Steve Scalise and Garret Graves reelected to Congress by wide margins

Steve Scalise and Garret Graves won reelection Tuesday to the Houma-Thibodaux area's two congressional seats.

Both Republicans polled so strongly that several media outlets called the election in their favor even before most of the votes had been officially posted Tuesday night. The two drew opponents who were not well known and lagged in fundraising.

All other Louisiana incumbents also won reelection to Congress on Tuesday. They are Troy Carter, D-New Orleans; Clay Higgins, R-Lafayette; Mike Johnson, R-Bossier City; and Julia Letlow, R-Start.

Scalise, of Metairie, was first elected to Congress in 2008, represents the 1st Congressional District, which covers a portion of southeast Louisiana that includes southern Terrebonne and Lafourche, according to complete but unofficial returns. He received 73% of the district's votes Tuesday, where turnout was 48%. He received 79% of the votes in Terrebonne and 89% in Lafourche.

Currently House whip, Scalise is in line to become House majority leader if the GOP regains the majority.

After Tuesday's win, he expressed optimism that his party would prevail as he addressed a jubilant crowd at a Metairie restaurant. He hit on familiar Republican campaign themes in his victory speech, including the high price of gasoline and the need for policies to increase American oil production, while casting Democrats as soft on crime.

“When they started with ‘Defund the police’ and cashless bail — it has wreaked havoc over communities,” said Scalise, whose top opponent, Democrat Katie Darling, had garnered attention with an ad that featured scenes of her giving birth to her daughter.

Live election results:Get up-to-the-minute results for Terrebonne, Lafourche and Louisiana

Graves, of Baton Rouge, has represented the 6th Congressional District since 2015. It covers a section of south-central Louisiana, including northern Terrebonne and Lafourche. He received 80% of the district's votes, where turnout was 48%. He received 80% of the votes in Terrebonne and 83% in Lafourche.

They will start new two-year terms in January.

Both have been active in championing key issues in the Houma-Thibodaux area, including securing federal money to upgrade La. 1 to Port Fourchon and to help construct the Morganza hurricane-protection system in Terrebonne.

Challenging Scalise were Darling, of Covington; and Howard Kearny, a Libertarian from Mandeville.

Running against Graves were Brian Belzer, R-Prairieville; and Rufus Holt Craig Jr., a Libertarian from Baton Rouge.

This story includes information from The Associated Press.

This article originally appeared on The Courier: Scalise, Graves win reelection to Congress by wide margins