| Louisiana's 3rd congressional district | |
|---|---|
.svg)  Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2025 | |
| Representative | |
| Distribution |
|
| Population (2024) | 777,847[2] |
| Median household income | $59,769[2] |
| Ethnicity |
|
| Cook PVI | R+22[3] |
Louisiana's 3rd congressional district is aUnited States congressional district in theU.S. state ofLouisiana. The district covers the southwestern and south central portion of the state, ranging from theTexas border to the Atchafalaya River.
The district is currently represented byRepublicanClay Higgins, a former sheriff's deputy fromPort Barre known for his controversialCrime Stoppers videos. He was first elected to theUnited States House of Representatives in the December 10, 2016 runoff against public service commissionerScott Angelle to replaceCharles Boustany.[4]
Louisiana gained its2nd and 3rd congressional districts in 1823 as part of the18th United States Congress. Since at least the 1870s, the district has been strongly influenced by southern Louisiana'sAcadian culture.
Although the 3rd congressional district had been Democratic through much of its history, it is the sole district in Louisiana to have been represented bythree parties during the 20th century, in thatWhitmell P. Martin represented the district as a"Bull Moose" Progressive from 1915 to 1919, when he switched to the Democratic Party. Since the turn of the 20th century, it had dominated Louisiana as a one-party state after the legislature passed a new constitution that effectivelydisenfranchised African Americans through the 1960s. Martin remained in office as a Democrat until his death in 1929.
The district became more competitive for the Republicans later in the 20th century, when conservative whites shifted into the Republican Party after passage of civil rights legislation by Congress. In 1966, Hall Lyons ofLafayette, polled 40 percent of the vote as a Republican candidate against veteran Democratic incumbentEdwin E. Willis. In 1972, the district electedDavid C. Treen as the first Republican U.S. representative from Louisiana since 1891. Treen previously lost three races to unseat entrenched 2nd District incumbentHale Boggs, but easily won four times after his home inMetairie was shifted into the 3rd.
The state legislature redistricted in the 1980s, pushing the district out of the fast-growing suburbs ofMetairie and the city ofKenner, to help keep the seat in the hands of Treen's Democratic successor,Billy Tauzin, who won a special election in May 1980 after Treen waselectedGovernor. Tauzin eventually switched to the Republican Party in 1995, making the 3rd congressional district unique in 20th-century Louisiana politics as the sole district to havetwo representatives who switched parties (Martin, who switched from the Progressives to the Democrats in 1918, and Tauzin, who switched from the Democrats to the Republicans in 1995). As a Republican, Tauzin continued to serve until retiring from Congress in 2005.DemocratCharlie Melançon won the seat in 2004 (seated in 2005), was reelected in 2006, and was unopposed in 2008.
For most of the time from 1823 to 2013, the district contained large portions of southeastern and south centralLouisiana, including theRiver Parishes and EastAcadiana, In its final configuration, it included many exurban and rural areas nearNew Orleans,Baton Rouge andLafayette. It contained the cities ofChalmette,Gonzales,Houma,Thibodaux,Morgan City, andNew Iberia.
However, when Louisiana lost a district after the 2010 census, the old 3rd was dismantled. The new 3rd included most of southwestern Louisiana, including Lafayette andLake Charles. Most of this territory had been the7th district before the 2010 census. The old 3rd's last congressman, freshman RepublicanJeff Landry, had his home in New Iberia, along with much of the western portion of his district, drawn into the new 3rd. He opted to challenge the 7th district's four-term incumbent, fellow RepublicanCharles Boustany, in the GOP primary. However, Landry could not overcome the fact that he was running in a district in which more than 60 percent of his constituents were new to him. He lost to Boustany in the primary, ending his brief congressional career. The new 3rd, like both the old 3rd and 7th, has a richCajun culture.
