[15] Reelected in 1995, he obtained 63 percent of the vote to defeat Republican challengers Helaine George and Pamela Hillidge, but was unable to complete that term.

[17] Jean M. Doerge then chose to run in the special election that was held to fill her husband’s seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives.

Three years later, she ran for the Louisiana House and was reelected again, earning 57 percent of the vote as she defeated Webster Parish School Board president Ronnie Broughton.

Her legislative career then ended in January 2012 due to term limits; she was succeeded by Gene Reynolds (Democrat-Dubberly), who earned 54.7 percent of the vote to defeat his Republican opponent, Jeri de Pingre.

[19][20][21] Among her legislative accomplishments, Jean Doerge facilitated the creation, in 2001, of a fire and emergency training service district—the second such district created in Louisiana, facilitated grant funding for the Spring Theater and Cotton Valley water system, assisted Dubberly residents in fixing problems with failing wells by obtaining water service for them, enabled the Springhill Medical Center to obtain additional financial support by securing its 2002 addition to the Rural Hospital Coalition list, helped pave the way for the creation of the Frank Anthony Park jogging trail and Springhill’s center for tourism and, in 2013, secured state support to fund the relocation of the Northwest Louisiana Technical College from Minden to a site closer to Interstate 20.

[22][23] Another of Jean Doerge’s legislative successes was to establish a secure foundation for the operation of the Germantown Colony and Museum in Minden, which would help to tell the story of German immigrants who settled in northern Louisiana during the mid-19th century.