| State: | Louisiana |
| District Number: | 3 |
| Image Caption: | Interactive map of district boundaries |
| Representative: | Clay Higgins |
| Party: | Republican |
| Residence: | Lafayette |
| Distribution Ref: | [1] |
| Percent Urban: | 73.4 |
| Percent Rural: | 26.6 |
| Population: | 760,945[2] |
| Population Year: | 2022 |
| Median Income: | $53,406 |
| Percent White: | 64.4 |
| Percent Hispanic: | 5.3 |
| Percent Black: | 24.6 |
| Percent Asian: | 1.7 |
| Percent More Than One Race: | 3.2 |
| Percent Other Race: | 0.8 |
| Cpvi: | R+21[3] |
Louisiana's 3rd congressional district is a United States congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The district covers the southwestern and south central portion of the state, ranging from the Texas border to the Atchafalaya River.
The district is currently represented by Republican Clay Higgins, a former sheriff's deputy from Port Barre known for his controversial Crime Stoppers videos. He was first elected to the United States House of Representatives in the December 10, 2016 runoff against public service commissioner Scott Angelle to replace Charles Boustany.[4]
Louisiana gained its 2nd and 3rd congressional districts in 1823 as part of the 18th United States Congress. Since at least the 1870s, the district has been strongly influenced by southern Louisiana's Acadian culture.
Although the 3rd congressional district had been Democratic through much of its history, it is the sole district in Louisiana to have been represented by three parties during the 20th century, in that Whitmell P. Martin represented the district as a "Bull Moose" Progressive from 1915 to 1919, when he switched to the Democratic Party. Since the turn of the 20th century, it had dominated Louisiana as a one-party state after the legislature passed a new constitution that effectively disenfranchised African Americans through the 1960s. Martin remained in office as a Democrat until his death in 1929.
The district became more competitive for the Republicans later in the 20th century, when conservative whites shifted into the Republican Party after passage of civil rights legislation by Congress. In 1966, Hall Lyons of Lafayette, polled 40 percent of the vote as a Republican candidate against veteran Democratic incumbent Edwin E. Willis. In 1972, the district elected David C. Treen as the first Republican U.S. representative from Louisiana since 1891.
The state legislature redistricted in the 1980s, pushing the district out of the fast-growing suburbs of Metairie and the city of Kenner, to help keep the seat in the hands of Treen's Democratic successor, Billy Tauzin. Tauzin eventually switched to the Republican Party in 1995, making the 3rd congressional district unique in 20th-century Louisiana politics as the sole district to have two representatives who switched parties (Martin, who switched from the Progressives to the Democrats in 1918, and Tauzin, who switched from the Democrats to the Republicans in 1995). As a Republican, Tauzin continued to serve until retiring from Congress in 2005. Democrat Charlie Melançon won the seat in 2004 (seated in 2005), was reelected in 2006, and was unopposed in 2008.
For most of the time from 1823 to 2013, the district contained large portions of southeastern and south central Louisiana, including the River Parishes and East Acadiana, In its final configuration, it included many exurban and rural areas near New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafayette. It contained the cities of Chalmette, Gonzales, Houma, Thibodaux, Morgan City, and New Iberia.
However, when Louisiana lost a district after the 2010 census, the old 3rd was dismantled. The new 3rd included most of southwestern Louisiana, including Lafayette and Lake Charles. Most of this territory had been the 7th district before the 2010 census. The old 3rd's last congressman, freshman Republican Jeff Landry, had his home in New Iberia, along with much of the western portion of his district, drawn into the new 3rd. He opted to challenge the 7th district's four-term incumbent, fellow Republican Charles Boustany, in the GOP primary. However, Landry could not overcome the fact that he was running in a district in which more than 60 percent of his constituents were new to him. He lost to Boustany in the primary, ending his brief congressional career. The new 3rd, like both the old 3rd and 7th, has a rich Cajun culture.
