INCUMBENT: Karen St. Germain (Democrat)

DESCRIPTION: House District 60 is a rural Westside district that consists of most of Iberville and Assumption Parishes. This is a district that is a mixture of agriculture (particularly sugarcane) and industry, as several petrochemical plants are located on both sides of the Mississippi River in Iberville Parish. And while it hasn’t noticeably affected the district’s politics yet, there has been some suburbanization, as the Baton Rouge metropolitan area has begun to move down LA 30 (Nicholson Dr) into Saint Gabriel.

DISTRICT MAP:

District Map

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

JMCEL’s SUMMARY: House District 60 is a district that is mostly agricultural and partly industrial, and these twin pillars of the district’s economy have been the source of Democratic strength, as has the 39% black voter registration. And this Democratic strength is present in nearly every race up and down the ballot: even Barack Obama twice received 48% of the district vote, and Mary Landrieu received 52% of the vote last year. In legislative races, Democrats are even more securely in control, although this district has seen its share of competitive races. The current representative is Democrat Karen St. Germain, who won her seat in 2003 by defeating an incumbent who herself defeated another incumbent in 1999. Rep. St. Germain was then unopposed in 2007 and easily defeated a Republican with 86% of the vote in 2011. She is term limited, but this district is more likely than not to stay Democratic after this fall’s balloting.