James David Cain
Encyclopedia
James David Cain, Sr. is a retired farmer
and rancher from the Dry Creek community in eastern Beauregard Parish, who is a former Republican
member of the Louisiana State Senate
.
Term-limited, Cain was ineligible to run for a fifth term in the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 20, 2007. His Senate District 30 encompasses parts of Beauregard, Calcasieu, and Vernon parishes in western Louisiana
. Democrat
Claude Leach, a former member of both the Louisiana House and the United States House of Representatives
, was defeated by another Democrat, John R. Smith of Leesville, in a bid for Cain's Senate seat in the November 17 general election
.
On February 9, 2008, Cain won the seat for Louisiana House District 32 seat on the Republican State Central Committee in the closed primary for party offices. He defeated Kennis Paul Smith, 490 (69 percent) to 216 (31 percent).
While he was a senator, Cain chaired the Senate Insurance
Committee and formerly headed the Agriculture
and Natural Resources
panel. He is a strong advocate of protecting his state's underground water
sources to prevent depletion.
Pitkin in southeastern Vernon Parish. He holds bachelor's
and master's
degrees in education
from McNeese State University
in Lake Charles
. He was a college basketball
player at McNeese. He was a teacher
and coach
from 1962 until 1972. In 1993, Cain was inducted into the Louisiana High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame.
Cain is divorce
d from the former Goldie Bonds of DeRidder and currently married to the former Renee Cole of Ragley, Louisiana. He has four children: Melissa Cain Gill, James Cain, Jr., Angela Guglielmo, and Joseph Guglielmo.
His brother, Burl Cain
, is the warden of the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola
.
Cain served in the United States Army
from 1958 to 1960. Prior to his Senate service, Cain was a 20-year Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
, having first been nominated and elected from District 32 in the 1971-1972 election cycle. In his first general election
for the Louisiana House on February 1, 1972, Cain defeated Republican Edward King Alexander, 3,952 (66.4 percent) to 2,000 (33.6 percent). In his last House election in the 1987 primary, Cain defeated fellow Democrat Horace Lynn Jones, II, 11,486 (72 percent) to 4,485 (28 percent).
As a state House member, Cain built his career by being on friendly terms with Governor Edwin Washington Edwards. Ron Gomez
, a House colleague from Lafayette
, describes Cain, accordingly:
". . . a masterful politician. He had disciplined himself to make ten phone calls per day to constituents. He did it every day, absolutely without fail. His legislative aide would give him 3 x 5 cards with a voter's name, address, phone number, occupation and names of family members and other pertinent information as available on each one. James David would call ten of them a day, note on the card the subject and gist of each conversation and the aide would write a follow-up letter the next day. The subject of the conversation was not significant. The fact of the call was the important thing. . . . How can you beat that kind of politicking?"
, then of Crowley
, the seat of Acadia Parish, who would instead win the seat of retiring U.S. Senator Russell B. Long
. Cain only narrowly failed to gain a general election berth, and the seat was won by Democrat (and later Republican) James A. "Jimmy" Hayes
of Lafayette
. Cain polled 40,554 votes (24 percent), but he was edged out of second place by legislative colleague Margaret Lowenthal of Lake Charles
, who received 42,839 (25 percent). Hayes led with 51,137 (30 percent). Also in the race was the Republican David Thibodaux
(1953–2007) of Lafayette, who received 21,082 (12 percent). Two other contenders shared the remaining 8 percent of the vote. In the general election, Hayes defeated Lowenthal.
.
In 1991, Senator Bryan A. Poston
, a Hornbeck
businessman first elected in 1964, announced that he would not seek an eighth term in the Senate. Cain and a fellow Democratic House member, Allen Bradley, hence contested the open seat, which encompassed Calcasieu (seven precincts), Beauregard, Vernon, and Sabine parishes. Cain prevailed with 17,527 (56 percent) to Bradley's 13,947 (44 percent). In 1995 Cain defeated the Republican Marion Garland Anthony, 21,278 (73 percent) to 7,962 (27 percent). He was unopposed in 1999.
