Karen St. Germain (D)
Term limited in 2011
District Map

2002 Senate Race (Runoff)
Mary Landrieu (D) 9,078 (65%)
Suzy Terrell (R) 4,944 (35%)

2003 Governors Race (Runoff)
Kathleen Blanco (D) 10,387 (62%)
“Bobby” Jindal (R) 6,353 (38%)

2004 Presidential Race
George W. Bush (R) 9,558 (48%)
John Kerry (D) 10,052 (51%)
Others 264 (1%)

2004 Senate Race
David Vitter (R) 7,318 (39%)
Chris John (D) 6,583 (35%)
Others 4,846 (26%)

2006 Secretary of State Race
Jay Dardenne (R) 3,786 (46%)
Francis Heitmeier (D) 2,570 (31%)
Mike Francis (R) 938 (11%)
Mary Chehardy (R) 490 (6%)
Others 517 (6%)

2007 Governors Race
“Bobby” Jindal (R) 7,444 (47%)
Walter Boasso (D) 3,671 (23%)
John Georges (I) 1,848 (12%)
Foster Campbell (D) 2,569 (16%)
Others 457 (2%)

2007 Agriculture Commissioner Race
“Bob” Odom (D) 8,166 (55%)
Mike Strain (R) 4,396 (30%)
Wayne Carter (R) 1,441 (10%)
Don Johnson (R) 805 (5%)

The River Parishes are a unique combination of plantation heritage, petrochemical plants, and sugarcane farms. This area has long been a Democratic stronghold. House District 60 is a microcosm of the River Parishes. It is located on the western side of the Mississippi River and includes parts of Iberville, West Baton Rouge, and Assumption Parishes. It also contains a small portion of Ascension Parish. It contains a high (34%) African-American population and a significant blue-collar labor vote. Democrats can be assured of receiving comfortable margins from this district in contested races. Mary Landrieu and Kathleen Blanco each received over 60% of the vote here, and John Kerry edged out George W. Bush in last year’s Presidential race. Even David Vitter’s “victory” here was a narrow 39-35% plurality, and he almost certainly would have lost the district by a substantial margin had the Democrats united behind one candidate. Likewise, “Bobby” Jindal’s lead in the district in his 2007 run was still short of an absolute majority.

Despite (or perhaps because of) the Democratic dominance here, the district had turbulent intra-party politics, ousting its incumbents in 1999 and 2003, with only one “blowout” race in the past 20 years – then representative Charlie Melancon’s 62-26% re-election in 1991. However, that changed in 2007, when Rep. St. Germain was unopposed for re-election.

Rep. Karen Gaudet St.Germain qualified unopposed for re-election largely due to her careful effort not to offend or alienate groups in her district.  Throughout her first term, she was very careful and instrumental in spreading patronage and influence throughout her district, with the governments of Iberville, Ascension, Assumption, and West Baton Rouge always rendering favorable opinions of her work.  She is generally noted around the capitol as a champion of consensus, stemming largely from her Cigarette Child Safety Act which passed both houses after intense negotiations between firefighters, the tobacco industry, and childrens’ rights groups.  While she is from Pierre Part, a town in Assumption Parish on the southern end of the district, she maintains her office in Plaquemine, the center of the district and parish seat of Iberville Parish.  This way, she remains close by to most of her constituents.

Look for Rep. St.Germain to accept continued posts on the Natural Resources and Transportation Committees this upcoming term. When she is forced to retire in 2011, we rate this seat as a “Democratic hold.”