Incumbent – Greg Cromer (R – Term Limited in 2019)

District Map

House District 90

Vote History

Current District

House District 90 is located in St. Tammany Parish and covers portions of Slidell between I-10 and Lacombe. It basically can be subdivided into three regions: the Eden Isles (an affluent waterfront subdivision) area bordering Lake Pontchartrain, Slidell precincts south of the Tammany Trace Bike Trail, and Slidell precincts north of the Tammany Trace Bike Trail. The Eden Isles area casts 18% of the district vote, is 6% black, and is heavily Republican (David Vitter carried this area 78-17% in his 2010 re-election race). Precincts in West Slidell south of the Tammany Trace cast 28% of the vote and are more middle income/racially mixed (the black voter registration here is 21%). This area leans Republican: David Vitter carried this area 61-34%. The bulk of the district vote (54%) is cast north of the Tammany Trace and is more Republican: this area is 15% black and David Vitter carried the area 67-27%.

Demographically, this district was 11% black by voter registration: today, it is 15% black and is due to black migration into the precincts in West Slidell on either side of the Tammany Trace. Overall, this district has a decided (but not overwhelming) Republican complexion, as Republicans can expect to get about 2/3 of the district vote in most elections. There is one major exception: Mary Landrieu’s New Orleans roots, combined with endorsements from local Republican elected officials in her 2008 re-election race, enabled her 44% of the vote here, which is high for a Democrat.

In legislative races, Democrats are not even in the ballgame: ever since this district was created in 1991, only two Republicans have represented the district (the last time Democrats even ran a candidate was in 1991, and that candidate only got 16% of the vote). “Pete” Schneider was first elected in 1991 and served until term limits forced him to retire in 2007. When the district opened up, Republican Greg Cromer (who was on the Slidell City Council) announced, and was elected when no one signed up to run against him. Rep. Cromer is allowed to serve two more terms.

New District

Saint Tammany gained another House seat as a result of reapportionment, as most of the parish grew rapidly. Since District 90 was relatively built up, it was only 5% overpopulated, although with the creation of a new district immediately to the west between Lacombe and Covington, the district lines were altered. Slidell precincts were traded back and forth with District 76 (represented by Republican Kevin Pearson) immediately to the east, and an area between Slidell and Lacombe was moved to the newly created District 104. The end result of these changes was a district with smoother district lines that is now centered along US 11 between Lake Pontchartrain and the town of Pearl River (a small town immediately to the north of Slidell).

These changes had a miniscule demographic or political effect: the black voter registration remained at 15%, and the GOP performance in elections remained at about 70%. What will be interesting as the decade goes on is whether demographic changes in west Slidell give the Democrats a base to begin contesting this district one or two election cycles from now. In the meantime, Rep. Cromer (or any other Republican) shouldn’t have problems getting elected here.