As a senator, Cain was among legislators who opposed the since repealed 2002 Stelly Plan
, a tax shifting proposal to reduce state sales taxes on food consumed at home and on utilities with a corresponding increase in state income tax
es, which particularly impacted higher-income taxpayers.The plan was named for former State Representative Vic Stelly
of Lake Charles.
commissioner by his fellow Republican James J. "Jim" Donelon
of Jefferson Parish, who had succeeded to the position in 2005 on the resignation of J. Robert Wooley, a Democrat elected in 2003. In that race, Cain charged that Donelon, also a former Democrat, was insufficiently committed to Republican and conservative
principles. However, Donelon pointed out that he had been a Republican for some twenty years longer than Cain and had carried the GOP
standard in several important elections, including the U.S. Senate race in 1998 against the popular incumbent Senator Breaux.
Cain unveiled a five-point plan to bring "integrity, efficiency, and accountability" to the insurance office. He accused Donelon, with whom he had served in the state House, of having billied the state $50 per hour to attend birthday and retirement parties as well as fundraising galas. He charged that Donelon was not working with insurance companies, such as Allstate
, which were threatening to leave Louisiana because of the lack of return. Cain won high-powered endorsements, including former Governor
Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer, III
, Republican financier Donald T. Bollinger, and Tony Perkins
, president of the Family Research Council
. He also picked up the support of a third candidate, DeAnne Henke of Lafayette, who withdrew prior to the primary.
In the end though, voters stuck with Donelon: 284,281 (50 percent) to Cain's 222,732 (39 percent), and 60,182 (11 percent) for the Libertarian
S.B.A. Zaitoon of Baton Rouge. Had either Cain or Zaitoon polled an additional 1,368 votes, there would have been a second race between Donelon and Cain in conjunction with the November 7, 2006, general election.
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
and rancher from the Dry Creek community in eastern Beauregard Parish, who is a former Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
member of the Louisiana State Senate
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
.
Term-limited, Cain was ineligible to run for a fifth term in the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 20, 2007. His Senate District 30 encompasses parts of Beauregard, Calcasieu, and Vernon parishes in western Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Claude Leach, a former member of both the Louisiana House and the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, was defeated by another Democrat, John R. Smith of Leesville, in a bid for Cain's Senate seat in the November 17 general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
.
On February 9, 2008, Cain won the seat for Louisiana House District 32 seat on the Republican State Central Committee in the closed primary for party offices. He defeated Kennis Paul Smith, 490 (69 percent) to 216 (31 percent).
While he was a senator, Cain chaired the Senate Insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
Committee and formerly headed the Agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and Natural Resources
Natural Resources
Natural Resources is a soul album released by Motown girl group Martha Reeves and the Vandellas in 1970 on the Gordy label. The album is significant for the Vietnam War ballad "I Should Be Proud" and the slow jam, "Love Guess Who"...
panel. He is a strong advocate of protecting his state's underground water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
sources to prevent depletion.
Early years, education, House service
Cain graduated from Pitkin High School in ruralRural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
Pitkin in southeastern Vernon Parish. He holds bachelor's
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
and master's
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
degrees in education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
from McNeese State University
McNeese State University
McNeese State University is a public university located in Lake Charles, Louisiana, in the United States. Founded in 1939 as a junior college, McNeese experienced growth due to economic activity in the region. It adopted its present name in 1970....
in Lake Charles
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Located in Calcasieu Parish, a major cultural, industrial, and educational center in the southwest region of the state, and one of the most important in...
. He was a college basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player at McNeese. He was a teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
and coach
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
from 1962 until 1972. In 1993, Cain was inducted into the Louisiana High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame.
Cain is divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
d from the former Goldie Bonds of DeRidder and currently married to the former Renee Cole of Ragley, Louisiana. He has four children: Melissa Cain Gill, James Cain, Jr., Angela Guglielmo, and Joseph Guglielmo.
His brother, Burl Cain
Burl Cain
N. Burl Cain was named Warden of Louisiana State Penitentiary in January 1995 by Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections Secretary Richard Stalder. He is the brother of James David Cain and Alton Cain...
, is the warden of the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola
Louisiana State Penitentiary
The Louisiana State Penitentiary is a prison farm in Louisiana operated by the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections. It is the largest maximum security prison in the United States with 5,000 offenders and 1,800 staff...
.
Cain served in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
from 1958 to 1960. Prior to his Senate service, Cain was a 20-year Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
, having first been nominated and elected from District 32 in the 1971-1972 election cycle. In his first general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
for the Louisiana House on February 1, 1972, Cain defeated Republican Edward King Alexander, 3,952 (66.4 percent) to 2,000 (33.6 percent). In his last House election in the 1987 primary, Cain defeated fellow Democrat Horace Lynn Jones, II, 11,486 (72 percent) to 4,485 (28 percent).
