Ernest Durham Wooton (October 28, 1941 – May 29, 2020) was an American politician. Wooton was born in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. He lived with his wife and family in

Belle Chasse, Louisiana Belle Chasse ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the west bank of the Mississippi River. Belle Chasse is part of the Greater New Orleans metropolitan area. The population was 10,579 at the 20 ...

and went to Port Sulfur High School. Wooton served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

from 1964 to 1966. He went to

Northwestern State University Northwestern State University of Louisiana (NSU) is a public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Polk and Alexandria. It is a part of the Univer ...

and

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 ...

. Wooton was involved in the insurance business and in public relations with oilfield sales. Wooton defeated Jiff Hingle in the 1983 election for Plaquemines Parish sheriff. Wooton held the office for two terms. He was defeated by Hingle in 1991 and 1995. Wooton was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives in 1999, and served his first terms in the state legislature as a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. Wooten switched political affiliations to the Republican Party in 2005. He faced incumbent Republican

David Vitter David Bruce Vitter (born May 3, 1961) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and politician who served as United States Senator for Louisiana from 2005 to 2017. A Republican, Vitter served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1992 to 1999. ...

in the

2010 United States Senate elections The 2010 United States Senate elections were held on November 2, 2010, from among the United States Senate's 100 seats. A special election was held on January 19, 2010, for a mid-term vacancy in Massachusetts. Thirty-four of the November electio ...

in Louisiana as an independent candidate, listed as "other" on the ballot. In 2011, Wooton again faced Hingle in an election for Plaquemines Parish sheriff.

Notes

1941 births 2020 deaths People from Belle Chasse, Louisiana Businesspeople from Louisiana Military personnel from Louisiana Louisiana State University alumni Northwestern State University alumni Louisiana Independents Louisiana Republicans Members of the Louisiana House of Representatives Louisiana sheriffs Louisiana Democrats 21st-century American politicians 20th-century American politicians American public relations people American businesspeople in insurance United States Army soldiers {{Louisiana-politician-stub