Eddie Lambert (R)
Term limited in 2015
District Map

2002 Senate Race (Runoff)
Mary Landrieu (D) 4,664 (39%)
Suzy Terrell (R) 7,154 (61%)

2003 Governors Race (Runoff)
Kathleen Blanco (D) 5,434 (36%)
“Bobby” Jindal (R) 9,490 (64%)

2004 Presidential Race
George W. Bush (R) 15,105 (72%)
John Kerry (D) 5,605 (27%)
Others 237 (1%)

2004 Senate Race
David Vitter (R) 13,466 (65%)
Chris John (D) 4,144 (20%)
Others 2,976 (15%)

2006 Secretary of State Race
Jay Dardenne (R) 2,820 (59%)
Francis Heitmeier (D) 850 (17%)
Mike Francis (R) 801 (17%)
Mary Chehardy (R) 183 (4%)
Others 164 (3%)

2007 Governors Race
“Bobby” Jindal (R) 10,790 (69%)
Walter Boasso (D) 1,737 (11%)
John Georges (I) 1,348 (9%)
Foster Campbell (D) 1,544 (10%)
Others 159 (1%)

2007 Agriculture Commissioner Race
“Bob” Odom (D) 4,643 (31%)
Mike Strain (R) 7,440 (50%)
Wayne Carter (R) 1,991 (13%)
Don Johnson (R) 952 (6%)

Historically, Ascension Parish was a Democratic stronghold, due to a coalition of African-Americans located in precincts near the river and blue-collar workers employed by the numerous petrochemical plants in the area. This began to change as affluent suburban migration from Baton Rouge accelerated in the 1990s, making Ascension Parish one of the fastest growing parishes in the state.

In general, House District 59 includes the fastest growing subdivisions between I-10 and Airline from the East Baton Rouge Parish line all the way to the outskirts of Sorrento. It has a low (11%, up from 9% in 2003) African-American population, and has had the heaviest growth in the entire state – it has gained voters at ten times the statewide rate. This heavy growth has favored the Republicans, as the Democratic voter registration plurality has shrunk from 47-30% to 40-34% since the last gubernatorial election.

The Republican trend has also been apparent from recent statewide election returns: Suzy Terrell’s 61% of the vote was exceeded by Bobby Jindal’s 64%, which was then topped by David Vitter’s 65-20% lead in 2004, and “Bobby” Jindal’s impressive 69% of the vote in 2007. George Bush’s 72-27% of the vote in 2004 was also impressive, with over 80% of the vote in several fast-growing Prairieville precincts.

Unlike fast growing districts in Livingston Parish, the Republican trend didn’t really show up in election returns until 2003. For 28 years, Democrat “Juba” Diez represented the district, which once included parts of Livingston Parish as well as Ascension Parish. While he received strong challenges in the 1990s, he never had Republican opposition. Then after the reapportionment, he faced two Republican challengers for the seat, and he switched to the Republican party before his re-election race. The party switch failed to impress the recent migrants, however, and Rep. Diez lost to Republican Eddie Lambert 58-42% in the runoff. The Republican pick-up of this seat was accompanied by a another pickup in a newly created state house seat in eastern Ascension Parish. Republicans also captured the office of Parish President.

Representative Lambert is term-limited in 2015. While he was unopposed for re-election in 2007, the continuing rapid suburban growth means a significant number of people in the 2011 race were not living in Ascension Parish when Rep. Lambert was first elected (In fact, 25% of the district’s voters did not vote for him when he first ran). It is with these recent arrivals that Rep. Lambert needs to acquaint himself to ensure his continued political viability. Even if he were to lose in a future election, however, this seat will stay in Republican hands.