Louisiana's 5th congressional district

Louisiana's 5th congressional district
Current Representative		Rodney Alexander (R–Quitman)
Distribution	52.79% urban, 47.21% rural
Population (2000)	638,517
Median income	$27,453
Ethnicity	64.1% White, 33.9% Black, 0.5% Asian, 1.3% Hispanic, 0.4% Native American, 0.0% other
Cook PVI	R+14

Louisiana's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The district covers most of the northeastern and central portions of the state and contains the cities of Monroe and Alexandria.

The district is currently represented by Republican Rodney Alexander, who switched from the Democratic Party to the GOP in 2004.

The district from 2003 to 2013

List of representatives

Representative	Party	Years	District home	Notes
Civil War and Reconstruction
W. Jasper Blackburn	Republican	July 18, 1868 - March 3, 1869
Frank Morey	Republican	March 4, 1869 - June 8, 1876		Lost contested election
William B. Spencer	Democratic	June 8, 1876 - January 8, 1877		Won contested election, Resigned after being appointed associate justice of Louisiana Supreme Court
Vacant		January 8, 1877 - March 4, 1877
John E. Leonard	Republican	March 4, 1877 - March 15, 1878		Died
Vacant		March 15, 1878 - November 5, 1878
J. Smith Young	Democratic	November 5, 1878 - March 3, 1879
J. Floyd King	Democratic	March 4, 1879 - March 3, 1887
Cherubusco Newton	Democratic	March 4, 1887 - March 3, 1889
Charles J. Boatner	Democratic	March 4, 1889 - March 20, 1896		House declared seat vacant after election was contested by Alexis Benoit
Vacant		March 20, 1896 - June 10, 1896
Charles J. Boatner	Democratic	June 10, 1896 - March 3, 1897		Elected to fill vacancy of open seat
Samuel T. Baird	Democratic	March 4, 1897 - April 22, 1899		Died
Vacant		April 22, 1899 - August 29, 1899
Joseph E. Ransdell	Democratic	August 29, 1899 - March 3, 1913
James Walter Elder	Democratic	March 4, 1913 - March 3, 1915
Riley J. Wilson	Democratic	March 4, 1915 - January 3, 1937
Newt V. Mills	Democratic	January 3, 1937 - January 3, 1943
Charles E. McKenzie	Democratic	January 3, 1943 - January 3, 1947
Otto Passman	Democratic	January 3, 1947 - January 3, 1977	Monroe
Jerry Huckaby	Democratic	January 3, 1977 - January 3, 1993	Ringgold	Lost 1992 general election to Jim McCrery
Jim McCrery	Republican	January 3, 1993 - January 3, 1997	Shreveport	Redistricted from 4th district, Redistricted to 4th district
John Cooksey	Republican	January 3, 1997 - January 3, 2003	Monroe	Unsuccessful candidate for U.S. Senate in 2002
Rodney Alexander	Democratic	January 3, 2003 - August 9, 2004	Quitman	Changed political party (Alexander changed party affiliation from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party mere hours before the expiration of the deadline to qualify to run for office. Alexander's Party change at the last moment violated no election laws. Alexander's last minute move deprived the Democratic Party of the ability to replace Alexander on the ballot with another Democratic candidate. Another Democratic candidate had indeed qualified to run, but this candidate was a long shot and did not have the financial support of the Democratic Party establishment. Alexander won re-election easily as he was virtually unopposed.
	Republican	August 9, 2004–present		Incumbent

Recent Election Results

2002

Louisiana's 5th Congressional District Runoff Election (2002)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Rodney Alexander*	86,718	50.28%
	Republican	Lee Fletcher	85,744	49.72%
Totals			172,462	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Democratic hold

2004

Louisiana's 5th Congressional District Election (2004)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Rodney Alexander*	141,495	59.44%
	Democratic	Zelma "Tisa" Blakes	58,591	24.61%
	Republican	John W. "Jock" Scott	37,971	15.95%
Totals			238,057	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican gain from Democratic

• NOTE: Rodney Alexander switched from the Democratic to the Republican Party.

2006

Louisiana's 5th Congressional District Election (2006)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Rodney Alexander*	78,211	68.26%
	Democratic	Gloria Williams Hearn	33,233	29.00%
	Libertarian	Brent Sanders	1,876	1.64%
	Independent	John Watts	1,262	1.10%
Totals			114,582	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

2008

Louisiana's 5th Congressional District Election (2008)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Rodney Alexander	'	100.00%
Totals			'	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

2010

Louisiana's 5th Congressional District Election (2010)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Rodney Alexander*	122,033	78.57%
	Independent	Tom Gibbs, Jr.	33,279	21.43%
Totals			155,312	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

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