“Bob” Kostelka (R)
Term limited in 2015
District Map

2002 Senate Race (Runoff)
Mary Landrieu (D) 9,351 (32%)
Suzy Terrell (R) 20,052 (68%)

2003 Governors Race (Runoff)
Kathleen Blanco (D) 14,587 (44%)
“Bobby” Jindal (R) 18,150 (56%)

2004 Presidential Race
George W. Bush (R) 35,189 (71%)
John Kerry (D) 13,842 (28%)
Others 509 (1%)

2004 Senate Race
David Vitter (R) 30,626 (66%)
Chris John (D) 9,519 (21%)
Others 6,351 (13%)

2006 Secretary of State Race
Jay Dardenne (R) 5,830 (29%)
Francis Heitmeier (D) 3,484 (17%)
Mike Francis (R) 8,249 (41%)
Mary Chehardy (R) 1,486 (7%)
Others 1,280 (6%)

2007 Governors Race
“Bobby” Jindal (R) 18,921 (61%)
Walter Boasso (D) 4,153 (13%)
John Georges (I) 3,701 (12%)
Foster Campbell (D) 3,906 (13%)
Others 432 (1%)

2007 Agriculture Commissioner Race
“Bob” Odom (D) 10,072 (34%)
Mike Strain (R) 13,952 (47%)
Wayne Carter (R) 3,295 (11%)
Don Johnson (R) 2,308 (8%)

Senate District 35 is a good example of the shifting preferences of north Louisiana voters from conservative Democrat to Republican. It contains all of two parishes and a portion a third: 14% of its voters live in rural Jackson Parish and another 35% live in Lincoln Parish (home to Louisiana Tech and Grambling universities). The remaining 51% of the district is a portion of Ouachita Parish stretching from the Lincoln Parish line to the northern fringe of Monroe, almost to the University of Louisiana-Monroe campus.

Typically, the Republican preferences of Ouachita and Lincoln Parish offset any Democratic margins in rural Jackson Parish, although Jackson Parish has lately been more willing to support Republicans. This was most apparent last year when Congressman Rodney Alexander (who lives in the parish) switched to the Republican Party and was handily re-elected, with strong (70%) support from the district.

Typically, Republican candidates receive good margins of support from the districts’ voters from Bobby Jindal’s 56% (in 2003) to George Bush’s 71% in 2004. It has a modest (20%) African-American population mostly in and around Grambling in Lincoln Parish. It has grown slightly less than the statewide average, as gains in Ouachita and Parish are partially offset by a decline in the voter population in Jackson and Lincoln Parishes.

From 1987-1999, Democrat Randy Ewing (described by John Maginnis as “the Senate’s most effective voice for reform”) represented the district. He was chosen by Mike Foster in 1995 to be Senate President. He retired in 1999 and was replaced by Democrat Bill Jones (brother of former LSU and pro quarterback Bert Jones). Jones, however, did not enjoy a lengthy tenure like Ewing did; retired judge Bob Kostelka defeated him 52-48% in a bitter campaign in 2003. The patterns of support were generally along geographical lines: Kostelka received 62% in his home parish of Ouachita while Jones received 60% in Lincoln. The “tie breaker” was Jackson Parish, which only gave the Democratic incumbent a 90-vote margin.

Though there were nasty feelings from the 2003 race, the district’s consistent support for Republican candidates, Ouachita Parish’s increasing influence, and the willingness of Jackson Parish (the “neutral ground”) to support Republicans were built in advantages Sen. Kostelka had for his re-election campaign. In the end, he ended up running unopposed in that race. He is allowed to serve two more terms, and when he retires, we rate this race as a “likely Republican hold.”