INCUMBENT: Blake Miguez (Republican)

DESCRIPTION: House District 49 is a district that contains the more rural parts of Iberia and Vermilion Parishes – New Iberia and Abbeville are just outside the district’s boundaries. There is, however, a small (but growing) suburban component of the district, as the Lafayette metropolitan area expands southwards into Vermilion Parish along US Highway 167 in and around the town of Maurice.

DISTRICT MAP:

District Map

RED/BLUE RATING (using 2008, 2012, and 2014 elections): 65% Republican

JMCEL’s SUMMARY: For years, Acadiana was the Democratic bulwark of the state, as 3:1 margins for “favorite son/daughter” candidates like Edwin Edwards, John Breaux, and Kathleen Blanco were typical levels of support. In the past decade, however, a combination of issue stances by the national Democratic Party and the 2010 BP oil spill have steadily moved voters towards the Republican Party. The “tipping point” of this political reorientation occurred in 2010, when US Senator David Vitter defeated Congressman Charlie Melancon (a Democrat who represented Iberia Parish in Congress from 2005-2011) 65-30%, when two years before that, Mary Landrieu received 50% of the vote from the same constituency. Similarly, Rep. Simone Champagne (who was elected unopposed as a Democrat in 2007) also switched to the Republican Party that same year, and in her 2011 re-election race, a stiff Democratic challenge that might have prospered a generation ago was easily thwarted 69-21%. When Rep. Champagne resigned her seat in December 2014 to take a job with the city of Youngsville, the Democrats didn’t even bother to field a candidate. A race between two Republicans ensued, and the victor (by a massive 93-7% landslide) was small businessman Blake Miguez, who also had some name recognition from his appearances on “Top Shot.” Rep. Miguez is allowed to seek three more terms, and the ease by which he was elected in the February 2015 special election should deter any serious challengers.