[1] During the redistricting process, U.S. Representative Charles Boustany advocated a plan which, rather than drawing his home and that of Landry into the same district (as the bill which became law did), would instead make fellow Republican representative John Fleming's district potentially more competitive.

Representatives Rodney Alexander, Bill Cassidy, Fleming, Jeff Landry and Steve Scalise wrote to Governor Bobby Jindal requesting that the state legislature postpone the redistricting process for a year.

[6] Louisiana is among the states which, according to a provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act enacted upon states with a history of denial of voting rights, must submit legislative maps to the U.S. Department of Justice for approval in order to ascertain that the purpose and effects of the map are not discriminatory.

[9] and includes the cities of Slidell and Houma, and the two parishes hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina, St. Bernard and Plaquemines.

[6] The district is located in southern Louisiana and stretches from the Texas border to Iberia and St. Martin parishes.

[7] It incorporates Lake Charles and Lafayette, which were centers of population in Boustany's former district.

[6] Its boundaries remain similar to those of its previous incarnation:[9] it is anchored by Shreveport and borders Texas and Arkansas.