Gerald Theunissen (R)
Term limited in 2007
District Map

2002 Senate Race (Runoff)
Mary Landrieu (D) 14,361 (48%)
Suzy Terrell (R) 15,422 (52%)

2003 Governors Race (Runoff)
Kathleen Blanco (D) 18,767 (53%)
“Bobby” Jindal (R) 16,759 (47%)

2004 Presidential Race
George W. Bush (R) 30,955 (65%)
John Kerry (D) 16,471 (34%)
Others 561 (1%)

2004 Senate Race
David Vitter (R) 21,364 (46%)
Chris John (D) 21,584 (46%)
Others 3,882 (8%)

2006 Secretary of State Race
Jay Dardenne (R) 2,678 (15%)
Francis Heitmeier (D) 3,785 (22%)
Mike Francis (R) 8,938 (52%)
Mary Chehardy (R) 888 (5%)
Others 1,065 (6%)

2007 Governors Race
“Bobby” Jindal (R) 18,173 (55%)
Walter Boasso (D) 6,451 (20%)
John Georges (I) 4,652 (14%)
Foster Campbell (D) 3,030 (9%)
Others 613 (2%)

2007 Agriculture Commissioner Race
“Bob” Odom (D) 12,571 (40%)
Mike Strain (R) 13,926 (44%)
Wayne Carter (R) 3,039 (10%)
Don Johnson (R) 2,188 (7%)

Senate District 25 is in southwest Louisiana and contains all of Jefferson Davis Parish and Cameron Parish. It also contains the western portions of Acadia Parish and the southeastern portion of Calcasieu Parish. Overall, the district has a low and unchanging 13% African-American voter population and has grown a little less than the statewide rate. The southern fringes of Lake Charles and its suburbs in Calcasieu Parish cast 39% of the vote and have grown at a rate faster than the statewide average. Acadia and Jeff Davis parish each cast about a quarter of the district vote and have barely grown at all. Cameron Parish casts the remaining 9% of the vote and has seen a significant 8% decrease in its voter population thanks to extensive destruction from Hurricane Rita in 2005.

Politically, the district is a swing district, with the rural parishes leaning towards the Democrats, and the portion of Calcasieu Parish in the district leaning Republican. This has created interesting results like the 52% preference for Suzy Terrell in her 2002 Senate race, and Kathleen Blanco’s 53% victory over Bobby Jindal in 2003. The district moved to the right in 2004, however, as the district not only gave George Bush a solid 65% of the vote, but it gave Chris John, who lives nearby in Crowley and had represented the area in Congress for a decade, a razor thin 46-46% margin over David Vitter.

This Senate district has had various configurations over the years, but the District 25 representation has been fairly steady. Democrat Cecil Picard represented portions of the district from 1979 to 1996. He rarely faced a tough race (or even an opponent), and resigned in 1996 when former Governor Mike Foster appointed him to be Secretary of Education. A spirited race developed to succeed him, with Democratic state representative Gerald Theunissen from Jeff Davis Parish defeating Republican Mike Francis (a recent candidate for Secretary of State who finished third in that race and ironically received 51% in the district) 56-44% in the runoff. Since that race, Senator Theunissen has been unopposed, even after he switched to the Republican Party several years ago.

Senator Theunissen is term-limited in 2007, and we see this open seat race as a tossup. Though there has been a recent trend towards the Republicans, the Democratic heritage of the area is still present. There are three candidates in the race: term-limited Democratic state representative Gil Pinac of Acadia Parish, term-limited Republican state representative (and recent party convert) “Blade” Morrish of Jefferson Davis Parish, and Republican Lake Charles businessman (and former City Councilman) Mark Abraham. Like Senate District 22 (Craig Romero’s seat), this contest is worth watching, because it’s not yet clear whether recent Republican gains across southwest Louisiana in Congressional and legislative races over the last decade are part of a long-term trend yet.

Southwest Louisiana was in the northeast quadrant of Hurricane Rita and received quite a bit of wind damage, as well as the storm surge that destroyed Cameron Parish. While it will take time for the area to rebuild, we have seen limited out migration from the area, mainly in hurricane-ravaged Cameron Parish, which lost 9% of its voters since Katrina. This amount of loss of voters is significant when you realize that only St. Bernard Parish suffered a larger percentage decrease in its voter population.