CQ Risk Rating: Safe Republican 
| GENERAL ELECTION: NOVEMBER 7, 2000 |
|
| Richard H. Baker (R) | 165,637 | 68% |
| Kathy J. Rogillio (D) | 72,192 | 30% |
| Michael S. Wolf (LIBERT) | 5,649 | 2% |
Note: The election that Louisiana holds on national election day in November is an open primary, with candidates from all parties on the ballot. Any candidate who receives more than half the votes is elected, and no general election is held for that post. Likewise, a candidate with no opposition is declared elected and does not appear on the final ballot. If no candidate receives more than half the votes, the top two vote-getters, regardless of political party, participate in a runoff election in December.
Source: Congressional Quarterly. To suggest updates and corrections: politics.feedback@cq.com
Major Industry | Population | Cities | People | Race | Median Household Income | Unusual Features
LOUISIANA 6
:
South Central - Baton Rouge
The socially conservative 6th is centered on the state capital, Baton
Rouge, and takes in a swath of the Mississippi River that supports a slew of
chemical plants. Its rural north hosts farming, while the parishes ringing
Baton Rouge have become increasingly suburban, drawing capital commuters.
As in most of the South, socially conservative suburban and rural voters
have made a shift toward the GOP. But Baton Rouge retains minority and
blue-collar populations that still vote Democratic. Three redistrictings in
the 1990s gave the 6th more and more of Baton Rouge, transforming it into a
politically competitive district. For local offices, East Baton Rouge,
Livingston and Ascension parishes are the most Republican areas.
Because much of the oil refined in the 6th comes from overseas, the
1980s decline of the U.S. oil industry impacted but never crushed the 6th's
vast petrochemical industry. Baton Rouge remains a petrochemical hub but
also teems with Louisiana State U. and Southern U. students and government
workers. To the west of the city, the Port of Greater Baton Rouge ranks
fourth in the nation in total tonnage.
The district's economy also benefits from Catfish Town, a retail
development center along the Mississippi River where tourists come for
riverboat gambling and the nearby Naval War Museum. The 6th also takes in
the sugar cane fields of Point Coupee Parish and much of the timber- and
potato-producing parishes of St. Helena and West and East Feliciana.
Major Industry
Petrochemicals, government, higher education
Population
602,764 (1990)
Cities
Baton Rouge, 215,882 (1996); Denham Springs, 9,171 (1997); Gonzales, 8,445
(1998)
People
61% urban; 9% age 65+ (ranks sixth of seven in state; bottom third
nationally); 56% married couples, 29% married couples with children; 21%
college educated (ranks second of seven in state; middle third nationally);
60% white collar (ranks second of seven in state; middle third nationally),
26% blue collar (ranks fifth of seven in state; middle third nationally)
(1990)
Race
67% white, 32% black, 1% Asian; 1% Hispanic origin (1990)
Median Household Income
$26,001 (ranks second of seventh in state; middle third nationally) (1990)
Unusual Features
Democratic political consultant James Carville born in Carville, La. (named
after his grandfather).
Source: Congressional Quarterly (Updated April 1999)
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District 6
