Louisiana's 2nd congressional district
| Louisiana's 2nd congressional district | ||
|---|---|---|
| Current Representative | Cedric Richmond (D–New Orleans) | |
| Distribution | 99.38% urban, 0.62% rural | |
| Population (2000) | 638,562 | |
| Median income | $25,514 | |
| Ethnicity | 30.2% White, 64.1% Black, 2.7% Asian, 3.8% Hispanic, 0.3% Native American, 0.2% other | |
| Cook PVI | D+25 | |
Louisiana's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The district contains nearly all of the city of New Orleans (a small portion is located in the neighboring 1st Congressional District), and some of its suburbs, including the West Bank portion of Jefferson Parish and South South Kenner.[1]
The district is currently represented by Democrat Cedric Richmond who defeated Republican incumbent Joseph Cao in 2010.
Contents |
[edit] History
Louisiana gained the 2nd Congressional District in 1823 as part of the 18th United States Congress. At first it comprised New Orleans and significant populations from surrounding areas, but it has incrementally been compacted into being mostly within the city of New Orleans per se. It has also historically been among the most safely Democratic seats in the country, as the Republicans had not held this seat since 1891, until Republican nominee Joseph Cao upset Democratic incumbent Bill Jefferson in 2008 for the term beginning in January 2009. Like most congressional seats in the South, this district consistently voted Democratic from the time of Reconstruction until the 1960s. Since then, its position as a virtually consistent Democratic seat is mostly due to its being one of the "Majority-Minority" districts created as a result of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to ensure minority voters have a likely opportunity to elect representatives in Congress and to guard against adverse racially-motivated gerrymandering.
The district's previous incumbent, Joseph Cao, became not only the first Republican to represent the 2nd Congressional District and most of New Orleans in over a century, but also America's first Vietnamese-American U.S. Representative. He was the only Republican in the 111th Congress representing a predominantly African American district.
[edit] List of representatives
| Representative | Party | Term | District home | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District created | March 4, 1823 | |||
| Henry Hosford Gurley | Adams-Clay D-R | March 4, 1823 - March 4, 1825 | Baton Rouge | |
| Adams | March 4, 1825 - March 4, 1829 | |||
| Anti-Jacksonian | March 4, 1829 - March 4, 1831 | |||
| Philemon Thomas | Jacksonian | March 4, 1831 - March 4, 1835 | Baton Rouge | |
| Eleazer Wheelock Ripley | Jacksonian | March 4, 1835 - March 4, 1837 | Saint Francisville | |
| Democratic | March 4, 1837 - March 4, 1839 | |||
| Thomas Withers Chinn | Whig | March 4, 1839 - March 4, 1841 | Port Allen | |
| John Bennett Dawson | Democratic | March 4, 1841 - March 4, 1843 | Saint Francisville | Redistricted to the 3rd district |
| Alcée Louis la Branche | Democratic | March 4, 1843 - March 4, 1845 | La Nouvelle Orléans | |
| Bannon Goforth Thibodeaux | Democratic | March 4, 1845 - March 4, 1849 | Thibodaux | |
| Charles Magill Conrad | Whig | March 4, 1849 - August 17, 1850 | La Nouvelle Orléans | Resigned to become United States Secretary of War |
| Vacant | August 17, 1850 - December 5, 1850 | |||
| Henry Adams Bullard | Whig | December 5, 1850 - March 4, 1851 | La Nouvelle Orléans | |
| Joseph Aristide Landry | Whig | March 4, 1851 - March 4, 1853 | Donaldsonville | |
| Theodore Gaillard Hunt | Whig | March 4, 1853 - March 4, 1855 | La Nouvelle Orléans | |
| Miles Taylor | Democratic | March 4, 1855 - February 5, 1861 | Belle Alliance | Withdrew due to onset of Civil War |
| Vacant | February 5, 1861 - December 3, 1862 | |||
| Michael Hahn | Unionist | December 3, 1862 - March 4, 1863 | Saint Charles Parish, Hahnville | |
| Louisiana's secession from United States - Civil War | 1862–1868 | |||
| James Mann | Democratic | July 18, 1868 - August 26, 1868 | New Orleans | Died after serving 5 weeks |
| Vacant | August 26, 1868 - March 4, 1869 | House left seat vacant due to election dispute | ||
| Lionel Allen Sheldon | Republican | March 4, 1869 - March 4, 1875 | New Orleans | Lost re-election |
| Ezekiel John Ellis | Democratic | March 4, 1875 - March 4, 1885 | Covington, Amite | Retired from Congress, returned to law practice |
| Michael Hahn | Republican | March 3, 1885 - March 15, 1886 | Saint Charles Parish, Hahnville | Died |
| Vacant | March 15, 1886 - December 9, 1886 | |||
| Nathaniel Dick Wallace | Democratic | December 9, 1886 - March 4, 1887 | New Orleans | |
| Matthew Diamond Lagan | Democratic | March 4, 1887 - March 4, 1889 | New Orleans | |
| Hamilton D. Coleman | Republican | March 4, 1889 - March 4, 1891 | New Orleans | |
