INCUMBENT: Kenny Havard (Republican)

DESCRIPTION: House District 62 is located in the Felicianas and contains most of East and West Feliciana Parishes. It also contains the northern fringes of Zachary in East Baton Rouge Parish. This has been an area that has largely has escaped suburban migration from those living in Baton Rouge, although the school systems of Zachary and West Feliciana Parish have brought some new residents into the district.

DISTRICT MAP:

District Map

RED/BLUE RATING (using 2008, 2012, and 2014 elections): 54% Republican

JMCEL’s SUMMARY:

While House District 62 is a “Felicianas district”, it saw its boundaries change twice in recent memory – in 1991 and in 2011. In the 1991 redistricting, the creation of a black majority district caused the Felicianas to be divided horizontally, with additional territory included from Livingston, St Helena, and Tangipahoa Parishes in and around Independence. That incarnation of the district was about 30% black by voter registration, and had a Republican lean to it in statewide elections, while in legislative elections, it elected Republican Tom McVea in a 2000 special election, although it’s worth noting that he had previously served in the Legislature as a Democrat. He was term limited out in 2011, and in addition to District 62 being an open seat, the district was substantially changed during the 2011 redistricting: the district was consolidated from six to three parishes, and with the northern portions of East/West Feliciana Parishes added back to the district, black voter registration rose to over 35%. In other words, this became a marginal district politically, and in fact the Democratic “floor” has risen to over 40% in Presidential elections and 45% for statewide elections, because the district also has a substantial number of state employees employed at one of its prisons or healthcare facilities. Even though “Bobby” Jindal was re-elected in 2011 with a 66% landslide, he only received 52% of the district vote. The current incumbent (Kenny Havard) is a Republican who was comfortably elected in 2011 with 61% and is allowed to serve two more terms. While he shouldn’t have re-election problems, there is a large Democratic vote base he has to attend to during his tenure in the House.