Louisiana elections, 2007

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Louisiana's 2007 state elections were held on October 20, 2007, with runoff elections held on November 17. All statewide elected offices were up, as well as all seats in the Louisiana State Legislature.

Louisiana State Legislature

The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is a bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators. Members of both houses are elected from single-member constituencies.

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Republicans were successful in electing the country's first Indian-American governor, Congressman Bobby Jindal. The issue of the state's response to Hurricane Katrina played a large part in the decision of incumbent governor Kathleen Blanco to retire rather than seek a second term in office. Term limits also caused a large number of retirements in the state legislature, which proved to be a benefit to Republicans, who made gains in both houses.

Bobby Jindal American politician; two-term Governor of Louisiana

Piyush "Bobby" Jindal is an American politician who was the 55th Governor of Louisiana between 2008 and 2016, and previously served as a U.S. Congressman and as the vice chairman of the Republican Governors Association.

Hurricane Katrina Category 5 Atlantic hurricane in 2005

Hurricane Katrina was an extremely destructive and deadly Category 5 hurricane that made landfall on Florida and Louisiana, particularly the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas, in August 2005, causing catastrophic damage from central Florida to eastern Texas. Subsequent flooding, caused largely as a result of fatal engineering flaws in the flood protection system known as levees around the city of New Orleans, precipitated most of the loss of lives. The storm was the third major hurricane of the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, as well as the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane on record to make landfall in the United States, behind only the 1935 Labor Day hurricane, Hurricane Camille in 1969, and Hurricane Michael in 2018.

Kathleen Blanco American politician

Kathleen Babineaux Blanco is an American politician who served as the 54th Governor of Louisiana from January 2004 to January 2008. A member of the Democratic Party, she is the first woman to have been elected as governor of Louisiana.

Governor

Bobby Jindal was elected outright with 54%, over a number of other contenders. He was voted Louisiana's new governor.

Lieutenant governor

Democratic incumbent Mitch Landrieu had the best showing of any Democrat running statewide, winning 56.6% of the vote. He was opposed by two Republicans, country musician Sammy Kershaw and State Representative Gary Beard, and by two Independents, Norris "Spanky" Gros Jr. and Thomas D. Kates.

Mitch Landrieu American politician

Mitchell Joseph Landrieu is an American politician and lawyer who was Mayor of New Orleans from 2010 to 2018. A Democrat, Landrieu served as Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana from 2004 to 2010 prior to becoming mayor.

Sammy Kershaw American country musician

Samuel Paul Kershaw is an American country music artist. He has released 16 studio albums, with three RIAA platinum certifications and two gold certifications among them. More than 25 singles have entered Top 40 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including the number one hit "She Don't Know She's Beautiful" and 10 more Top 10 hits: "Cadillac Style", "Anywhere but Here", "Haunted Heart", "Queen of My Double-Wide Trailer", "I Can't Reach Her Anymore", "National Working Woman's Holiday", "Third Rate Romance", "Meant to Be", "Vidalia", and "Love of My Life".

Gary James Beard is a conservative Republican former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from East Baton Rouge Parish who was defeated in his bid for lieutenant governor in the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 20, 2007. Beard ran third in the race with 130,935 votes. The incumbent, Democrat Mitch Landrieu, later the mayor of New Orleans, was reelected with 57 percent of the vote. Also running was a second Republican, Country music singer Sammy Kershaw of Abbeville in Vermilion Parish in southwestern Louisiana, who drew 30 percent of the ballots.

Open Primary Results

2007 Louisiana Lieutenant Governor election
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Democratic Mitch Landrieu (incumbent)701,88756.6
Republican Sammy Kershaw375,72730.3
Republican Gary Beard130,87610.6
Independent Norris "Spanky" Gros Jr.15,9651.3
Independent Thomas D. Kates15,5551.2
Turnout 1,240,010

Attorney general

Incumbent Attorney General Charles Foti was challenged by both a Democrat, James "Buddy" Caldwell, and a Republican, Royal Alexander. Foti placed third in the open primary, leading to a runoff between Caldwell and Alexander, in which Caldwell easily won.

