Louisiana 2024 Congressional Election Candidates

## RDH Date Retrieval
04/04/25

## Sources
[Louisiana Secretary of State](https://www.sos.la.gov/ElectionsAndVoting/GetElectionInformation/SearchForCandidates/Pages/default.aspx)

## Fields:
Field Name         Description                                        
Elect_date         Election Date                                      
Elect_type         Election Type                                      
Office             Legislative Office
State              State                                 
District           Legislative District                               
Cand_id            Unique Candidate ID                                
Cand_name          Candidate Name                                     
Party              Political Party
Incumbent	   Candidate Incumbency                                                                                  
Gender             Candidate Gender                                   
Race_1             Candidate Race 1                                    
Race_1_Eth         Candidate Ethnicity 1                            
Race_1_source      Source to Determine Race 1                   
Race_1_conf        Confidence Level Associated with Race 1 Determination
Race_1_URL         Source URL for Race 1
Race_2             Candidate Race 2                                    
Race_2_Eth         Candidate Ethnicity 2                               
Race_2_source      Source to Determine Race 2                          
Race_2_conf        Confidence Level Associated with Race 2 Determination
Race_2_URL         Source URL for Race 2
Oth_id             Other identities of interest (if available)
Notes              Notes from RDH researcher                                         


## Notes on Field Names

Office Codes Used:
SLDL  - State Legislative Lower
SLDU  - State Legislative Upper
CONG - Congressional

Cand_id column generally follows the pattern, adapted from VEST: 
The first character is G for a general election, P for a primary, S for a special, and R for a runoff.
Characters 2 and 3 are the year of the election.*
Characters 4-6 represent the office type (SL = State Legislative Lower, SU = State Legislative Upper, CON = Congressional)
Character 7 represents the party of the candidate.
Characters 8-10 are the first three letters of the candidate's last name.

One example is: PSL001RHIL

*To fit within the GIS 10 character limit for field names, the naming convention is slightly different for the State Legislature and US House of Representatives. All fields are listed below with definitions.

One example is:
PSL001RHIL

Party Codes Used:
DEM - Democratic
REP - Republican
NPA - No Party Affiliation

Gender Codes Used:
M - Male
F - Female
O - Other
N/A - Not Available

Race_1, Race_2 Codes Used:
AIAN - American Indian or Alaska Native
BLK - Black or African-American
HISP - Hispanic/Latino
NHPI - Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
WHT - White or Caucasian
MENA - Middle Eastern or Northern African
ASN - Asian
OTH - Other
N/A - Not Available

Race_1_Eth, Race_2_Eth Codes Used:
Uses the exact spelling from the list of possible ethnicities in Appendix F of the US Census PL technical documentation starting on pg. 193 (https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/technical-documentation/complete-tech-docs/summary-file/2020Census_PL94_171Redistricting_StatesTechDoc_English.pdf#page=193)

Race_1_source, Race_2_source Codes Used:	
CAND - race/ethnicity or gender is reported or clearly implied by the candidate
GRP - membership in a racial or ethnic group caucus or organization, or endorsement by a racial or ethnic group
GUES - race/ethnicity or gender is assumed, usually based on a photo, the candidate’s name, and other sources of information
NEWS - a news article
ORG - race/ethnicity or gender is provided by a nonpartisan third party organization
VF - voter file
OTH - anything else
N/A - Not Available

Race_1_conf, Race_2_conf Codes Used:	
HIGH - high confidence in assuming the race/ethnicity of the person
MED - medium confidence in assuming the race/ethnicity of the person
LOW - low confidence in assuming the race/ethnicity of the person
N/A - Not available or applicable (candidate race determined by something other than guessing)

Oth_id Codes Used: 
CHR - Christian
MUS - Muslim
HIN - Hindu
BUD - Buddhist
JUD - Jewish
CATH - Catholic
OTH - Other religion
LES - Lesbian
GAY - Gay
BIS - Bisexual
TRA - Transgender
QUE - Queer
IMM - First generation immigrant
VET - Veteran
INT - Intersex

## Data Collection Notes
Unless otherwise noted, the data present in this file was obtained from the Louisiana Secretary of State's office.

 
## Additional Notes
Please direct questions related to processing this dataset to info@redistrictingdatahub.org.