INCUMBENT: Tom Willmott (Republican)

DESCRIPTION: House District 92 is in the New Orleans metropolitan area and includes parts of two parishes: in Jefferson Parish, it includes the part of Kenner south of Esplanade Avenue. It then crosses over into Saint Charles Parish to pick up a single precinct immediately adjacent to the Louis Armstrong International Airport.

DISTRICT MAP:

District Map

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

JMCEL’s SUMMARY: While Jefferson Parish is popularly thought of as a Republican white collar suburban parish of New Orleans, there are parts of the parish with just enough blue-collar voters, blacks, and (more recently) Hispanics for Democrats to be competitive. House District 92 is one of those areas, and not only does it have a substantial (36%) black voter registration, but an additional 8% of its voters are Hispanic – the highest percentage of any of Louisiana’s 105 House districts. Politically, this is a marginal district that has been trending Democratic, and has a noticeable affinity for former senator Mary Landrieu: not only did Barack Obama carry this district 50-48% in 2012, but in Landrieu’s last three races, she carried the district each time with 54% in 2002, 61% in 2008, and 56% last year. In legislative elections, this is a district that typically re-elects its legislators (the last legislator served from 1986 until he was term limited out in 2008), although in the 2007 elections, Republican Tom Willmott defeated a Republican in the runoff with 65% of the vote. What was remarkable about that race was that in this marginal district, Willmott received 40% of the black vote against a black candidate. Rep. Willmott was then unopposed for re-election in 2011. He is allowed to seek one more term, and should probably be in good electoral shape, although the Democratic trend in this district is something he needs to be mindful of, as he represents the most Democratic district of any member of the House Republican Delegation.