Charles Carmen Foti, Jr., is a lawyer in New Orleans and a politician who served a single term from 2004 to 2008 as the Democratic Attorney General of the U.S. state of Louisiana, United States. Prior to becoming attorney general, Foti had been repeatedly reelected and served for thirty years as Orleans Parish criminal sheriff.

Royal Alexander Attorney

Richard Royal Alexander, known as Royal Alexander, is an attorney and politician in his native Shreveport, Louisiana, who in 2007 was the Republican-endorsed candidate for state attorney general.

Open Primary Results

2007 Louisiana Attorney General primary election
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Democratic James "Buddy" Caldwell 434,507 35.6
Republican Royal Alexander 395,498 32.4
Democratic Charles Foti (incumbent)389,30031.9
Turnout 1,219,305

Runoff Results

2007 Louisiana Attorney General runoff election
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Democratic James "Buddy" Caldwell477,57466.6
Republican Royal Alexander239,48533.4

Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry

Longtime incumbent Democrat Bob Odom faced his toughest re-election campaign ever, winning only 41% of the vote and ending up into a runoff with Republican State Representative Michael G. Strain. Odom withdrew from the runoff, making Strain the winner by default.

Robert Fulton Odom, Jr., was the longest-serving Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry in the U.S. state of Louisiana. A Democrat, he held his position from 1980 to 2008 through six gubernatorial administrations.

Michael Gene Strain is the first Republican ever elected to the position of Louisiana Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner.

Open Primary Results

2007 Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry election
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Democratic Bob Odom (incumbent)505,50441.3
Republican Mike Strain 494,760 40.5
Republican Wayne Carter152,89312.5
Republican Don Johnson69,4705.7
Turnout 1,222,627

Commissioner of Insurance

Republican Jim Donelon, who was elected to the Insurance Commissioner post in a 2006 special election, defeated both Democrat Jim Crowley and Republicans Robert Lansden and Jerilyn Schneider-Kneale to win a full term.

James Joseph Donelon, III, known as Jim Donelon, has been since February 15, 2006, the Republican insurance commissioner of the U.S. state of Louisiana.

Open Primary Results

2007 Louisiana Commissioner of Insurance election
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Republican Jim Donelon (incumbent)606,19650.9
Democratic Jim Crowley423,98635.6
Republican Robert Lansden105,9918.9
Republican Jerilyn Schneider-Kneale55,3504.6
Turnout 1,191,523

Secretary of State

Republican incumbent Jay Dardenne, after winning a special election in 2006, easily defeated Democrat R. Wooley and Libertarian Scott A. Lewis III to win a full term.

Open Primary Results

2007 Louisiana Secretary of State election
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Republican Jay Dardenne (incumbent)757,82163.3
Democratic R. Wooley374,19931.3
Libertarian Scott A. Lewis III64,7235.4
Turnout 1,196,743

State Treasurer

Incumbent John Neely Kennedy, a Democrat who switched to the Republican party in 2007, was re-elected unopposed.

State legislature

Louisiana Senate

In the open primary election, Democrats won a total of 22 seats, including both seats won outright and runoffs between two Democrats. Republicans won 12 seats outright with one runoff. In the runoff elections between a Democrat and a Republican, each party won two seats, making the post-election composition of the Senate 24 Democrats and 15 Republicans. Following the elections, Democratic State Sen. Robert Adley switched to the Republican party, making the Senate 23 Democrats and 16 Republicans .

House of Representatives

In the open primary, Democrats won a guaranteed 45 seats: 34 outright, with 11 runoffs between two Democrats. Republicans won a guaranteed 42 seats: 30 outright, with 12 runoffs between two Republicans. One independent was also elected. The remaining 17 seats went to runoffs, including 16 between a Democrat and a Republican and one between a Democrat and an Independent. Democrats and Republicans each won eight of these seats, with the last going to an Independent, giving the Democrats a slim 53 to 50, with two Independents, majority in the House of Representatives.

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