Louisiana's 5th congressional district is a

congressional district Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts and legislative districts, electorates, or wards in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional bod ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

. The 5th district encompasses rural northeastern Louisiana and much of central Louisiana, as well as the northern part of Louisiana's

Florida parishes The Florida Parishes ( es, Parroquias de Florida, french: Paroisses de Floride), on the east side of the Mississippi River—an area also known as the Northshore or Northlake region—are eight List of parishes in Louisiana, parishes in the southe ...

in southeastern Louisiana, taking in Monroe,

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

, Opelousas, Amite and

Bogalusa Bogalusa is a city in Washington Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 12,232 at the 2010 census. In th2020 censusthe city, town, place equivalent reported a population of 10,659. It is the principal city of the Bogalusa Micropolit ...

. The district is currently represented by

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Julia Letlow, who was elected in a 2021 special election to replace her husband, representative-elect Luke, who died of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

days before he was set to be sworn in.

Previous election cycles

2014 election

In 2014, Ralph Abraham defeated Monroe Mayor Jamie Mayo for the

113th United States Congress The 113th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, from January 3, 2013, to January 3, 2015, during the fifth and sixth years of Barack Obama's presidency. It was composed of the ...

, replacing McAllister, who was defeated in the

Louisiana primary The "Louisiana primary" is the common term for top-two runoff voting system where all candidates for the same office appear together on the ballot in the general election, and if none win a simple majority, a runoff or second round election f ...

. On February 26, 2020, Abraham announced he would not be seeking re-election for a fourth term, honoring his pledge to only serve three terms in Congress.

2013 special election

"On November 16, 2013,

newcomer

Vance McAllister Vance Michael McAllister Sr. (born January 7, 1974), is an American businessman and Republican former member of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana's 5th congressional district. He won a special runoff election held on No ...

, a businessman from

Swartz, Louisiana Swartz is a census-designated place (CDP) in Ouachita Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States. The population was 4,536 in the 2010 census, an increase of 289 or 6.8 percent over the 2000 population. It is part of the Monroe Metropoli ...

, handily defeated fellow Republican

State Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of ...

Neil Riser Hartwell Neil Riser Jr. (born April 25, 1962) is an American politician. He served as a Republican member for the 32nd district of the Louisiana State Senate. Riser is currently a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives. Riser was bo ...

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

Caldwell Parish Caldwell Parish (french: Paroisse de Caldwell) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,132, making it the fifth-least populous parish in Louisiana. The parish seat is Columbia. Most r ...

to claim the seat in a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

. McAllister led Riser, 54,449 (59.7) to 36,837 (40.3 percent), with all 981 precincts reporting. McAllister won fourteen of the twenty-four parishes in the district, including large margins in Ouachita and Rapides. McAllister had criticized Governor

Bobby Jindal Piyush "Bobby" Jindal (born June 10, 1971) is an American politician who served as the 55th Governor of Louisiana from 2008 to 2016. The only living former Louisiana governor, Jindal also served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives ...

for not extending Medicaid to qualified poor Louisianians, and Riser had endorsed the governor's refusal. Analysts considered McAllister's victory as a rejection of Jindal's efforts to have the seat vacated and to replace Alexander with his hand-picked candidate in a low-turnout special election. The runoff turnout was less than 19%, three percent less than in the primary.Lauren McGaughy, "Political newcomer Vance McAllister wins 5th District special election"
''

Times-Picayune ''The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate'' is an American newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana, since January 25, 1837. The current publication is the result of the 2019 acquisition of ''The Times-Picayune'' (itself a result of th ...

'', November 16, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2013. Previously the seat was held by

Rodney Alexander Rodney McKinnie Alexander (born December 5, 1946) is an American politician and member of the Republican Party who served as the Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs from September 30, 2013, until June 3, 2014. Previously he ...

, who in 2004 had switched from the Democratic Party to the GOP. Alexander resigned on September 26, 2013 to become secretary of the

Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs In 1944, the Louisiana Office of Veterans Affairs was created to provide local services to Louisiana Veterans and their families. As the number of Veterans in the state grew, so did the need to expand programs and services to support their needs. ...

under Governor Jindal. Originally 14 candidates ran to succeed Alexander, including

Clyde C. Holloway Clyde Cecil Holloway (November 28, 1943 – October 16, 2016) was an American politician, small business owner, and Republican politician from Louisiana who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and as one of five members of t ...

, a former representative from

Louisiana's 8th congressional district Louisiana's 8th congressional district is a defunct congressional district and no longer exists after Louisiana lost its eighth congressional seat in the 1990 U. S. Census. For its entire existence, it was based in Alexandria and included much ...

, since disbanded. Riser and McAllister emerged from the primary to meet in the runoff.

Recent presidential elections

List of members representing the district

Recent election results

2002

2004

*NOTE: Rodney Alexander switched from the Democratic to the Republican Party.

2006

2008

2010

2012

2013 (special)

2014

2016

2018

2020

2021 (special)

Historical district boundaries

References

* *
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
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