Richard Baker (U.S. Politician) - Congressional Career

Congressional Career

In 1986, Baker switched to the Republicans because of a long-running feud with Governor Edwin Edwards. Soon afterwards, 6th District Republican Congressman Henson Moore, announced that he was running for the Senate seat being vacated by the retiring Russell B. Long. (Moore was defeated in that race by 7th District Democratic Congressman John Breaux). Moore encouraged Baker to run for the seat, which is based in Baton Rouge and includes most of that city's suburbs. Baker (51 percent) defeated Democrats Tommy Hudson (45 percent) and Willis Blackwell (4 percent), becoming the fourth Republican to represent Louisiana in Congress since Reconstruction—but the second to win an undisputed victory in a contested election. He was reelected without opposition in 1988 and 1990. Baker quickly compiled a very conservative voting record, in marked contrast to his Democratic roots, as evidenced by Baker's lifetime rating of 0.5 from Americans for Democratic Action, a progressive think tank.

In 1992, however, Louisiana lost a congressional seat as a result of reapportionment after the 1990 Census. Clyde C. Holloway of Forest Hill in Rapides Parish, who had represented the Alexandria-based 8th District, was placed into Baker's district. Holloway had been elected along with Baker in 1986. Holloway led in the jungle primary with 37 percent. Baker received 33 percent and Democrat Ned Randolph, then the mayor of Alexandria, received 30 percent. In the November general election, Holloway won 15 of the district's 17 parishes. Baker, however, crushed Holloway in the two largest parishes, Livingston Parish and his home base, East Baton Rouge Parish. This was enough to defeat Holloway by some 2,700 votes overall.

After being unopposed in 1994 and 1996, Baker faced Marjorie McKeithen, daughter of longtime Republican Louisiana Secretary of State Fox McKeithen and granddaughter of former Democratic Governor John McKeithen. Court-ordered redistricting before the 1996 elections had drawn considerably more blacks into the district than Baker had previously represented. Amid a nationwide backlash against Republicans for what was seen as overzealous behavior during the impeachment of Bill Clinton, Baker just barely held onto his seat by about one thousand votes, narrowly avoiding a runoff. He had a much easier time in 2000, winning 68 percent of the vote. Redistricting took some Democratic voters out of his district, including part of Pointe Coupee Parish, which helped Baker win against no major-party opposition in 2002 and two weak Democrats in 2004. In 2006 his only challenger was Libertarian Richard M. Fontanesi, and Baker won with 82% of the vote.

Baker was a former chairman of the House Financial Services Capital Markets Subcommittee, and served as its ranking Republican from 2007 to 2008. He was also a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and United States House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.