Diana Bajoie (D)
Term limited in 2007
District Map

2002 Senate Race (Runoff)
Mary Landrieu (D) 20,721 (83%)
Suzy Terrell (R) 4,149 (17%)

2003 Governors Race (Runoff)
Kathleen Blanco (D) 17,775 (71%)
“Bobby” Jindal (R) 7,346 (29%)

2004 Presidential Race
George W. Bush (R) 7,018 (18%)
John Kerry (D) 31,293 (81%)
Others 423 (1%)

2004 Senate Race
David Vitter (R) 7,325 (20%)
Chris John (D) 13,659 (37%)
Others 15,642 (43%)

2006 New Orleans Mayor Runoff
Mitch Landrieu (D) 9,869 (49%)
Ray Nagin (D) 10,125 (51%)

2006 Secretary of State Race
Jay Dardenne (R) 3,260 (48%)
Francis Heitmeier (D) 2,392 (35%)
Mike Francis (R) 338 (5%)
Mary Chehardy (R) 369 (5%)
Others 506 (7%)

2007 Governors Race
“Bobby” Jindal (R) 5,411 (34%)
Walter Boasso (D) 3,219 (20%)
John Georges (I) 5,821 (36%)
Foster Campbell (D) 1,218 (8%)
Others 292 (2%)

2007 Agriculture Commissioner Race
“Bob” Odom (D) 7,011 (49%)
Mike Strain (R) 5,185 (36%)
Wayne Carter (R) 1,467 (10%)
Don Johnson (R) 601 (4%)

Senate District 5 includes a section of New Orleans roughly bounded by Canal Street, Carrollton, Claiborne Avenue, Jefferson Avenue, and the Mississippi River. It is a racially mixed district that includes everything from housing projects near downtown to stately mansions along St. Charles Avenue, as well as portions of Uptown.

Demographically, the district has a slight (56%) African-American majority, which not only is down from 60% in recent years, but also represents a decrease in the number of African-American voters. However, there is a sizable white liberal bloc of voters here (particularly in the Garden District and Uptown), which keeps the district solidly Democratic in elections. In fact, in recent elections, Republican support has only been about 20%, with Bobby Jindal receiving an impressive 29% of the vote in the 2003 gubernatorial runoff. Overall, the district as whole has lost 3% of its voters since 2003, with considerable variation from precinct to precinct, depending on whether the precinct flooded or not after the levees breached during Hurricane Katrina.

The district has had stable representation in the state Senate for years. African-American Democrat William Jefferson was elected here in 1979 and served until his election to Congress in 1990. He was succeeded by state representative Diana Bajoie (also an African-American), who was elected with 53% in a special election. She was then unopposed for re-election until 2003, when she was re-elected with 82% of the vote.

Senator Bajoie is term-limited in 2007 and is running for the New Orleans City Council; the Council seat opened up after Oliver Thomas resigned after being indicted. Four Democrats are running for the seat: state Representatives Cheryl Gray and Jalila Jefferson-Bullock, former state Representative/former PSC member Irma Muse Dixon, and former Appeals Court Judge David Williams, who switched to the Democratic party to make the race. This race will be an interesting one to watch as a barometer of the changing demographics in New Orleans after Katrina.

What do we project the 2010 population to be for Senate District 5 ? In the mayor’s runoff held earlier this year, about 20,000 voted in person, while 4,000 (or 17%) absentee voted. Since this was a high-profile race that garnered national attention, the 24,000 turnout suggests a current or future electorate of about 32,000. Since there are currently about 64,900 registered voters in the district, we project that the district has lost about 50% of its population (the difference between the 64,900 on the voter registration rolls and the 32,000 we think are still active voters). Furthermore, the election results from the 2006 Mayor’s race suggest a current African-American voter influence of 48% (as opposed to the 57% on the voter rolls). While this reduced African-American influence would seem to hurt the Democrats, white liberal Uptown and Garden District residents and students will keep the district securely in the Democratic column.