INCUMBENT: Norby Chabert (Republican)

DESCRIPTION: Senate District 20 is located in the southernmost portions of the state and contains southern Lafourche Parish (generally, the portion of the parish south of Highway 90) and the eastern/southern portions of Terrebonne Parish, including most of Houma.

DISTRICT MAP:

District Map

RED/BLUE RATING (using 2008, 2012, and 2014 elections): 66% Republican

JMCEL’s SUMMARY: Senate District 20 is a district in South Louisiana whose terrain is mostly swampy, and it is one district whose dependence on the offshore oil industry has led to a sharp change in political preferences after the 2010 BP oil spill and drilling moratorium. Before that, this was for years a swing district that supported Republicans in Presidential races while supporting Democrats more often than not in statewide races. Since the oil spill, Republicans have gained noticeable traction here, with Republican statewide candidates getting at least 63% of the vote in the last three election cycles.

In legislative races, this was (before the oil spill), a Democratic district, thanks to the (former) strongly Democratic preference of South Lafourche voters, and politics here tended to be a “family affair”, with three members of the Chabert family holding this seat off and on since 1980. The current state senator is Norby Chabert, who is the son of the late Leonard Chabert (who held the seat from 1980 to 1992) and the brother of Marty Chabert (who held the seat from 1992 to 1996). Norby was elected in a 2009 special election with 54% of the vote against a Republican, and switched parties in early 2011, as the fortunes of the Democratic Party took a turn for the worse in the aftermath of the oil spill and drilling moratorium. The party switch obviously helped: he was unopposed in his 2011 re-election. Senator Chabert is allowed to serve one more term, and is probably a safe bet for re-election, although this district seems to have turbulent politics from time to time, so he can’t take re-election entirely for granted.