Rep. Don Cazayoux Elected to Congress

State Representative Don Cazayoux, D-New Roads, won election on Saturday, May 3, 2008, to the vacancy in the sixth congressional district of Louisiana caused by the resignation of former United States Representative Richard Baker, R-Baton Rouge, on February 2. Cazayoux represented the 18th Louisiana House District since 2000. He defeated State Representative Michael Jackson in the Democratic runoff election in April of 2008 to become the Democratic Party's candidate for the May 3 general election. Running against candidates from the Republican Party and other parties and non-affiliated candidates, Cazayoux led the field with 49 per cent of the vote, with Republican candidate Woody Jenkins receiving 46 per cent and the three other candidates dividing the remainder. Cazayoux took the oath of office in the U.S. Congress on Tuesday, May 6, thereby resigning from his seat in the Louisiana House. He is serving the remainder of the term that will end on January 3, 2009. Louisiana's delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives now includes Republican Representatives Steve Scalise, Jim McCrery, Rodney Alexander, and Charles Boustany; and Democratic Representatives William Jefferson, Charlie Melancon, and Don Cazayoux.