francis (R) 2,272 (43%)
Mary Chehardy (R) 390 (7%)
Others 349 (7%)

2007 Governors Race
“Bobby” Jindal (R) 6,245 (51%)
Walter Boasso (D) 2,688 (22%)
John Georges (I) 1,903 (15%)
Foster Campbell (D) 1,223 (10%)
Others 266 (2%)

2007 Agriculture Commissioner Race
“Bob” Odom (D) 4,996 (44%)
Mike Strain (R) 4,870 (43%)
Wayne Carter (R) 882 (8%)
Don Johnson (R) 653 (6%)

House District 49 includes the eastern fringe of Vermillion Parish and most of Iberia Parish west of Highway 90. It has a moderate and stable (22%) African-American voting population, most of which lives in Iberia Parish. It has gained voters at a rate slightly faster than the statewide rate of increase, with Vermillion Parish (which only casts 30% of the vote) receiving a 5% increase in its voting population, and Iberia Parish growing more slowly at 2%.

This District tends to split between the parties in national and state elections. George Bush was re-elected with a healthy 60-38% percentage, Republican Charles Boustany received 61% of the vote in the Vermillion Parish precincts in the district, and “Bobby” Jindal received an absolute majority of the vote in his second (and successful) attempt at the governor’s chair. However, David Vitter and Suzy Terrell’s victories were razor thin, and were due to receiving enough of a lead in Iberia Parish to cancel out the Democratic leanings from the district’s portion of Vermillion Parish.

Furthermore, the district is not alien territory for Democrats. Kathleen Blanco received a solid 65% of the vote here, probably because she was born and raised in Iberia Parish. And local support from the area’s state senator, Craig Romero (interestingly, a Republican), also helped lift Democrat Charlie Melancon to victory in the open 2004 Congressional race, as he carried the district’s portion of Iberia parish with 60%. Without this 1,000 vote margin, Melancon would not have been elected.

The District has also supported its incumbents: since 1975, Democrats Ted Haik and Troy Hebert have been its only representatives. Rep. Haik had little trouble being re-elected; when he retired in 1995, Democrat Troy Hebert was elected in the runoff with 53%. Since then, he has been comfortably re-elected, receiving 64% of the vote against a Republican in 1999, and running unopposed in 2003.

Representative Hebert is term-limited in 2007 and, like Rep. Durand, is running for Craig Romero’s term-limited state Senate seat. Only one Democrat, Iberia Parish Chief Administrative Officer Simone Champagne, filed to run. Because of the historical strength of local Democrats here, we see this seat as a “Likely Democratic hold” for some time into the future.

Iberia and Vermillion parishes were in the northeast quadrant of Hurricane Rita and received quite a bit of wind damage and storm surge. The storm surge affected areas near the coast in both parishes. However, the district has still gained about 100 voters since the storm, with nearly all of the gain accruing to less populated Vermillion Parish.