2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Louisiana

← 2006 November 4, 2008 (2008-11-04) 2010 →
All 7 Louisiana seats to theUnited States House of Representatives
Majority party Minority party   Party Republican Democratic Last election 5 2 Seats before 4 3 Seats won 6 1 Seat change 2 2 Popular vote 594,306 398,474 Percentage 56.81% 38.09% Swing 6.48% 4.33%
District results Parish results Republican   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   90>% Democratic   40–50%   50–60%   70–80%   90>%

Elections in Louisiana
Federal government Presidential elections 1812 1816 1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Presidential primaries Democratic 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Republican 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 U.S. Senate elections 1812 1813 1813 sp 1817 1818 1818 sp 1819 1823 1824 1824 sp 1825 1829 1831 1831 sp 1833 sp 1835 1836 sp 1837 1837 sp 1840 1843 1844 sp 1847 1847 sp 1848 1852 1853 1853 sp 1859 1868 1876 1876 sp 1879 1882 1889 1891 1894 1894 sp 1896 1900 1904 1908 1910 sp 1912 1914 1918 1918 sp 1920 1924 1926 1930 1932 1936 1936 sp 1938 1942 1944 1948 1948 sp 1950 1954 1956 1960 1962 1966 1968 1972 1974 1978 1980 1984 1986 1990 1992 1996 1998 2002 2004 2008 2010 2014 2016 2020 2022 2026 2028 U.S. House of Representatives elections 1812 1814 1816 1818 AL sp 1820 1822 1824 1826 1828 1830 1832 1834 1st sp 3rd sp 1836 1838 1840 3rd sp 1843 1844 4th sp 1847 1849 1850 2nd sp 3rd sp 1851 1853 1855 1857 1859 1868 1870 1872 4th sp 1873 4th sp 1874 1876 1878 5th sp 1880 1882 1884 1886 2nd sp 1887 6th sp 1888 1889 3rd sp 1890 1892 1894 4th sp 1896 5th sp 1898 1899 5th sp 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1st sp 1909 2nd sp 1910 2nd sp 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 2nd sp 1926 1927 7th sp 1928 1929 3rd sp 1930 1931 8th sp 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 3rd sp 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1961 4th sp 1962 1964 4th sp 1965 7th sp 1966 1968 1970 1972 7th sp 1973 2nd sp 1974 1975 6th sp 1976 1977 1st sp 1978 1980 3rd sp 1982 1984 1985 8th sp 1986 1988 4th sp 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 1999 1st sp 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 1st sp 6th sp 2010 2012 2013 5th sp 2014 2016 2018 2020 2021 2nd sp 5th sp 2022 2024
State government General elections 2007 2010 2011 2015 2019 2020 2023 Gubernatorial elections 1812 1816 1820 1824 1828 1830 sp 1834 1838 1842 1846 1849 1852 1855 1859 1863 (C) 1864 (U) 1865 1868 1872 1876 1879 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1975 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023 2027 Lieutenant gubernatorial elections 2011 2015 2019 2023 Attorney General elections 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023 Treasurer elections 2017 sp State Senate elections 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023 House of Representatives elections 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Ballot measures 2004 Amendment 1
Baton Rouge Mayoral elections 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
New Orleans Mayoral elections 1866 1930 1934 1946 1950 1958 1962 1965 1969 1973 1977 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2017 2021 2025 City Council elections 2006 2010
Shreveport Mayoral elections 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
Government
v t e

The2008 congressional elections in Louisiana to determine representation for thestate ofLouisiana in theUnited States House of Representatives occurred November 4, 2008. Louisiana has seven seats in the House, apportioned according to the2000 United States census. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected will serve in the111th Congress from January 4, 2009, until January 3, 2011. The election coincided with the2008 U.S. presidential election.

Unlike the2006 elections, which were held under a jungle primary system, the 2008 elections used partisan primaries to decide general election nominees.^[1] The primary elections were to be held September 6, 2008, but were rescheduled for October 3, 2008 due to storm damage followingHurricane Gustav. The necessary party runoffs were held on November 4, the same date as the presidential election. The general election for the House races was held December 6.^[2][3]

Republican incumbentSteve Scalise won against Democratic nominee Jim Harlan, a businessman.

2008 Louisiana's 2nd congressional district election

← 2006 December 6, 2008 2010 →

Nominee Joseph Cao William J. Jefferson Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 33,122 31,296 Percentage 49.5% 46.8%

Parish results Cao:     60–70% Jefferson:     50–60%

U.S. Representative before election William J. Jefferson Democratic Elected U.S. Representative Joseph Cao Republican

The district included nearly all ofNew Orleans and some of its suburbs, and is heavily Democratic: John Kerry won 75% of the vote here in 2004.CQ Politics forecasted the race as "Safe Democrat" for 9-term incumbentWilliam Jefferson, but the Republican narrowly defeated him in an upset.

