Incumbent – “Bubba” Chaney (R – Term Limited in 2019)

District Map

House District 19

Vote History

Current District

District 19 is located in northeast Louisiana and contains all of Richland Parish and parts of five other parishes (East Carroll, Madison, Morehouse, Ouachita, and West Carroll). Even though it has a substantial 32% black voter registration, this is friendly territory for Republicans in national and most statewide elections, although this was one of several rural districts that prevented Bobby Jindal from getting elected in 2003.

This district has historically voted for Democrats in legislative races, and from 1975 to 2007, Democrat Francis Thompson was its only representative. He usually was re-elected without opposition, although he was unsuccessful when he tried to run for Congress in 1996. Term limits forced him to retire in 2007, and he was able to get elected in a black majority state senate seat that meandered from Concordia Parish to inner city Monroe.

When this House seat opened up in 2007, this was one seat that the Republicans did not contest. Instead, the winner was a conservative Democrat named “Bubba” Chaney, who was easily elected with 72% of the vote. He was one of several Democratic legislators who, in the wake of the 2010 Republican statewide victories, switched to the Republican Party. He is allowed to serve two more terms.

New District

Unlike prior reapportionment years, the continued slow population growth in north Louisiana did not create reapportionment headaches in this part of the state, because of the massive population losses in the New Orleans metropolitan area. District 19 was 6% under populated, and even though you had a significant black minority (which could have been redrawn into a black majority district), a House district in Monroe held by a term limited representative became the new black majority district in the region.

This left as the only issue the under population of the district. The conversion of a Monroe-based House district to one that was majority black meant that District 14 (represented by Republican Sam Little) moved more into Monroe, and he shed territory in Morehouse, West Carroll, and East Carroll Parishes, which District 19 picked up (this addition was 20% black by voter registration). Precincts in Morehouse and Ouachita that in the aggregate were 45% black were moved to District 16 (the new black majority district). Finally, a 43% black precinct in Tallulah (in Madison Parish) was moved over to District 21 (represented by Democrat Andy Anders).

These changes reduced the black voter registration from 32 to 28%. (UPDATED 9/8/2011) While Rep. Chaney was re-elected without opposition, it will be interesting to see if Republicans will be able to hold this seat in the future.