For the119th and successive Congresses (based on the districts drawn following a 2023 court order), the district contains all or portions of the following parishes and communities.[5][6]
Acadia Parish(13)
St. Mary Parish(12)
| Year | Office | Results[7] |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | President | McCain 66% - 32% |
| 2012 | President | Romney 69% - 31% |
| 2014 | Senate | Cassidy 67% - 33% |
| 2015 | Governor | Vitter 53% - 47% |
| Lt. Governor | Nungesser 66% - 34% | |
| 2016 | President | Trump 70% - 27% |
| Senate | Kennedy 75% - 25% | |
| 2019 | Governor | Rispone 63% - 37% |
| Lt. Governor | Nungesser 78% - 22% | |
| Attorney General | Landry 77% - 23% | |
| 2020 | President | Trump 70% - 28% |
| 2023 | Attorney General | Murrill 79% - 21% |
| 2024 | President | Trump 72% - 27% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Billy Tauzin II (Incumbent) | 130,323 | 86.68 | |
| Libertarian | William Beier | 12,964 | 8.62 | |
| Independent | David Iwancio | 7,055 | 4.69 | |
| Total votes | 150,342 | 100.00 | ||
| Turnout | 44.2 | |||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Charlie Melançon | 57,611 | 50.25 | |||
| Republican | Billy Tauzin III | 57,042 | 49.75 | |||
| Total votes | 114,653 | 100.00 | ||||
| Turnout | 27.8 | |||||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | ||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Charlie Melançon (Incumbent) | 75,023 | 55.03 | |
| Republican | Craig F. Romero | 54,950 | 40.31 | |
| Democratic | Olangee Breech | 4,190 | 3.07 | |
| Libertarian | James Lee Blake Jr. | 2,168 | 1.59 | |
| Total votes | 136,331 | 100.00 | ||
| Turnout | 34.4 | |||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Charlie Melançon (Incumbent) | 100.00 | ||
| Total votes | 100.00 | |||
| Turnout | ||||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jeff Landry | 108,963 | 63.77 | |||
| Democratic | Ravi Sangisetty | 61,914 | 36.23 | |||
| Total votes | 170,877 | 100.00 | ||||
| Turnout | 44.8 | |||||
| Republicangain fromDemocratic | ||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Charles Boustany | 58,820 | 60.90 | |
| Republican | Jeff Landry | 37,764 | 39.10 | |
| Total votes | 96,584 | 100.00 | ||
| Turnout | 19.3 | |||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Charles Boustany (incumbent) | 185,867 | 79 | |
| Republican | Bryan Barrilleaux | 22,059 | 9 | |
| No Party | Russell Richard | 28,342 | 12 | |
| Total votes | 236,268 | 100.00 | ||
| Turnout | 51.1 | |||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Clay Higgins | 77,671 | 56.1 | |
| Republican | Scott Angelle | 60,762 | 43.9 | |
| Total votes | 138,433 | 100 | ||
| Turnout | 28.1 | |||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Clay Higgins (incumbent) | 136,876 | 55.7 | |
| Democratic | Mildred Methvin | 43,729 | 17.8 | |
| Republican | Josh Guillory | 31,387 | 12.8 | |
| Democratic | Rob Anderson | 13,477 | 5.5 | |
| Democratic | Larry Rader | 9,692 | 3.9 | |
| Democratic | Verone Thomas | 7,815 | 3.2 | |
| Libertarian | Aaron Andrus | 2,967 | 1.2 | |
| Total votes | 245,943 | 100 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Clay Higgins (incumbent) | 230,480 | 67.76 | |
| Democratic | Braylon Harris | 60,852 | 17.89 | |
| Democratic | Rob Anderson | 39,423 | 11.59 | |
| Libertarian | Brandon Leleux | 9,365 | 2.75 | |
| Total votes | 340,120 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Clay Higgins (incumbent) | 144,423 | 64.3 | |
| Republican | Holden Hoggatt | 24,474 | 10.9 | |
| Democratic | Lessie Olivia Leblanc | 23,641 | 10.5 | |
| Democratic | Tia LeBrun | 21,172 | 9.4 | |
| Republican | Thomas "Lane" Payne, Jr. | 4,012 | 1.8 | |
| Independent | Gloria R. Wiggins | 3,255 | 1.4 | |
| Republican | Jacob "Jake" Shaheen | 1,955 | 0.9 | |
| Libertarian | Guy McLendon | 1,620 | 0.7 | |
| Total votes | 224,552 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Clay Higgins (incumbent) | 226,279 | 70.6 | |
| Democratic | Priscilla Gonzalez | 59,834 | 18.7 | |
| Democratic | Sadi Summerlin | 21,323 | 6.6 | |
| Republican | Xan John | 13,246 | 4.1 | |
| Total votes | 320,682 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
29°57′04″N92°25′50″W / 29.95111°N 92.43056°W /29.95111; -92.43056
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