INCUMBENT: “Jeff” Hall (Democrat)

DESCRIPTION: House District 26 is located in Rapides Parish and includes most of the central city of Alexandria between Macarthur Drive and the Red River. It also includes several precincts across the Red River in Pineville.

DISTRICT MAP:

District Map

RED/BLUE RATING (using 2008, 2012, and 2014 elections): 73% Democratic

JMCEL’s SUMMARY: During legislative redistricting in 1991, the Voting Rights act was interpreted as requiring that additional black majority districts be drawn wherever possible. This interpretation of the law doubled the number of black House members that year, and one of those redrawn House districts was in Alexandria. Prior to that reapportionment, black neighborhoods in Alexandria (which are generally between MacArthur Drive and the Red River) were split between two state representative districts. The 1991 reapportionment merely put these neighborhoods into one district and made this a black majority district, although there is some Republican sentiment in Pineville and in the affluent neighborhoods in and around City Park. Since the 1991 reconfiguration of the district, the district has had steady representation from black Democrats: its first representative was “Bo” Curtis, who served until term limits forced him out in 2007. His successor was Herbert Dixon, who served until 2014, when he resigned for health reasons. In the special election to succeed him in 2015 “Jeff” Hall won in the first primary with 84% of the vote. He is allowed to serve three more terms, and given the size of his victory margin, he is likely to have no problems with re-election this fall.