INCUMBENT: Ebony Woodruff (Democrat)

DESCRIPTION: House District 87 is located in the Westbank of Jefferson Parish, and is shaped like a hook – it was drawn this way to take in black majority precincts in Marrero and Harvey all the way down the Harvey Canal to the Intracoastal Waterway. This is a district that was reconfigured in 1991 to be a black majority district.

DISTRICT MAP:

District Map

RED/BLUE RATING (using 2008, 2012, and 2014 elections): 76% Democratic

JMCEL’s SUMMARY: The Westbank of Jefferson Parish historically was settled by blacks and blue collar whites. And as time went on, the demographics of this part of Jefferson Parish supported the eventual creation of a black majority district, and that is what happened in 1991, when this district was redrawn to become the first black majority district in the Westbank. This is a pretty solidly Democratic district that consistently gives 75-80% support to Democrats in contested elections. Unlike most districts in the New Orleans area, however, this is a district that has had considerable turnover, with four different legislators representing the district in the past decade. The seat most recently opened up when its last legislator (Girod Jackson III) pled guilty to filing false tax returns and resigned his seat in 2013. In the open seat “race” Democrat Ebony Woodruff was the only candidate to file for the race, and was elected without opposition in October 2013. She is allowed to serve two more terms, and she shouldn’t have re-election problems.