INCUMBENT: Vincent Pierre (Democrat)

DESCRIPTION: House District 44 is located in Lafayette Parish and includes precincts in Lafayette Parish on either side of I-49/the Evangeline Thruway between Carencro and the Lafayette Regional Airport.

DISTRICT MAP:

District Map

RED/BLUE RATING (using 2008, 2012, and 2014 elections): 74% Democratic

JMCEL’s SUMMARY: A generation ago, the Louisiana Legislature was comprised almost exclusively of white Democrats. That began to change noticeably in the 1990s, between the “Republican surge” of 1995, and the use of the Voting Rights Act in 1991 to create about 10 new black majority districts. Before 1991, Lafayette’s black population, which generally resided north of the airport along the Evangeline Thruway, was split between two House districts; after 1991, this demographic was consolidated into one district which was designed to elect a black legislator, and is a solidly Democratic district. This, in fact, is what happened, when Democrat Wilfred Pierre was elected in 1991, and served until he was term limited out for the 2007 election cycle. Rep. Pierre was succeeded by Rickey Hardy, who was elected in the runoff. In 2011, Rep. Pierre’s nephew Vincent ran and defeated Hardy 53-47% in the runoff. Rep. Pierre is allowed to serve two more terms, and it will be interesting to see whether this district has a competitive race for the third election cycle in a row.