Jenkins, Cazayoux to face off for 6th District seat

Cazayoux, 44, a lawyer and state representative, faced fellow Democrat Michael Jackson of Baton Rouge. Jackson, 42, is also a lawyer and state representative.

Jenkins, 61, publishes community newspapers and is a former state representative who narrowly lost a U.S. Senate race in the 1990s. He faced fellow Republican Laurinda Calongne, 43, a Baton Rouge business consultant making her first run for public office.

The winners of Saturday’s primaries will proceed to the general election May 3, along with two candidates from other parties and one candidate who is not affiliated with a party.

The May election will determine who will replace U.S. Rep. Richard Baker, R-Baton Rouge, who resigned from the seat in February.

In the 1st Congressional District, a bitter fight for the Republican candidacy came to a close.

State Sen. Steve Scalise, who won the backing of prominent Republicans, beat state Rep. Tim Burns, taking 58 percent of the vote. The two candidates, ideologically similar, stayed in near-constant attack mode since the March 8 primary.

Scalise will face Democrat Gilda Reed, a college professor who won her party primary outright, and two independent candidates in the general election. But Scalise is expected to win in the staunchly conservative district.

The 1st District covers a slice of New Orleans, suburbs including Metairie and Kenner, and the rural pine country north of Lake Pontchartrain. The seat came open after Bobby Jindal was inaugurated as Louisiana's governor in January.
With all but about one precinct in East Baton Rouge Parish reporting late Saturday night, Democrat Don Cazayoux of New Roads and Republican Woody Jenkins of Baton Rouge appeared to have won their respective party’s primaries in the race for the 6th U.S. Congressional District seat.

Returns for Congressional primary runoffs

BR Area, 6th Congressional District Runoff
512 of 512 precincts reporting
Republican

• Laurinda L. Calongne: 9,327; 38.06%
  
• Louis "Woody" Jenkins: 15,177; 61,94%