INCUMBENT: Pat Smith (Democrat)

DESCRIPTION: House District 67 is located in Baton Rouge and contains three of its recognizable landmarks: the Old/New State Capitol, the “new bridge”, and LSU (the ExxonMobil refinery is just outside the periphery of the district). It also travels south of LSU to include a fast growing area along Brightside and River Road that contains a mixture of students and those wanting a convenient commute to downtown, LSU, or to the nearby petrochemical plants. This is a black majority district that has a noticeable minority of white voters in and around downtown, as well as in neighborhoods directly to the south of LSU.

DISTRICT MAP:

District Map

RED/BLUE RATING (using 2008, 2012, and 2014 elections): 81% Democratic

JMCEL’s SUMMARY: House District 67 is a heavily Democratic district. In addition to its 65% black voter majority (which actually votes in excess of its numbers, due to the low voter turnout from students, who make up 10% of the district electorate), the white voters who live downtown or to the south of LSU repeatedly show more affinity for liberal candidates than white voters across town – in fact, the downtown precinct voted 66% for Barack Obama and 76% for Mary Landrieu. Despite the Democratic dominance, the district has had competitive races for three decades, with no candidate winning with more than 64% of the vote since 1983. The current representative is Pat Smith, who served on the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board before seeking election to an open seat in 2007. She was elected in the runoff with 55% and in the 2011 primary with 61% against the same opponent (who also unsuccessfully sought the seat in 1999 and 2003 against the previous incumbent). Rep. Smith is allowed to serve one more term, and is probably in good shape for re-election, although given the district’s history, she can count on a contested race.