| Election results from presidential races | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Office | Results | |
| 2000 | President | Bush 52–45% | |
| 2004 | President | Bush 58–41% | |
| 2008 | President | McCain 61–37% | |
| 2012 | President | Romney 66–32% | |
| 2016 | President | Trump 67–29% | |
| 2020 | President | Trump 68–30% | |
| Member | Party | Years | Cong ress | Electoral history | District location | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District created March 4, 1823 | ||||||||
| align=left rowspan=2 | William Leigh Brent | Democratic-Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1823 – March 3, 1825 | Elected in 1822. Re-elected in 1824. Re-elected in 1826. Retired. | 1823–1833 Avoyelles, Catahoula, Concordia, Natchitoches, Ouachita, Rapides, Saint Landry, Saint Martin, and Saint Mary parishes[5] | ||
| Anti-Jacksonian | nowrap | March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1829 | ||||||
| align=left | Walter Hampden Overton | Jacksonian | nowrap | March 4, 1829 – March 3, 1831 | Elected in 1828. Retired. | |||
Henry Adams Bullard | Anti-Jacksonian | March 4, 1831 – January 4, 1834 | Elected in 1830. Re-elected in 1832. Resigned to become judge of Supreme Court of Louisiana. | |||||
| 1833–1843 | ||||||||
| Vacant | nowrap | January 4, 1834 – April 28, 1834 | ||||||
| align=left rowspan=2 | Rice Garland | Anti-Jacksonian | nowrap | April 28, 1834 – March 3, 1837 | Elected to finish Bullard's term. Re-elected later in 1834. Re-elected in 1836. Re-elected in 1838. Resigned to become judge of Supreme Court of Louisiana. | |||
| Whig | nowrap | March 4, 1837 – July 21, 1840 | ||||||
| Vacant | nowrap | July 21, 1840 – December 17, 1840 | ||||||
| align=left | John Moore | Whig | nowrap | December 17, 1840 – March 3, 1843 | Elected to finish Garland's term. Re-elected later in 1840. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | John Bennett Dawson | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1843 – June 26, 1845 | Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1842. Re-elected in 1844. Died. | 1843–1853 | ||
| align=left | John Henry Harmanson | Democratic | nowrap | ????, 1845 – October 24, 1850 | Elected to finish Dawson's term. Re-elected in 1846. Re-elected in 1848. Died. | |||
| Vacant | nowrap | October 24, 1850 – December 30, 1850 | ||||||
| align=left | Alexander Gordon Penn | Democratic | nowrap | December 30, 1850 – March 3, 1853 | Elected to finish Harmanson's term. Also elected to the next full term. Retired. | |||
| align=left | John Perkins Jr. | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855 | Elected in 1852. Retired. | 1853–1861 | ||
| align=left | Thomas Green Davidson | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1861 | Elected in 1854. Re-elected in 1856. Re-elected in 1858. Withdrew due to onset of Civil War. | |||
| Vacant | nowrap | March 3, 1861 – July 18, 1868 | Civil War and Reconstruction | |||||
| align=left | Joseph Parkinson Newsham | Republican | nowrap | July 18, 1868 – March 3, 1869 | Elected to finish the vacant term. Redistricted to the | 1868–1873 | ||
Chester Bidwell Darrall | Republican | March 4, 1869 – February 20, 1878 | Elected in 1868. Re-elected in 1870. Re-elected in 1872. Re-elected in 1874. Re-elected in 1876. Lost election contest. | |||||
| 1873–1883 | ||||||||
| align=left | Joseph H. Acklen | Democratic | nowrap | February 20, 1878 – March 3, 1881 | Won election contest. Re-elected in 1878. Retired. | |||
| align=left | Chester Bidwell Darrall | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1881 – March 3, 1883 | Elected in 1880. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | William Pitt Kellogg | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1885 | Elected in 1882. Lost re-election. | 1883–1893 | ||
| align=left | Edward James Gay | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1885 – May 30, 1889 | Elected in 1884. Re-elected in 1886. Re-elected in 1888. Died. | |||