The primary runoff in this district was held on November 4 in place of the general election, with the general election moving to December 6. The investigation began in mid-2005, after an investor alleged $400,000 in bribes were paid through a company maintained in the name of his spouse and children. The money came from a tech company named iGate, Inc. ofLouisville, Kentucky, and in return, it is alleged, Jefferson would help iGate's business. Jefferson was to persuade theU.S. Army to test iGate'sbroadband two-way technology and other iGate products; use his efforts to influence high-ranking officials inNigeria,Ghana, andCameroon; and meet with personnel of theExport-Import Bank of the United States, in order to facilitate potential financing for iGate business deals in those countries.^[10]

On July 30, 2005, Jefferson was videotaped by the FBI receiving $100,000 worth of $100 bills in a leather briefcase at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Arlington, Virginia.^[11] Jefferson told an investor, Lori Mody, who was wearing a wire, that he would need to give Nigerian Vice PresidentAtiku Abubakar $500,000 "as a motivating factor" to make sure they obtained contracts for iGate and Mody's company in Nigeria.^[12]

A few days later, on August 3, 2005, FBI agents raided Jefferson's home in Northeast Washington and, as noted in an 83-page affidavit filed to support a subsequent raid on his Congressional office, "found $90,000 of the cash in the freezer, in $10,000 increments wrapped in aluminum foil and stuffed inside frozen-food containers." Serial numbers found on the currency in the freezer matched serial numbers of funds given by the FBI to their informant.

Late on the night of May 20, 2006, FBI agents executed a search warrant^[13] at Jefferson's office in theRayburn House Office Building. This is "believed to be the first-ever FBI raid on a Congressional office,"^[14] raising concerns that it could "set a dangerous precedent that could be used by future administrations to intimidate or harass a supposedly coequal branch of the government."^[15]

The affidavit used to support these raids alleged:

• The FBI videotaped Jefferson receiving a stock certificate from Mody for a company set up in Nigeria to promote iGate's technology. Jefferson predicted the deal would generate $200 million annually after five years.
• Jefferson told Mody that he wanted a similar financial stake in the business in Ghana.
• Jefferson sought $10 million in financing from Mody to take over iGate and install "confidants" on the new board. In two payments, Mody wired $89,225 to the ANJ Group LLC, a company controlled by Jefferson's family.
• Jefferson lent $4,800 of the money Mody gave him to an unnamed congressional aide. Another $4,900 was given back to the FBI by one of Jefferson's attorneys.
• The FBI claims it has uncovered "at least seven other schemes in which Jefferson sought things of value in return for his official acts."

IncumbentU.S. RepresentativeWilliam J. Jefferson won theDemocraticprimaries in Fall 2008. Jefferson had weathered a major challenge in the 2006 Louisiana 2nd congressional district election, when voters had fresh on their minds allegations that the representative had inappropriately used the services of aLouisiana Army National Guard unit in accessing his house during the aftermath ofHurricane Katrina.^[16]

By fall 2008, Jefferson was perceived by some as vulnerable, with only 25 percent of Democrats voting for him in the first round of the 2008 Democratic primaries. Jefferson faced six African-American challengers along with newscasterHelena Moreno in the first primary, all of them clamoring for change from Louisiana's reputation for political corruption.^[17] Jefferson defeated Moreno by 57 percent to 43 percent in arunoff which went largely along racial lines. Moreno later endorsed Cao in the general election. Cao, unopposed for the Republican nomination, was running against Jefferson, as wereGreen Party candidateMalik Rahim andLibertarian Party candidate Gregory Kahn.^[18] An earlier candidate, independent Jerry Jacobs, had withdrawn.^[19]

On November 30 the New OrleansTimes-Picayune editorially endorsed Cao^[20] while on the op-ed page its columnistJames Gill asserted that Jefferson's reelection "is not going to happen."^[21] The prospect of a serious general election in the majority African-American and heavily Democratic 2nd district was all the more startling in that the last Republican to represent the district wasHamilton D. Coleman, who left the office in 1891. According to theLos Angeles Times, Cao, if elected, would become the first individual of Vietnamese extraction to serve in the U.S. Congress.^[22]

Cao's candidacy received the endorsement of the Alliance for Good Government,^[23] theFamily Research Council's ActionPAC,^[24] Louisiana GovernorBobby Jindal,^[25] and even entertainerPat Boone.^[26] New Orleans MayorRay Nagin had announced his support for Jefferson during the Democratic primary elections. The New OrleansGambit Weekly, citing its opposition to Jefferson's alleged corruption and Cao's noncommittal statements on embryonic stem-cell research, made no endorsement.^[27]

The days before the December 6 election were characterized by what Jefferson's campaign called "overly negative" tactics undertaken on behalf of Cao's campaign by outside organizations such as theNational Republican Congressional Committee. Besides references to Jefferson's removal from theHouse Ways and Means Committee by DemocraticSpeaker of the HouseNancy Pelosi, the negative tactics included automated telephone calls from a woman identifying herself as "Katy" and citing incumbent Jefferson's federal indictment on 16 counts of corruption. In a meeting of African-American ministers, the Reverend Samuel Butler said that the real reason for the negative campaign tactics was to disenfranchise African-American voters, which prompted Cao advisor and former New Orleans City Council memberBryan Wagner to assert that, "with Rev. Butler's imagination, he may want to go to work forWalt Disney."^[28]

