Louisiana's 6th 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 ...
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-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
. Located in south-central
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 borde ...
, the district contains most of the state capital of
Baton Rouge, the bulk of Baton Rouge's suburbs, and continues south to
Houma. It also includes the western shores of
Lake Pontchartrain
Lake Pontchartrain ( ) is an estuary located in southeastern Louisiana in the United States. It covers an area of with an average depth of . Some shipping channels are kept deeper through dredging. It is roughly oval in shape, about from wes ...
.
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 ...
Garret Graves
Garret Neal Graves (born January 31, 1972) is an American politician serving as the United States representative from Louisiana's 6th congressional district since 2015.
Early life
Garret Graves was born on January 31, 1972, to John and Cynthia ( ...
.
History
Since the 6th congressional district's creation, its boundaries have migrated from a position astraddle the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...
to completely east of the Mississippi River and more recently astraddle the river again.
For decades prior to 1974, the district was virtually coterminous with the
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 1974, the 6th congressional district shed
St. Tammany Parish
St. Tammany Parish (french: Paroisse de Saint-Tammany) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana named after Tamanend, the legendary Lenape Chief of Chiefs and the "Patron Saint of America." At the 2020 census, the population was 2 ...
to the
1st congressional district, and since then several redistrictings have incrementally moved the district's boundaries westward so that it has shed both
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
and
Tangipahoa
The Tangipahoa were a Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe that lived just north of Lake Pontchartrain and between the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and the Mississippi River.
Etymology
The name Tangip ...
parishes (including
Hammond, home of
James H. Morrison
James Hobson Morrison (December 8, 1908 - July 20, 2000) was an American lawyer and politician who served twelve terms as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana from 1943 to 1967.
Early life and caree ...
, who represented the district for 24 years, the longest tenure of anyone ever to represent the district) to the 1st district.
For most of its existence, the district's lines generally followed parish lines. In the 1990s redistricting, however, most of the district's black voters were transferred to the black-majority 4th district. Those lines, however, were thrown out in 1995 when the 4th was ruled to be an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, and from 1996 to 2013, the 6th included all of Baton Rouge. After the 2010 redistricting, a gash in western Baton Rouge, including most of the city's black precincts, was transferred to the
-based 2nd district.
Recent presidential elections
List of members representing the district
Recent election results
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
Historical district boundaries
See also
*
Louisiana's congressional districts
The U.S. state of Louisiana currently has six congressional districts. The state has had as many as eight districts; the Louisiana's 8th congressional district, eighth district was eliminated on January 9, 1993 after results of the 1990 United St ...
*
List of United States congressional districts
Congressional districts in the United States are electoral divisions for the purpose of electing members of the United States House of Representatives. The number of voting seats in the House of Representatives is currently set at 435, wit ...
References
*
*
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
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