Louisiana ? A Democrat won a special congressional election in Louisiana Saturday, bolstering his party’s majority status on Capitol Hill by taking a seat Republicans have held since 1974.

Don Cazayoux, a lawyer and state lawmaker, beat Republican Woody Jenkins to cap a race that Democrats viewed as a chance to further tighten control over Congress. The seat opened when Republican Richard Baker, a 20-year incumbent, resigned to take a lobbying job.

With all precincts reporting, Cazayoux had 49 percent of the vote to 46 percent for Jenkins, a community newspaper publisher. Three independents combined to take 5 percent.

“People in Louisiana are hungry for a new direction in Washington,” Cazayoux said in a written statement issued by his campaign.