| Vacant | nowrap | May 30, 1889 – December 2, 1889 | ||||||
Andrew Price | Democratic | December 2, 1889 – March 3, 1897 | Elected to finish Gay's term. Re-elected in 1890. Re-elected in 1892. Re-elected in 1894. Retired. | |||||
| 1893–1903 | ||||||||
Robert Foligny Broussard | Democratic | March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1915 | Elected in 1896. Re-elected in 1898. Re-elected in 1900. Re-elected in 1902. Re-elected in 1904. Re-elected in 1906. Re-elected in 1908. Re-elected in 1910. Re-elected in 1912. Retired to run for U.S. senator. | |||||
| 1903–1913 | ||||||||
| 1913–1923 | ||||||||
| align=left rowspan=3 | Whitmell P. Martin | Progressive | nowrap | March 4, 1915 – March 3, 1919 | Elected in 1914. Re-elected in 1916. Re-elected in 1918. Re-elected in 1920. Re-elected in 1922. Re-elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Re-elected in 1928. Died. | |||
| Democratic | March 4, 1919 – April 6, 1929 | |||||||
| 1923–1933 | ||||||||
| Numa Francois Montet | Democratic | August 6, 1929 – January 3, 1937 | Elected to finish Martin's term. Re-elected in 1930. Re-elected in 1932. Re-elected in 1934. Lost renomination. | |||||
| 1933–1943 | ||||||||
| align=left | Robert L. Mouton | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 1937 – January 3, 1941 | Elected in 1936. Re-elected in 1938. Lost renomination. | |||
James Domengeaux | Democratic | January 3, 1941 – April 15, 1944 | Elected in 1940. Re-elected in 1942. Resigned to join the Armed Forces. | |||||
| 1943–1953 | ||||||||
| Vacant | nowrap | April 15, 1944 – November 7, 1944 | ||||||
| align=left | James Domengeaux | Democratic | nowrap | November 7, 1944 – January 3, 1949 | Elected to finish his own term. Also elected to the next full term. Re-elected in 1946. Retired to run for U.S. senator. | |||
Edwin E. Willis | Democratic | January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1969 | Elected in 1948. Re-elected in 1950. Re-elected in 1952. Re-elected in 1954. Re-elected in 1956. Re-elected in 1958. Re-elected in 1960. Re-elected in 1962. Re-elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966. Lost renomination. | |||||
| 1953–1963 | ||||||||
| 1963–1973 | ||||||||
| align=left | Patrick T. Caffery | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 1969 – January 3, 1973 | Elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Retired. | |||
| align=left | Dave Treen | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 1973 – March 10, 1980 | Elected in 1972. Re-elected in 1974. Re-elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1978. Resigned when elected governor. | 1973–1983 | ||
| Vacant | nowrap | March 10, 1980 – May 22, 1980 | ||||||
Billy Tauzin | Democratic | May 22, 1980 – August 8, 1995 | Elected to finish Treen's term. Re-elected later in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1992. Re-elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Re-elected in 2002. Retired. | |||||
| 1983–1993 | ||||||||
| 1993–2003 | ||||||||
| Republican | August 8, 1995 – January 3, 2005 | |||||||
| 2003–2013 | ||||||||
| align=left | Charlie Melançon | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2011 | Elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Retired to run for U.S. senator. | |||
| align=left | Jeff Landry | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2013 | Elected in 2010. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | Charles Boustany | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2017 | Redistricted from the and re-elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Retired to run for U.S. senator. | 2013–2023 | ||
Clay Higgins | Republican | January 3, 2017 – present | Elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020. Re-elected in 2022. | |||||
| 2023–2025 | ||||||||
| 2025–present --> | ||||||||