CQ Risk Rating: Safe Democrat 
| GENERAL ELECTION: NOVEMBER 7, 2000 |
|
| Chris John (D) | 152,796 | 83% |
| Michael P. Harris (LIBERT) | 30,687 | 17% |
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 7
:
Southwest - Lake Charles; Lafayette
Anchored by blue-collar Lake Charles in the west, the white-collar Cajun
hub of Lafayette in the east, and the Gulf of Mexico in the south, the 7th
takes in both coastal and city life. A sizable French-Catholic citizenry
reinforces the district's socially conservative leanings.
Still, Democrats are so firmly in control of the area that is now the
7th that it has remained in their hands since 1885. Lafayette Parish, in the
eastern part of the district, is the most Republican-leaning area. Three
stabs at redistricting in the 1990s did little to change the 7th. In the
final round, in 1996, the 7th regained some black neighborhoods in Lafayette
Parish that it had lost in 1992.
Dotted with waterfowl and wildlife refuges, the 7th's Gulf edge serves
sports and commercial fishermen. Menhaden, which is ground into feed and
industrial oil, accounts for a sizable share of the commercial catch.
Oil, a weighty part of the economy, nose-dived in the 1980s and then
rebounded in the 1990s, helping the petrochemical industry in Lafayette and
union stronghold Lake Charles. Rice also is big in much of the 7th; Acadia
Parish claims to be the rice capital of the world.
Major Industry
Oil and gas, petrochemicals, agriculture, fishing
Population
603,078 (1990)
Cities
Lafayette, 104,899; Lake Charles, 71,445; Sulphur, 20,833 (1996)
People
41% urban; 11% age 65+ (ranks fifth of seven in state; bottom third
nationally); 58% married couples, 30% married couples with children; 14%
college educated (ranks fifth of seven in state; bottom third nationally);
53% white collar (ranks fourth of seven in state; middle third nationally),
30% blue collar (ranks second of seven in state; top third nationally)
(1990)
Race
75% white, 24% black, 0% Asian; 1% Hispanic origin (1990)
Median Household Income
$20,595 (ranks fifth of seven in state; bottom third nationally) (1990)
Unusual Features
Former Gov. Edwin W. Edwards and Sen. John B. Breaux represented the 7th;
Dr. Michael DeBakey, born in Lake Charles, was the first person to
successfully use an artificial heart in a patient; Rayne hosts an annual
frog festival; Kinder is home to the Grand Casino Coushatta, the state's
largest land-based casino.
Source: Congressional Quarterly (Updated April 1999)
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District 7
