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District Office
Legislative Assistant : Myrtle Lasyone
Email Gerald Long
Phone: (318) 628-5799
8002652437
Fax:(318)628-6120
Address: P.O. Box 151
Winnfield, LA 71483
Map
Capitol House Switch Band: (225) 342-2040
Capitol House Fax: (225)342-0647
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- District # 31: House District 0
- Party: Republican
- Caucus Membership: --
- Occupation: Retired, State Farm Insurance
- Education: Winnfield High School; B.S., Nicholls State University
- Spouse: Rose Marie
- Year Elected: 2008
- Last Year Eligible(Term Limit): 2020
- 2007 Election
First-time candidate for an elected office, Republican Gerald Long was elected in the primary with fifty-four percent of the votes to defeat Democrat State Representative Taylor Townsend. Long had the support of the term-limited senator for this district, Mike Smith, along with LABI’s endorsement and that of the Louisiana Medical Community.
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Registered Voters by Parish:Grant 17.3%, Natchitoches 34.9%, Rapides 10.1%, Red River 4.5%, Sabine 20.1%, Winn 13.1%
Municipalities/Communities Represented: Ashland, Atlanta, Calvin, Campti, Clarence, Colfax, Converse, Coushatta, Dodson, Dry Prong, Edgefield, Fisher, Florien, Georgetown, Goldonna, Hall Summit, Many, Martin, Montgomery, Natchez, Natchitoches, Noble, Pineville, Pleasant Hill, Pollock, Powhatan, Provencal, Robeline, Sikes, Tullos, Winnfield, Zwolle
- Louisiana Map
- District Map
- Metro Map
- Economic: All of Sabine, Natchitoches, Winn and Grant parishes make up this central Louisiana district with a few precincts in Rapides and Red River parishes. With Natchitoches at the center of the district, tourists visiting this quaint little town for the Christmas festival of lights serve as a major source of revenue. Ranking above the tourism industry, the forestry industry is the biggest industry in central Louisiana, with over 10,000 people making a living in the logging business.
- Northwestern State University has been for years and continues to be a huge economic force by remaining one of the district’s largest employers. Other big employers in the district include Weyerhaeuser Industries, Alliance Compressor and Boise Cascade. When Pilgrim’s Pride opened a processing plant in Natchitoches, poultry farming began to have a major economic impact on the district. Other successful crops in the agriculture industry in this district include cotton and soybeans.
- Social: Very similar to any Acadiana area rural parish, this district, especially Natchitoches, has small-town, modest residents with rich culture stemming from their French Catholic ancestors who settled here. Areas along the Red River and in Mansfield contain hard working minorities who work in the timber industry.
- Political: Large numbers of black voters and blue-collar employees of the timber industry make this district primarily a populist, Democrat one. The majority of voters are white Democrats, but they are fairly moderate making it possible for both Democrats and Republicans to get elected.
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- Currently retired Long most recently worked as the regional director of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), and prior to that, he had a 21-year-long successful career as a State Farm insurance agent. Long values marriage, family, church and community strongly, and hence promised in his campaign to be a statesman, not a politician by honorably upholding these principles. In addition to his religious work with the FCA, Long also served as an interim pastor for four churches in the Natchitoches area.
