Sen.Dan "Blade" Morrish (R)
District# 25,

• District # 25: House District 0
• Party: Republican
• Caucus Membership: --
• Occupation: Public Relations/ Administrative Operations, Lake Charles River Pilots
• Education: Jennings High School; B.S., McNeese State University
• Spouse: Kathy
• Year Elected: 2008
• Last Year Eligible(Term Limit): 2020
• 2007 Election
  Morrish finished second in a three-candidate race during the October primary. Leading the field was state Rep. Gil Pinac, a Crowley Democrat who like Morrish was term-limited in the House. Mark Abraham, a Republican and food manufacturer from Lake Charles finished third. Low voter turnout may have worked to Morrish’s advantage in the general election; only 58 percent of the voters who cast ballots in the October primary in the election returned to the polls in November. In the runoff, Morrish gained only 41 votes more than his October total, but Pinac’s support fell by 3,881 votes.
  

• Louisiana Map
• District Map
• Metro Map
• Economic: Senate District 25 encompasses all of Cameron and Jefferson Davis parishes and portions of eastern Calcasieu and western Acadia. Virtually all of economic activities associated with coastal Louisiana can be found in this district, which only exacerbated the devastation felt here after Hurricane Rita swept through the area in 2005. Cameron Parish, with its long coastline that bristles with oil and gas exploration as well as commercial fishing, was particularly affected. In the two years since the storm, the region has bounded back, however. Residents continue the rebuilding process, although some FEMA trailers remain. The oil industry and its service sector have also experienced a boom that has contributed to the recovery process.
  In other sections of the district, especially in Acadia and portions of Jeff Davis, rice farming and cattle remain the economic mainstays. The Port of Lake Charles is both a major employer and important hub for shipping into the western reaches of the state.
• Social: Despite its expansive boundaries, District 25 has remained fundamentally a Cajun, Catholic area with a heavy concentration of farm and fishing families. Most are economically comfortable, although some pockets of poverty exist in Lake Charles and other smaller cities throughout the region. The black population is small and business interests in Jennings, Crowley and Lake Charles remain a powerful influence.
• Political: Despite its small number of registered Republican voters, the district – with its strong pro-business climate and agricultural traditions – is heavily conservative.

• After hurricanes Katrina and Rita pummeled Louisiana in 2005, many insurance companies dropped coverage south of Interstate 10, leaving the state-run Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. to pick up coverage for thousands of coastal residents. But when allegations of wrongdoing threatened the future of Citizens – the state’s so-called “insurer of last resort – it was Dan “Blade” Morrish who came to its defense.
• Morrish, a Republican House member from Jennings, originally sponsored Citizens’ creation in 2003. He modeled it after a similar state-run system in Florida and it would bring under one umbrella two similar pieces of insurance legislation the Legislature passed in 1968 and 1970.
  Morrish vehemently opposed legislation that chipped away at Citizens’ mandate following the 2005 hurricanes. It was yet another example of the three-term House member’s pro-business outlook, a political expedient philosophy in his conservative district. It won him a 92 percent rating from LABI and the endorsement of the National Federation of Independent Business.
• Morrish is a steady vote for industry – in 2009, he sponsored "Louisiana Chemical Industry Day," for example. But he’s also evolved into an expert of sorts on coastal and energy policies. He’s pushed for tax breaks for drilling projects that use CO2, called for better science in coastal restoration efforts and passed a bill extending the time period that certain claims arising from a declared emergency or disaster are processed.
• During his tenure in the House, Morrish also supported the state’s charity hospital system and satellite clinics to serve residents living in rural areas. He also advocates higher teacher pay, vocational education and ran ads during his Senate campaign that noted his support for women’s issues.