Donald J. Cazayoux Jr. (; born January 17, 1964) is an American lawyer and former politician. He served as the

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for the Middle District of Louisiana from 2010 to 2013. From 2008 to 2009, he was a Democratic

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

Louisiana's 6th congressional district Louisiana's 6th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located in south-central Louisiana, the district contains most of the state capital of Baton Rouge, the bulk of Baton Rouge's suburbs, and conti ...

. He won 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 India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...

held on May 3, 2008, to fill the seat vacated on

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 ...

Congressman Richard H. Baker. He defeated Republican nominee

Woody Jenkins Louis Elwood Jenkins Jr., known as Woody Jenkins (born January 3, 1947), is a newspaper editor in Baton Rouge and Central City, Louisiana, who served as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1972 to 2000 and waged three unsucc ...

and was sworn in on May 6, 2008. In the regularly-scheduled

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

held later that year, Cazayoux ran for re-election but was defeated by the Republican nominee, State Senator

Bill Cassidy William Morgan Cassidy (born September 28, 1957) is an American physician and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Louisiana, a seat he has held since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the Louisian ...

Early life

A native of

New Roads New Roads (historically french: Poste-de-Pointe-Coupée) is a city in and the parish seat of Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, United States. The center of population of Louisiana was located in New Roads in 2000. The population was 4,831 at the ...

, Cazayoux is the son of Donald J. and Ann Cazayoux. His paternal grandparents were Jules Joseph Cazayoux Jr. (1914–2010), who was employed by the Southern Cotton Oil Company, and the late Ida Belle Glynn Cazayoux. A

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, he graduated from the

Catholic High School of Pointe Coupee Catholic of Pointe Coupee is a Catholic Interparochial school in New Roads, Louisiana. It was founded in 1904 by the Sisters of St. Joseph who were commissioned to bring Catholic education to Pointe Coupee Parish. History Catholic of Pointe Cou ...

in 1982. He earned his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of 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-sma ...

and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

After finishing his studies, Cazayoux practiced law and then became a prosecutor for

Pointe Coupee Parish Pointe Coupee Parish ( or ; french: Paroisse de la Pointe-Coupée) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 22,802; in 2020, its population was 20,758. The parish seat is New Roads. Pointe ...

. As an assistant district attorney under the 18th Judicial Court District Attorney, Richard "Ricky" Ward, Cazayoux never lost a jury trial.

Political career

Louisiana Legislature

Cazayoux was first elected to the state legislature in 1999. He represented District 18, a heavily Democratic district that includes his home in

as well as Iberville, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana parishes. In the legislature, he became one of the few freshmen ever appointed to the powerful Appropriations Committee. He also worked for passage of laws to assist law enforcement in cracking down on child sexual predators. After his reelection in 2007, Cazayoux attempted to become Speaker of the state House, but the position went to Republican Jim Tucker of the New Orleans

suburbs A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

U.S. House of Representatives

Cazayoux announced his candidacy for the 6th District shortly after Baker resigned. With the strong backing of the national party, he easily defeated fellow state representative Michael L. Jackson, who represents a portion of Baton Rouge, in the Democratic primary. Cazayoux's Republican opponent in the special election was Louis E. "Woody" Jenkins, a

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

who represented part of Baton Rouge in the Louisiana House from 1972 to 2000, and had been narrowly defeated for election to the U.S. Senate in 1996. In the special election, Cazayoux received 49,702 votes (49.2 percent), to Jenkins' 46,741 (46.3 percent). Three minor candidates shared the remaining 4.52 percent of the ballots cast. Cazayoux clinched the seat with a nearly 5,000-vote margin in Jenkins' own

East Baton Rouge Parish East Baton Rouge Parish (french: Paroisse de Bâton Rouge Est) is the most populous parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2010 U.S. census, its population was 440,171, and 456,781 at the 2020 census. The parish seat is Baton Rouge, ...

. Jenkins' greatest strength was in

Livingston Parish Livingston Parish (Louisiana French: ''La Paroisse Livingston'') is a parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Its parish seat is the town of Livingston. Livingston Parish is one of the Florida Parishes, a region which, unlike the rest of the sta ...

, a heavily Republican suburb of Baton RougeLouisiana Secretary of State-Multi-Parish Elections Inquiry
In his congressional bid, Cazayoux had the support of

organized labor A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

, including the

United Steelworkers The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, commonly known as the United Steelworkers (USW), is a general trade union with members across North America. Headquar ...

