INCUMBENT: Sam Jones (Democrat)

DESCRIPTION: House District 50 is a coastal district in south Louisiana that includes parts of two parishes: most of Saint Mary Parish (except for portions of Morgan City), and the lower section of Saint Martin Parish.

DISTRICT MAP:

District Map

RED/BLUE RATING (using 2008, 2012, and 2014 elections): 53% Republican

JMCEL’s SUMMARY: House District 50 is one of several House districts that best fits the stereotype people have about Louisiana, as it contains swamps, plantations, sugarcane, and the oil industry. Politically, it is a marginal district: it has a 36% black voter registration, and its agricultural economy was also a source of Democratic votes for years. In fact, this district more often than not voted for Democrats at the statewide level (and sometimes in Presidential races), and even though Republicans have been carrying the district lately in “top of the ballot” races, there is still a 45% vote base for Democrats even if their candidates lose statewide. In legislative elections, this district has always voted Democratic, without much in the way of Republican challenges (although technically, a party switcher was re-elected with 51% of the vote in 1987 before retiring in 1991). The current representative is former mayor of Franklin Sam Jones, who was elected in 2007 with 53% of the vote in the runoff against a fellow Democrat. He was unopposed in 2011, and is allowed to serve one more term. Given the district’s marginal political nature, Rep. Jones is probably safe with regards to his re-election chances; it’ll be interesting to see if Republicans were to attempt to contest this seat now or in the future.