Carla Dartez (D)
Term limited in 2011
District Map

2002 Senate Race (Runoff)
Mary Landrieu (D) 5,555 (58%)
Suzy Terrell (R) 4,001 (42%)

2003 Governors Race (Runoff)
Kathleen Blanco (D) 7,605 (61%)
“Bobby” Jindal (R) 4,892 (39%)

2004 Presidential Race
George W. Bush (R) 8,981 (55%)
John Kerry (D) 7,203 (44%)
Others 239 (1%)

2004 Senate Race
David Vitter (R) 7,207 (47%)
Chris John (D) 4,510 (30%)
Others 3,476 (23%)

2006 Secretary of State Race
Jay Dardenne (R) 1,441 (29%)
Francis Heitmeier (D) 1,308 (26%)
Mike Francis (R) 1,188 (23%)
Mary Chehardy (R) 720 (14%)
Others 413 (8%)

2007 Governors Race
“Bobby” Jindal (R) 5,481 (50%)
Walter Boasso (D) 2,647 (24%)
John Georges (I) 1,774 (16%)
Foster Campbell (D) 801 (7%)
Others 264 (3%)

2007 Agriculture Commissioner Race
“Bob” Odom (D) 5,125 (51%)
Mike Strain (R) 2,828 (28%)
Wayne Carter (R) 1,582 (16%)
Don Johnson (R) 563 (6%)

One of several state House districts that best fits the stereotype of Louisiana is House District 51, with its concentrations of swamps, sugarcane, and the oil industry. House District 51 itself contains portions of St. Mary Parish east of the Atchafalaya that are centered on the city of Morgan City, plus the southern half of Assumption Parish and the west/southwest portions of Terrebonne Parish outside of Houma. It contains a moderate (26%) African-American population and its voting population has decreased 4% over the past several years, with losses in Assumption and St. Mary parish only being partially offset by gains in Terrebonne Parish.

District 51 can usually be counted on to support Democrats in closely contested races, particularly south Louisiana Democrats. It gave respectable 58 and 61% percentages to Mary Landrieu and Kathleen Blanco, and gave an anemic 55% of the vote to George Bush last year. However, the district gave David Vitter a healthy 47-30% lead in the Senate race in 2004. Generally, Assumption and Terrebonne Parishes, which comprise about two-thirds of the district vote, lean Democratic, while the district’s portion of St. Mary Parish leans Republican.

The District normally supports its incumbents, although there has been turnover from two of three recent incumbents’ moving on to the state Senate. Democrat John Siracusa represented the area from 1976-1996. After he left to run for a vacant Senate seat, he was succeeded in 1996 by Democrat Butch Gautreaux. Rep. Gautreaux served one term and was elected to the Senate seat when Sen. Siracusa retired after one term. Carla Dartez was then narrowly elected in the 1999 runoff and was re-elected in 2003. In all but the 1999 race, the victor received at least 69% of the vote.

Representative Dartez can serve another term before term limits force her out of office. Normally, we would rate this district as a “Democratic hold.” This year, however, is different. Not only is there voter anger at incumbents, but she has recently faced a spate of unfavorable publicity over her citation for a hit and run and her husband’s arrest on a complaint that he harbored illegal aliens. Therefore, we rate this race as “leans Democratic.” Rep. Dartez faces three opponents this year: Democrats Estelle Mahoney and “Nick” Morris, and Republican Joe Harrison, who ran for the seat before.