, as well as many traditional Democratic constituency groups. Cazayoux ran several ads making sport of difficulties people may have pronouncing his

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana. While Cajuns are usually described as ...

last name. Cazayoux was the first Democrat to represent the 6th since four-term incumbent

John Rarick John Richard Rarick (January 29, 1924 - September 14, 2009) was an American lawyer, jurist, and World War II veteran who served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, serving Louisiana's 6th congressional district from 1967 to 1975. ...

was defeated in the 1974 Democratic primary. The seat was won that fall by Republican

Henson Moore William Henson Moore III (born October 4, 1939) is an American attorney and businessman who is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, having represented Louisiana's 6th congressional district, based about Baton Rouge, from 1975 to ...

, who held it for twelve years before giving way to Baker in 1987. Cazayoux lost his attempt for a full term in November 2008 to State Senator Bill Cassidy, who took 48 percent of the vote to Cazayoux's 40 percent. Jackson ran again, this time as an independent with funding from long-time Cassidy supporter Lane Grigsby. He finished third, 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. Cazayoux was one of five incumbent House Democrats to be defeated in the 2008 congressional elections, along with

Nancy Boyda Nancy Boyda (born August 2, 1955) is an American chemist and politician. She is a former Democratic U.S. Representative for . On November 4, 2008, Boyda was defeated for re-election to a second term by Kansas State Treasurer Lynn Jenkins. ...

(D-KS),

William J. Jefferson William Jennings Jefferson (born March 14, 1947) is an American former politician from Louisiana whose career ended after his corruption scandal and conviction. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for nine terms from 1991 ...

(D-LA),

Nick Lampson Nicholas Valentino Lampson (born February 14, 1945) is an American politician and restaurateur who is a former Democratic Congressman representing the 22nd Congressional District and the 9th Congressional District of Texas. Early life, ed ...

(D-TX), and

Tim Mahoney Timothy Edward Mahoney (born August 16, 1956) is an American politician and businessman who served as the U.S. representative for from 2007 to 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected in November 2006 after his opponent, six-te ...

(D-FL). Cazayoux's 2008 campaign was endorsed by

Democrats for Life of America Democrats for Life of America (DFLA) is a 501(c)(4) American political advocacy nonprofit organization that seeks to elect anti-abortion Democrats and to encourage the Democratic Party to oppose euthanasia, capital punishment, and abortion. DF ...

Political positions

Cazayoux is considered a moderate-to-conservative Democrat, which is typical for most Louisiana Democrats outside

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. He strongly opposes abortion and gun control. He also supports expanding SCHIP, and favors withdrawing U.S. forces from

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. He calls himself "a

John Breaux John Berlinger Breaux (; born March 1, 1944) is an American lobbyist, attorney, and retired politician who was a member of the United States Senate from Louisiana from 1987 until 2005. He was also a member of the U.S. House of Representatives fr ...

Democrat."

Career after Congress

In April 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama nominated Cazayoux as

for the Middle District of Louisiana, following a recommendation by U.S. Senator

Mary Landrieu Mary Loretta Landrieu ( ; born November 23, 1955) is an American entrepreneur and politician who served as a United States senator from Louisiana from 1997 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, Landrieu served as the Louisiana State Treasure ...

from May 2009. Cazayoux was unanimously confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

for the position on June 22, 2010. After stepping down as U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana, Cazayoux announced the opening of the Cazayoux Ewing law offices in Baton Rouge and New Roads. Lane Ewing, a former assistant U.S. Attorney, is partnering with Cazayoux, who has also tapped former longtime assistant U.S. Attorney Stan Lemelle to join the firm. In 2014, Cazayoux retired after a 35-year career as a prosecutor and co-founded the law firm Cazayoux Ewing, with offices in Baton Rouge and New Roads.

Personal life

Cazayoux is a former president of the New Roads branch of the

Lions Club The International Association of Lions Clubs, more commonly known as Lions Clubs International, is an international non-political service organization established originally in 1916 in Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , ...

(2002–2003). He and his wife, Cherie (married 1986), have three children, Michael, Chavanne, and Katie. Cazayoux is a distant relative of the late

Lindy Boggs Marie Corinne Morrison Claiborne Boggs (March 13, 1916 – July 27, 2013) was a politician who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and later as United States Ambassador to the Holy See. She was the first woman elected to Cong ...

, former US Representative and US Ambassador.

References

External links

* * * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cazayoux, Don 1964 births 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American politicians Cajun people Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana Georgetown University Law Center alumni Living people Louisiana State University alumni Louisiana lawyers Democratic Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives People from New Roads, Louisiana United States Attorneys for the Middle District of Louisiana