Mitch Theriot
| Mitchell Ray "Mitch" Theriot | |
Louisiana State Representative for District 54 (Jefferson
and Lafourche parishes) | |
| In office 1992 – 2000 | |
| Preceded by | Jessie P. Guidry |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Loulan J. Pitre, Jr. |
| Born | July 18, 1963 Raceland, Lafourche Parish |
| Political party | Democrat-turned-Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Veronica Gautreaux Theriot |
| Occupation | Dentist |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Mitchell Ray Theriot, known as Mitch Theriot (born July 18, 1963), is a dentist who practices with David and Daniel Melancon in Houma in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana. He resides in Raceland in Lafourche Parish,[1] and from 1992 to 2000[2] served as a Democratic state representative for two terms for District 54 (Jefferson and Lafourche parishes). In 2007, he switched to Republican affiliation. and soon lost his bid to return to the state House.[1]
In the 1999 nonpartisan blanket primary Theriot was unseated by the Republican (later Independent) Loulan J. Pitre, Jr., an attorney who was born in 1961 in Cut-Off in Lafourche Parish. Pitre polled, 7,187 votes (51.5 percent) to 6,768 (48.5 percent).[3] In 2003, Pitre again defeated Theriot by nearly the same total as he had in 1999, 7,618 (votes 52 percent) to 7,035 (48 percent).[4] When Pitre declined to seek a third term in 2007, Theriot ran to reclaim the seat after an eight-year absence, but after his party switch, he lost to the Democrat Jerry "Truck" Gisclair of Larose in Lafourche Parish, a businessman and radio station broadcaster.
In 2007, Pitre declined to seek a third term and Gisclair in a runoff defeated newly-minted Republican Theriot. In the preceding primary on October 20, 2007, Theriot led with 4,797 votes (37 percent) to Gisclair 's 4,396 (33.8 percent). The balance was held by a second Democrat, John Melancon, Jr., with 3,821 votes (29.4 percent). In the general election in November 2007, Gisclair defeated Theriot by 121 votes, 4,128 (50.7 percent) to 4,007 (49.3 percent, in still another narrow race in the highly competitive district. Meanwhile, as Pitre completed his eight years in the legislature, Governor-elect Bobby Jindal named him to chair the Transition Advisory Group on Coastal Restoration and Flood Control.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Mitchell Theriot - Raceland. Mylife.com. Retrieved on April 4, 2020.
- ↑ Historical Membership of the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-2024. Louisiana House of Representatives. Retrieved on April 4, 2020.
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 23, 1999.
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 4, 2003.