DESCRIPTION: House District 18 is a rural district in the Westside that consists of all of Pointe Coupee Parish, northern Iberville Parish, the rural portions of West Baton Rouge Parish, and a single precinct in West Feliciana Parish that contains the Angola Prison.

DISTRICT MAP:

District Map

RED/BLUE RATING (using 2008, 2012, and 2014 elections): 50% Democratic

JMCEL’s SUMMARY: The River Parishes, which stretch from the junction of the Mississippi/Atchafalaya Rivers to the outskirts of metropolitan New Orleans, are a unique combination of plantation heritage, petrochemical plants, and sugarcane farms. This mixture of agriculture and industry has made the area a populist Democratic stronghold for years, and the district’s 36% black voter registration gives Democrats a good head start in nearly all elections, although Republicans do marginally better in Presidential races than in statewide races. Even though Republicans haven’t tried to compete here in legislative races, this district does get competitive races from time to time. The current legislator is Democrat Major Thibaut, who was elected in a 2008 special election when its former occupant (Don Cazayoux) left to serve as Congressman for several months in 2008 before being defeated by Bill Cassidy. After the 2008 race, Rep. Thibaut was unopposed in 2011, and is allowed to seek another term. He is likely to be re-elected, as there is a strong enough Democratic base (Mary Landrieu received 51% of the vote last year even while getting only 44% statewide as a three term incumbent) to put this district just beyond the reach of a Republican.