| Matthew Diamond Lagan | Democratic | March 4, 1891 - March 4, 1893 | New Orleans | |
| Robert Charles Davey | Democratic | March 4, 1893 - March 4, 1895 | New Orleans | |
| Charles Francis Buck | Democratic | March 4, 1895 - March 4, 1897 | New Orleans, Amite | |
| Robert Charles Davey | Democratic | March 4, 1897 - December 26, 1908 | New Orleans | Died |
| Vacant | December 26, 1908 - March 30, 1909 | |||
| Samuel Louis Gilmore | Democratic | March 30, 1909- July 18, 1910 | Abita Springs | Died |
| Vacant | July 18, 1910 - November 8, 1910 | |||
| Henry Garland Dupré | Democratic | November 8, 1910 - February 21, 1924 | Opelousas | Died |
| Vacant | February 21, 1924 - April 22, 1924 | |||
| James Zacharie Spearing | Democratic | April 22, 1924 - March 4, 1931 | New Orleans | |
| Paul H. Maloney | Democratic | March 4, 1931 - December 15, 1940 | New Orleans | Resigned |
| Vacant | December 15, 1940 - January 3, 1941 | |||
| Hale Boggs | Democratic | January 3, 1941 - January 3, 1943 | New Orleans | Lost re-nomination |
| Paul H. Maloney | Democratic | January 3, 1943 - January 3, 1947 | New Orleans | Retired from Congress |
| Hale Boggs | Democratic | January 3, 1947 - January 3, 1973 | New Orleans | Presumed dead after private plane went missing over Alaska Oct. 16, 1972. Seat declared vacant at beginning of the 93rd Congress. |
| Vacant | January 3, 1973 – March 20, 1973 | |||
| Corinne C. "Lindy" Boggs | Democratic | March 20, 1973 – January 3, 1991 | New Orleans | Retired |
| William J. Jefferson | Democratic | January 3, 1991 – January 3, 2009 | New Orleans | Lost re-election |
| Joseph Cao | Republican | January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2011 | New Orleans | Lost re-election |
| Cedric Richmond | Democratic | January 3, 2011 – Present | Incumbent | |
[edit] Recent Election Results
[edit] 2002
| Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District Election (2002) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | |
| Democratic | William J. Jefferson* | 90,310 | 63.53% | |
| Democratic | Irma Muse Dixon | 28,480 | 20.03% | |
| Republican | Silky Sullivan | 15,440 | 10.86% | |
| Democratic | Clarence "Buddy" Hunt | 4,137 | 2.91% | |
| Libertarian | Wayne Clement | 3,789 | 2.67% | |
| Totals | 142,156 | 100.00% | ||
| Voter turnout | % | |||
| Democratic hold | ||||
[edit] 2004
| Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District Election (2004) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | |
| Democratic | William J. Jefferson* | 173,510 | 79.01% | |
| Republican | Art Schwertz | 46,097 | 20.99% | |
| Totals | 219,607 | 100.00% | ||
| Voter turnout | % | |||
| Democratic hold | ||||
[edit] 2006
| Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District General Election (2006) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | |
| Democratic | William J. Jefferson* | 28,283 | 30.08% | |
| Democratic | Karen Carter Peterson | 20,364 | 21.66% | |
| Democratic | Derrick D.T. Shepherd | 16,799 | 17.87% | |
| Republican | Joe Lavigne | 12,511 | 13.31% | |
| Democratic | Troy A. Carter | 11,304 | 12.02% | |
| Republican | Eric T. Bradley | 1,159 | 1.23% | |
| Democratic | Regina Bartholomew | 1,125 | 1.20% | |
| Totals | 91,545 | 100.00% | ||
| Voter turnout | % | |||
| Democratic hold | ||||
| Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District General Election RUNOFF (December 9, 2006) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | |
| Democratic | William J. Jefferson* | 35,153 | 56.55% | |
| Democratic | Karen Carter Peterson | 27,011 | 43.45% | |
| Totals | 62,164 | 100.00% | ||
| Voter turnout | % | |||
| Democratic hold | ||||
[edit] 2008
| Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District Election (December 6, 2008) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | |||
| Republican | Joseph Cao | 33,132 | 49.54% | |||
| Democratic | William J. Jefferson* | 31,318 | 46.83% | |||
| Green | Malik Rahim | 1,883 | 2.82% | |||
| Libertarian | Gregory W. Kahn | 549 | 0.82% | |||
| Totals | 66,882 | 100.00% | ||||
| Voter turnout | % | |||||
| Republican gain from Democratic | ||||||
[edit] 2010
| Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District Election (2010) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | |||
| Democratic | Cedric Richmond* | 83,705 | 64.59% | |||
| Republican | Joseph Cao* | 43,378 | 33.47% | |||
| Independent | Anthony Marquize | 1,876 | 1.45% | |||
| Independent | Jack Radosta | 645 | 0.50% | |||
| Totals | 129,604 | 100.00% | ||||
| Voter turnout | % | |||||
| Democratic gain from Republican | ||||||
[edit] References
- Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
- Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
- Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
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