Louisiana's 3rd congressional district

"LA-3" redirects here. For the state highway, see Louisiana Highway 3.

Louisiana's 3rd congressional district
Current Representative		Jeff Landry (R–New Iberia)
Distribution	72.79% urban, 27.21% rural
Population (2000)	638,322
Median income	$34,463
Ethnicity	70.9% White, 24.7% Black, 1.0% Asian, 2.1% Hispanic, 1.6% Native American, 0.2% other
Cook PVI	R+12

Louisiana's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The district surrounds the southern tier of the Greater New Orleans Area. The district contains large portions of southeastern and south central Louisiana, including River Parishes and East Acadiana. It contains the cities of Chalmette, Gonzales, Houma, Thibodaux, Morgan City, and New Iberia. The district has a rich Cajun culture.

The district is currently represented by Republican Jeff Landry who was elected in 2010 to succeed Democrat Charlie Melancon who vacated the seat in his unsuccessful U.S. Senate bid.

History

Louisiana gained its 2nd and 3rd Congressional Districts in 1823 as part of the 18th United States Congress. Since at least the 1870s, the district has borne heavy influence of southern Louisiana's Acadian culture and several of the related parishes.

Although the 3rd Congressional District has been Democratic through much of its history, it is the sole district in Louisiana to have been represented by three parties during the 20th century, in that Whitmell P. Martin represented the district as a "Bull Moose" Progressive from 1915 to 1919, when he switched to the Democrats. Martin remained in office as a Democrat until his death in 1929. The district became more competitive for the Republicans later in the 20th century, when in 1972 it elected Dave Treen as the state's first Republican representative since Reconstruction.

Redistricting in the 1990s pushed the district out of the fast-growing suburbs of Metairie and the city of Kenner, to help keep the seat in the hands of Treen's Democratic successor, Billy Tauzin. Tauzin eventually switched to the Republican Party in 1995, making the 3rd Congressional District also unique in 20th-century Louisiana politics as the sole district to have two representatives who switched parties (Martin, who switched from the "Bull Moose" Progressives to the Democrats in 1918, and Tauzin, who switched from the Democrats to the Republicans in 1995). As a Republican, Tauzin continued to serve until retiring from Congress in 2005. Democrat Charlie Melançon won the seat in 2004 (seated in 2005), was reelected in 2006, and was unopposed in 2008.

List of representatives

Representative	Party	Term	District home	Notes
District created March 4, 1823
William Leigh Brent	Adams-Clay D-R	March 4, 1823 - March 4, 1825	Saint Martinville
	Adams	March 4, 1825 - March 4, 1829		Returned to practice of law
Walter Hampden Overton	Jacksonian	March 4, 1829 - March 4, 1831	Rapides Parish	Returned to his cotton plantation
Henry Adams Bullard	Anti-Jacksonian	March 4, 1831 - January 4, 1834		Resigned after being appointed judge of Supreme Court of Louisiana
Rice Garland	Anti-Jacksonian	April 28, 1834 - March 4, 1837
	Whig	March 4, 1837 - July 21, 1840		Resigned after being appointed judge of Supreme Court of Louisiana
John Moore	Whig	December 17, 1840 - March 4, 1843
John Bennett Dawson	Democratic	March 4, 1843 - ????, 1845		Redistricted from the 2nd district
John Henry Harmanson	Democratic	????, 1845 - October 24, 1850		Died
Alexander Gordon Penn	Democratic	December 30, 1850 - March 4, 1853
John Perkins Jr.	Democratic	March 4, 1853 - March 4, 1855
Thomas Green Davidson	Democratic	March 4, 1855 - March 4, 1861
Civil War and Reconstruction
Joseph Parkinson Newsham	Republican	July 18, 1868 - March 4, 1869	Saint Francisville
Chester Bidwell Darrall	Republican	March 4, 1869 - February 20, 1878	Morgan City	Election contested by Joseph H. Acklen
Joseph H. Acklen	Democratic	February 20, 1878 - March 3, 1881	Saint Mary Parish	Successfully contested 1876 election
Chester Bidwell Darrall	Republican	March 4, 1881 - March 4, 1883	Morgan City	Lost reelection to William Pitt Kellogg
William Pitt Kellogg	Republican	March 4, 1883 - March 4, 1885	New Orleans	Defeated by Edward James Gay
Edward James Gay	Democratic	March 4, 1885 - May 30, 1889	New Orleans	Died
Vacant		May 30, 1889 - December 2, 1889
Andrew Price	Democratic	December 2, 1889 - March 4, 1897	Franklin
Robert Foligny Broussard	Democratic	March 4, 1897 - March 4, 1915	New Iberia	Elected to the United States Senate
Whitmell P. Martin	Progressive ("Bull Moose")	March 4, 1915 - March 4, 1919	Thibodaux	Changed party
	Democratic	March 4, 1919 - April 6, 1929	Thibodaux	Died
Numa Francois Montet	Democratic	August 6, 1929 - January 3, 1937	Thibodaux	Defeated in Democratic primary election
Robert L. Mouton	Democratic	January 3, 1937 - January 3, 1941	Lafayette	Lost Democratic primary to James Domengeaux
James Domengeaux	Democratic	January 3, 1941 - April 15, 1944	Lafayette	Resigned to join Armed Forces
Vacant		April 15, 1944 - November 7, 1944
James Domengeaux	Democratic	November 7, 1944 - January 3, 1949	Lafayette	Re-elected to fill his own vacancy, Unsuccessfully sought election to the U.S. Senate
Edwin E. Willis	Democratic	January 3, 1949 - January 3, 1969	Arnaudville	Lost Democratic primary to Patrick T. Caffery
Patrick T. Caffery	Democratic	January 3, 1969 - January 3, 1973	New Iberia	Returned to law practice in New Iberia, did not seek re-election
David C. Treen	Republican	January 3, 1973 - March 10, 1980	Metairie	Resigned to become Governor of Louisiana
Billy Tauzin	Democratic	May 22, 1980 - August 8, 1995	Chackbay	Changed party
	Republican	August 8, 1995 - January 3, 2005	Chackbay	Retired from Congress
Charlie Melançon	Democratic	January 3, 2005 - January 3, 2011	Napoleonville	Lost U.S. Senate election in 2010
Jeff Landry	Republican	January 3, 2011 - Present		Incumbent

Recent Election Results

2002

Louisiana's 3rd Congressional District Election (2002)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Billy Tauzin*	130,323	86.68%
	Libertarian	William Beier	12,964	8.62%
	Independent	David Iwancio	7,055	4.69%
Totals			150,342	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

2004

Louisiana's 3rd Congressional District Runoff Election (December 4, 2004)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Charlie Melançon	57,611	50.25%
	Republican	Billy Tauzin III	57,042	49.75%
Totals			114,653	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Democratic gain from Republican

2006

Louisiana's 3rd Congressional District Election (2006)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Charlie Melançon*	75,023	55.03%
	Republican	Craig F. Romero	54,950	40.31%
	Democratic	Olangee Breech	4,190	3.07%
	Libertarian	James Lee Blake, Jr.	2,168	1.59%
Totals			136,331	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Democratic hold

2008

Louisiana's 3rd Congressional District Election (2008)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Charlie Melançon*	'	100.00%
Totals			'	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Democratic hold

2010

Louisiana's 3rd Congressional District Election (2010)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Jeff Landry	108,963	63.77%
	Democratic	Ravi Sangisetty	61,914	36.23%
Totals			170,877	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican gain from Democratic

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