As a state House member, Cain built his career by being on friendly terms with Governor Edwin Washington Edwards. Ron Gomez
Ron Gomez
Ronald James Gomez, Sr., known as Ron Gomez , is a veteran print and broadcast journalist, author , and businessman from Lafayette, Louisiana, who served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from Lafayette Parish, from 1980-1989. From 1990-1992, he was the secretary of natural resources in...
, a House colleague from Lafayette
Lafayette, Louisiana
Lafayette is a city in and the parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Vermilion River. The population was 120,623 at the 2010 census...
, describes Cain, accordingly:
". . . a masterful politician. He had disciplined himself to make ten phone calls per day to constituents. He did it every day, absolutely without fail. His legislative aide would give him 3 x 5 cards with a voter's name, address, phone number, occupation and names of family members and other pertinent information as available on each one. James David would call ten of them a day, note on the card the subject and gist of each conversation and the aide would write a follow-up letter the next day. The subject of the conversation was not significant. The fact of the call was the important thing. . . . How can you beat that kind of politicking?"
1986 congressional race
In 1986, Cain ran unsuccessfully in the primary for the Seventh Congressional District seat vacated by John B. BreauxJohn Breaux
John Berlinger Breaux is a former United States senator from Louisiana who served from 1987 until 2005. He was also a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1972 to 1987. He was considered one of the more conservative national legislators from the Democratic Party...
, then of Crowley
Crowley, Louisiana
Crowley is a city in and the parish seat of Acadia Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 14,225 at the 2000 census. The city is noted for its annual International Rice Festival. Crowley has the nickname of "Rice Capital of America", because at one time it was a major center for...
, the seat of Acadia Parish, who would instead win the seat of retiring U.S. Senator Russell B. Long
Russell B. Long
Russell Billiu Long was an American Democratic politician and United States Senator from Louisiana from 1948 until 1987.-Early life:...
. Cain only narrowly failed to gain a general election berth, and the seat was won by Democrat (and later Republican) James A. "Jimmy" Hayes
Jimmy Hayes
James Allison "Jimmy" Hayes is a Republican politician from the state of Louisiana.Born in Lafayette, Hayes graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette . He served in the Louisiana Air National Guard from 1968 to 1974...
of Lafayette
Lafayette, Louisiana
Lafayette is a city in and the parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Vermilion River. The population was 120,623 at the 2010 census...
. Cain polled 40,554 votes (24 percent), but he was edged out of second place by legislative colleague Margaret Lowenthal of Lake Charles
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Located in Calcasieu Parish, a major cultural, industrial, and educational center in the southwest region of the state, and one of the most important in...
, who received 42,839 (25 percent). Hayes led with 51,137 (30 percent). Also in the race was the Republican David Thibodaux
David Thibodaux
David Glenn Thibodaux was for twenty-seven years an English professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, a member and officer of the Lafayette Parish School Board for twelve years, and a four-time Republican candidate for the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana's 7th...
(1953–2007) of Lafayette, who received 21,082 (12 percent). Two other contenders shared the remaining 8 percent of the vote. In the general election, Hayes defeated Lowenthal.
Four Senate elections
Cain switched affiliation to Republican prior to his last Senate election in 2003, when he received 19,609 votes (72 percent) to 6,411 (23 percent) for the Democrat Lloydell "Iles" Mullican and 1,345 (5 percent) for the "No Party" Arnold Russell Williams. He was hence nominated without the need for a general electionGeneral election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
.
In 1991, Senator Bryan A. Poston
Bryan A. Poston
Bryan Anthony Poston, Sr. was a businessman in Hornbeck, Louisiana, who served as a Democrat in the Louisiana State Senate from 1964 to 1992. He succeeded his father, Charles M. Poston, Sr., a one-term senator from 1960 to 1964.Poston was born in rural Benson in southern De Soto Parish to Charles...
