Delegation gains seniority
by Jordan Blum - Advocate (excerpt)

WASHINGTON — The Louisiana congressional delegation entered the 113th Congress last week with one person fewer, but with a little more overall seniority. The state lost a seat in Congress because of stagnant population growth, but each member of the now eight-person delegation won re-election, and several of the members are gaining in leadership positions. “Even though we’re a small delegation, we’ll continue to punch above our weight,” U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette, said.

Boustany had the toughest re-election campaign to win because he had to defeat fellow incumbent U.S. Rep. Jeff Landry, R-New Iberia. Redistricting and the loss of a congressional seat threw them into the same southwestern Louisiana district.

“Clearly, losing a member gives us one less seat and one less vote,” Boustany said. “But we’ve accrued significant seniority.”