Rep. Charles Boustany (R) Elected 2004, 1st term
Born:	Feb. 21, 1956, New Orleans
Home:	Lafayette
Education:	U. of SW LA, B.S. 1978, LA St. U., M.D. 1982
Religion:	Episcopalian
Marital Status:	married (Bridget)
Professional Career:	Practicing surgeon, 1982-2004.
DC Office	1117 LHOB20515, 202-225-2031; Fax: 202-225-5724; Web site: www.house.gov/boustany
State Offices	Lafayette, 337-235-6322.
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Update: December 14, 2005
On December 1, 2005, former Democratic Rep. Chris John announced he would not run for his old congressional seat in 2006.

More than 200 years ago, French-speaking settlers were forced to leave their land of Acadie, which the British had taken over and renamed Nova Scotia, and make their way to the wetlands of southern Louisiana. Here, without much notice, they built steep-roofed houses to slough off nonexistent snow and adapted French cuisine to the crawfish and muskrat they found in abundance in the pelican-tended swamps. The heart of the Cajun country is around Lafayette, just west of the Atchafalaya Basin, where Mississippi waters pour through bayous and canals, with only occasional bits of solid land visible on the 30-mile section of Interstate 10 built on elevated stilts. For half a century the Cajun country thrived, thanks to the oil and gas plentiful here and just off shore in the Gulf of Mexico; oil rigs are common, and every once in a while the swampy foliage parts to reveal a giant refinery or petrochemical plant. Cajun pride has experienced a resurgence: Cajun French is surviving decades of efforts to eliminate it; Cajun music--and its black-influenced variant, zydeco--are popular here and nationally; spicy Cajun cooking has become a tourist attraction here and, in watered-down form, familiar all over the United States. About 45% of the people in Acadiana speak French as a second language. Lafayette, with its Acadian Village and plethora of oil exploration firms, features its annual Festivals Acadiens to celebrate music, food and crafts. Unlike New Orleans, its Mardi Gras reveries do not require anti-discrimination statements; the result has been an all-white parade and an all-black parade.

The oil price crash of the middle 1980s hit the Cajun country hard. Rising expectations, and the giddy sense that the oil industry promised lasting prosperity, suddenly collapsed, leaving borrowers overextended and ordinary homeowners unable to maintain the standard of living they expected. Politically, the Cajun country seemed to move then toward national Democrats, whom it had shunned because their cultural liberalism seemed alien to the Cajun tradition of respecting the authority of Church and state while tolerating a certain amount of laissez les bons temps rouler spirit. The Cajun country voted for Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996, as it had voted for Louisiana's foremost Cajun politician, Edwin Edwards, who was elected governor four times. It has given solid majorities to George W. Bush, but also favored Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco.

The 7th Congressional District of Louisiana covers much of the Cajun country, from Lafayette and the Atchafalaya west along I-10 to Lake Charles and the Texas border. Refineries and oil-field support industries provide many jobs, as do the rice and crawfish farming fields. Some 21% of the population claims either French or French Canadian ancestry.

The congressman from the 7th District is Charles Boustany, elected in 2004 and the first Republican elected from this area since 1884. Of Lebanese ancestry, he grew up in Lafayette, where his father was county coroner; he graduated from the University of Southwestern Louisiana and LSU Medical School. He worked as a heart surgeon and was active in civic and political affairs. His experience as a doctor had educated him about all sorts of public problems, he said. In 2004 7th District Democrat Chris John ran for the Senate, and Boustany was one of five candidates to run to succeed him. The other Republican candidate was David Thibodeaux of Lafayette, who had run unsuccessfully for this seat three times, most recently in 1996; but he raised little money, some party leaders viewed him as too conservative and Boustany quickly became the Republican favorite. The Democratic frontrunners were two state senators: Don Cravins of the Breaux Bridge area, who was seeking to become the first black to hold this seat, and state Senator Willie Mount of Lake Charles, who would have been the first woman elected here. Boustany raised plenty of money early and campaigned on his "prescription for prosperity"--expansion of health-savings accounts, high-speed Internet access for local small businesses, and opposition to the Central American Free Trade Agreement. He called for a Mississippi River Caucus to work to protect erosion of the state's coastline. The National Republican Congressional Committee ran ads attacking Mount's support for higher taxes in the Legislature, presumably because it saw Cravins as a weaker candidate in a runoff. Boustany led the November primary with 39% of the vote, to 25.2% for Mount, 24.6% for Cravins, and 10% for Thibodeaux. Boustany led in Lafayette Parish and two nearby parishes; Mount carried Lake Charles and two other parishes in the west; and Cravins led in two parishes in his home base north of Lafayette.

In the December 4 runoff, Cravins refused to endorse Mount because of his anger over the state Democratic Party's "unity ballot" sent to black voters, which included Mount's name and not his. "They should have put us both on the ballot or neither one," he said. Cravins's neutrality hurt Mount in the Lafayette area. Mount pointed to her legislative experience, while Boustany emphasized his "values" agenda. Boustany won 55%-45%. Mount won 60% in Lake Charles's Calcasieu Parish, which cast 32% of the vote. But Boustany trumped that with 70% in Lafayette Parish, which cast 30% of the vote. He got committee seats on Agriculture, Education and the Workforce, and Transportation and Infrastructure. On the Education committee, he was an active proponent of legislation to permit small businesses to join together in associations to pay less for health insurance. In 2005, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee was actively recruiting Chris John, who lost in his Senate bid, to run for his old seat in 2006.

Committees

• Agriculture (19th of 25 R): Conservation, Credit, Rural Development & Research; General Farm Commodities & Risk Management.
• Education & the Workforce (24th of 27 R): 21st Century Competitiveness; Employer-Employee Relations.
• Transportation & Infrastructure (40th of 41 R): Coast Guard & Maritime Transportation; Water Resources & Environment.

Election Results (More Info)
	Candidate	Total Votes	Percent	Expenditures
2004 runoff	Charles Boustany (R)	75,039	55%	$2,785,524
	Willie Mount (D)	61,493	45%	$1,340,886
2004 primary	Charles Boustany (R)	105,761	39%
	Willie Mount (D)	69,079	25%
	Don Cravins (D)	67,389	25%	$212,315
	David Thibodaux (R)	26,526	10%	$118,238
	Other	5,177	2%
2002 primary	Chris John (D)	138,659	87%	$525,754
	Roberto Valletta (I)	21,051	13%

2004 Presidential Vote Bush (R) 168,645 (60%) Kerry (D) 110,623 (39%)

2000 Presidential Vote Bush (R) 141,378 (55%) Gore (D) 107,190 (42%)

For 1992 and 1996 presidential results in the Seventh District, please see the Almanac 2000 online. Please note that these older returns reflect district lines as they existed prior to 2002 redistricting.

• Cook Partisan Voting Index: R + 7
• District Size: 7,294 square miles
• Population in 2000: 638,430; 68.9% urban; 31.1% rural
• Median Household Income: $31,453; 19.9% are below the poverty line
• Occupation: 27.9% blue collar; 54.9% white collar; 17.2% gray collar; 11.8% military veterans
• Race/Ethnic Origin: 72.0% White, 24.8% Black, 0.7% Asian, 0.2% Amer. Indian, 0.0% Hawaiian, 0.7% Two+ races, 0.1% Other, 1.4% Hispanic origin
• Ancestry: 14.1% French, 11.6% USA, 6.6% Fr. Canadian
• Click here for statewide demographic data.