, a Hornbeck
Hornbeck, Louisiana
Hornbeck is a town in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 435 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Fort Polk South Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
businessman first elected in 1964, announced that he would not seek an eighth term in the Senate. Cain and a fellow Democratic House member, Allen Bradley, hence contested the open seat, which encompassed Calcasieu (seven precincts), Beauregard, Vernon, and Sabine parishes. Cain prevailed with 17,527 (56 percent) to Bradley's 13,947 (44 percent). In 1995 Cain defeated the Republican Marion Garland Anthony, 21,278 (73 percent) to 7,962 (27 percent). He was unopposed in 1999.
As a senator, Cain was among legislators who opposed the since repealed 2002 Stelly Plan
Stelly Plan
The Stelly Plan is a since repealed 2002 tax measure in the U.S. state of Louisiana designed to shift certain state sales taxes on food for home consumption and utilities to increases in state income taxes. Narrowly approved by voters, the proposal soon ran into criticism as middle-class taxpayers...
, a tax shifting proposal to reduce state sales taxes on food consumed at home and on utilities with a corresponding increase in state income tax
State income tax
State and local income taxes are imposed in addition to Federal income tax. State income tax is allowed as a deduction in computing Federal income tax, subject to limitations for individuals. Some localities impose an income tax, often based on state income tax calculations. Forty-three states...
es, which particularly impacted higher-income taxpayers.The plan was named for former State Representative Vic Stelly
Vic Stelly
Victor Theodore Stelly, known as Vic Stelly , is a retired businessman from Lake Charles, Louisiana, a member of the Louisiana Board of Regents for Higher Education, and from 1988-2004 a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 35 in Calcasieu Parish in the...
of Lake Charles.
Running for insurance commissioner
On September 30, 2006, Cain was defeated in a special election for state insuranceInsurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
commissioner by his fellow Republican James J. "Jim" Donelon
Jim Donelon
James J. "Jim" Donelon has been the Republican insurance commissioner of Louisiana since February 15, 2006.Donelon won a full-term as commissioner in the October 20, 2007 nonpartisan blanket primary. He finished with 606,534 votes and defeated three opponents, the closest of whom, Democrat Jim...
of Jefferson Parish, who had succeeded to the position in 2005 on the resignation of J. Robert Wooley, a Democrat elected in 2003. In that race, Cain charged that Donelon, also a former Democrat, was insufficiently committed to Republican and conservative
American conservatism
Conservatism in the United States has played an important role in American politics since the 1950s. Historian Gregory Schneider identifies several constants in American conservatism: respect for tradition, support of republicanism, preservation of "the rule of law and the Christian religion", and...
principles. However, Donelon pointed out that he had been a Republican for some twenty years longer than Cain and had carried the GOP
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
standard in several important elections, including the U.S. Senate race in 1998 against the popular incumbent Senator Breaux.
Cain unveiled a five-point plan to bring "integrity, efficiency, and accountability" to the insurance office. He accused Donelon, with whom he had served in the state House, of having billied the state $50 per hour to attend birthday and retirement parties as well as fundraising galas. He charged that Donelon was not working with insurance companies, such as Allstate
Allstate
The Allstate Corporation is the second-largest personal lines insurer in the United States and the largest that is publicly held. The company also has personal lines insurance operations in Canada. Allstate was founded in 1931 as part of Sears, Roebuck and Co., and was spun off in 1993...
, which were threatening to leave Louisiana because of the lack of return. Cain won high-powered endorsements, including former Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer, III
Buddy Roemer
Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer III is an American politician who served as the 52nd Governor of Louisiana, from 1988 to 1992. He was elected as a Democrat but switched to the Republican Party on March 11, 1991...
, Republican financier Donald T. Bollinger, and Tony Perkins
Tony Perkins (politician)
Anthony Richard "Tony" Perkins is president of the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian think tank and public policy foundation based in Washington, D.C...
, president of the Family Research Council
Family Research Council
The Family Research Council is a conservative or right-wing Christian group and lobbying organization formed in the United States in 1981 by James Dobson. It was fully incorporated in 1983...
. He also picked up the support of a third candidate, DeAnne Henke of Lafayette, who withdrew prior to the primary.
In the end though, voters stuck with Donelon: 284,281 (50 percent) to Cain's 222,732 (39 percent), and 60,182 (11 percent) for the Libertarian
Libertarian Party (United States)
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
S.B.A. Zaitoon of Baton Rouge. Had either Cain or Zaitoon polled an additional 1,368 votes, there would have been a second race between Donelon and Cain in conjunction with the November 7, 2006, general election.