On December 6, theTimes-Picayune reiterated its endorsement of Cao, this time pointing to President-ElectBarack Obama's efforts on behalf of DemocratPaul Carmouche in the simultaneous election inLouisiana's 4th congressional district and Obama's non-involvement in efforts to support Jefferson.^[29]

On December 6 at 10:20 PMCST,CNN projected Cao the winner.^[30] Final unofficial results on theLouisiana Secretary of State's web site showed Cao with 33,122 (49.55%), Jefferson 31,296 (46.82%), Kahn 548 (0.82%), and Rahim 1,880 (2.81%).^[31] Jefferson won by 23,197 to 20,246 inOrleans Parish, where 21 of the 392 precincts showed zero votes for Cao, but Cao more than made up the difference with a margin 12,696 to the incumbent's 8,099 inJefferson Parish.^[32]

Democratic incumbentCharlie Melancon ran unopposed for re-election.

2008 Louisiana's 4th congressional district election

← 2006 December 6, 2008 2010 →

Nominee John Fleming Paul Carmouche Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 44,501 44,151 Percentage 48.07% 47.69%

Parish results Fleming:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Carmouche:     40–50%     50–60%

U.S. Representative before election Jim McCrery Republican Elected U.S. Representative John Fleming Republican

The election was held on December 6, 2008. IncumbentJim McCrery retired, making this an open seat. The district contains northwestern Louisiana, including the cities ofShreveport,DeRidder, andNatchitoches. The district usually, but not reliably, votes Republican.Bill Clinton won it comfortably in 1996.CQ Politics' forecast of the race was "No Clear Favorite".

The Republican nominee was physicianJohn Fleming (campaign website) ofMinden, the seat ofWebster Parish. Fleming, a former Webster Parish coroner and a businessman defeated trucking company executive Chris Gorman in the Republican runoff primary held on November 4.

The Democratic candidate wasCaddo Parish District AttorneyPaul Carmouche (campaign website), who defeated African American attorney Willie Banks, Jr., in his party runoff on November 4. Republican candidate Jeff Thompson, despite being endorsed by Jim McCrery, was defeated in the first Republican primary, as were Democratic candidates Artis Cash andJohn Milkovich, later elected to theLouisiana State Senate. Patti Cox,local party organizer and environmental consultant and a 2006 candidate against McCrery, did not enter the 2008 race.

Republican incumbentRodney Alexander was unopposed for re-election and won.

2008 Louisiana's 6th congressional district election

← May 2008 2010 →

Nominee Bill Cassidy Don Cazayoux Michael Jackson Party Republican Democratic Independent Popular vote 150,332 125,886 36,198 Percentage 48.1% 40.3% 11.6%

Parish results Cassidy:     40–50%     60–70% Cazayoux:     40–50%     50–60%     70–80%

U.S. Representative before election Don Cazayoux Democratic Elected U.S. Representative Bill Cassidy Republican

Republican State SenatorBill Cassidy defeated Democratic incumbentDon Cazayoux in the November 4 election by a margin of 48% to 40%. Cazayoux had defeated RepublicanWoody Jenkins 49% to 46% in a special election earlier in the year, and given his narrow margin of victory and the Republican-leaning nature of the district (Bush won 59% here in 2004), Cazayoux was, as expected, a GOP target as he sought his first full term.

State Representative Michael L. Jackson, who had run against Cazayoux in the Democratic primary in the special election, ran as an independent with funding from long-time Cassidy supporter Lane Grigsby.^[33] He finished third,^[34] garnering 36,133 votes, more than the 25,000-vote margin between Cassidy and Cazayoux, suggesting that he siphoned off many African-American votes that would have otherwise gone to Cazayoux and threw the election to Cassidy. The Daily Kingfish published photos of Jackson meeting with Congressman-elect Cassidy just three days after the election.^[35] Cazayoux was one of five incumbent House Democrats to be defeated in the 2008 congressional elections, along withNancy Boyda (D-KS),William J. Jefferson (D-LA),Nick Lampson (D-TX), andTim Mahoney (D-FL).

Republican incumbentCharles Boustany defeated Democratic State SenatorDon Cravins, Jr. andConstitution Party candidatePeter Vidrine by a solid margin in this district based in southwesternLouisiana.

• Elections Division from theLouisiana Secretary of State
• U.S. Congress candidates for Louisiana atProject Vote Smart
• Louisiana U.S. House Races from2008 Race Tracker
• Campaign contributions for Louisiana congressional races fromOpenSecrets
• Louisiana Elections & Politics fromThe Times-Picayune newspaper

• United States House of Representatives elections in Louisiana
• 2008 United States House of Representatives elections
• 2008 Louisiana elections

• Webarchive template wayback links
• All articles with dead external links
• Articles with dead external links from November 2018
• Articles with permanently dead external links
• Articles with dead external links from January 2018
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from June 2020