Sen. Nick Gautreaux (D)
District# 26,

• District # 26: House District 0
• Party: Democrat 
• Caucus Membership: --
• Occupation: Retail Finance, Real Estate, Oil and Gas
• Education: North Vermillion High School; B.A., University of Louisiana-Lafayette
• Spouse: Lynne
• Year Elected: 2004
• Last Year Eligible(Term Limit): 2016
• 2007 Election
  Gautreaux is adept at beating veteran legislators at the polls. His 2003 race pitted him against incumbent Sen. Fred Hoyt. The newcomer Gautreaux, who had never held elected office, wasn’t given much of a chance for being elected. Hoyt was endorsed by LABI and then-Gov. Mike Foster, among others. But on election day, he took 54 percent of the vote to unseat Hoyt. In the 2007 race, he faced three-term incumbent state Rep. Mickey Frith of Kaplan. Gautreaux defeated Frith by a margin of nearly 20,000 votes.
  

• Louisiana Map
• District Map
• Metro Map
• Economic: District 26 is made of up of all of Vermilion Parish and sections of Acadia, Lafayette and St. Landry. Storm surge from Hurricane Rita inundated many sections of low-lying Vermilion in 2005, destroying homes and businesses and crippling its agricultural resources. Sugarcane, rice, soybeans and cattle production, the mainstays of the district’s farming economy, were all affected, as was the commercial fishing industry that is based along the parish’s coastline.
  In the two years since the storm, the region has bounded back. 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.
• Social: Stretching from the Gulf of Mexico into portions of St. Landry Parish, District 26 encompasses a broad cross section of socio-economic groups tied together by a strong Cajun influence throughout. Residents of German, Italian and Lebanese descent also call the region home, and blacks are a strong presence in Abbeville, Delcambre, Kaplan, Rayne and Church Point.
• Political: The district is overwhelmingly Democratic, yet its heavily Catholic constituency traditionally supports candidates who hold the same views on social issues. In addition, fiscal conservatives do well here.

• In his single term in the state Senate, Gautreaux has been a vocal advocate for infrastructure improvements and tax relief to military families and business owners, all issues dear to his constituents. The damage inflicted on his district by Hurricane Rita in 2005 also propelled Gautreaux to a leading role in the recovery efforts. To expedite relief to hurricane victims, he pushed for more local control to the state’s top-heavy Road Home recovery program. He also advocated state-sponsored repairs to damaged levees and loans for businesses affected by the storms.
  In his bid for re-election, Gautreaux said he would like to see a partnership between government and the private sector to guarantee health coverage to all Louisiana residents. He also said he favors a stable revenue source dedicated to expanding pre-kindergarten and vocational education programs.
• As the newest chairman of the Senate Natural Resources Committee, Gautreaux will be an obvious pick to lead floor action on coastal and energy issues. In recent years, Gautreaux has shown an interest in clean-burning fuels like compressed natural gas. The chairman’s position may also give him a chance to influence one of his top priorities: infrastructure for Vermilion Parish. Finally, while he might not fit the mold on paper perfectly, Gautreaux has become a strong ally of Christian-conservative causes in the Senate.
• A fiscal conservative, Gautreaux called on incoming Gov. Bobby Jindal to cut spending in state agencies up to five percent, with the exception of health care, suggesting the money saved could be used to target infrastructure needs.
• Gautreaux is quite popular in his district and voters see him as humble and connected to their needs. It was a grassroots approach to campaigning that elected him in 2003.
•