Joe Lavigne
Encyclopedia
The election to Louisiana's 2nd congressional district
Louisiana's 2nd congressional district
Louisiana's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The district contains nearly all of the city of New Orleans , and some of its suburbs, including the West Bank portion of Jefferson Parish and South South Kenner.The district is currently represented...

was noteworthy since the incumbent, William J. Jefferson
William J. Jefferson
William Jennings "Bill" Jefferson is a former American politician, and a published author from the U.S. state of Louisiana. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for nine terms from 1991 to 2009 as a member of the Democratic Party. He represented , which includes much of the...

 (D), was announced under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...

, which claimed they had videotaped him accepting 100,000 USD in bribes. The police also found money in Jefferson's freezer that was hidden amidst frozen food products. Jefferson was stripped of his membership in the Ways and Means Committee
United States House Committee on Ways and Means
The Committee of Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Members of the Ways and Means Committee are not allowed to serve on any other House Committees unless they apply for a waiver from their party's congressional leadership...

 as a result.

The seat is located in heavily Democratic New Orleans. No Republican had represented this district since Reconstruction. A Republican lawyer, Joe Lavigne, ran against Jefferson, while a number of Democrats have jumped into the race, include state Senator Derrick Shepherd of Marrero
Marrero, Louisiana
Marrero is a census-designated place in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States. Marrero is on the West Bank of the Mississippi River, within the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, former New Orleans City Councilman Troy Carter, and state Representative Karen Carter
Karen Carter Peterson
Karen Carter Peterson is a Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate, representing the 5th District since 2010. She previously served as the representative from District 93 , in the Louisiana House of Representatives and as Speaker Pro Tempore...

. In mid-October, the State Democratic party voted to endorse Karen Carter, the first time in recent memory that the state party has backed a challenger to its own incumbent Congressman.

Jefferson and Carter had finished in the top two places with 30% and 22% respectively, sending them to a run-off election where Jefferson defeated Carter 57% to 43% http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/12/10/politics/main2243959.shtml.

Candidates

  • Joe Lavigne (born March 17, 1976) was a Republican
    Republican Party (United States)
    The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

     candidate. He finished in fourth place with 12,405 votes, 13.4% of the total votes cast.

External links

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