Louisiana Congress

BATON ROUGE, La. - For the first time in three decades, the Baton Rouge area has sent a Democrat to Congress.

In a New Orleans-area district controlled by the GOP for about the same time, a Republican won easily in the race to replace Governor Bobby Jindal in the seat.

State Representative Don Cazayoux of New Roads polled 49 percent of the Saturday to narrowly beat Republican publisher Woody Jenkins of Baton Rouge, who received 46 percent, for the Sixth District seat in U.S. House.

Louisiana’s seven-member congressional delegation has three Democrats for the first time since 2004 and for only the second time in 12 years.

In the 1st District, state Senator Steve Scalise piled up 75 percent of the vote to defeat Democrat Gilda Reed.

Cazayoux and Scalise will both have to run for re-election in the fall. Cazayoux replaces Richard Baker, who quit in February to take a job with a hedge fund.