The Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS - It's been a good year for incumbents in the Louisiana Legislature, although the handful who face runoff elections today might argue with that.

Twenty seats in the Senate and House of Representatives remained up for grabs after the Oct. 4 primary. Ten of those are held by incumbents.

Longtime veterans like Rep. Tommy Wright, D-Jena, Sen. Jon Johnson, D-New Orleans, and Rep. Juba Diez, a recent Republican convert from Gonzales, are having to battle to save their jobs. So are relative newcomers to the House such as Rosalind Peychaud and Pat Swilling, both D-New Orleans.

It appears doubtful that any of the races will mean major changes in the overall philosophy of the Legislature as a whole. The Senate generally has been more conservative in recent years and likely will remain that way. The more populist House may see a slight shift to the right politically, not so much as a result of the elections but more because of new, more conservative districts created when the Legislature redrew district lines to account for population shifts.

But the story so far has been the lack of change in the 39-member Senate and the 105-member House. Fifty-six incumbents were unopposed in the Oct. 4 election. Another 58 were re-elected last month with no need for a runoff.

Among the high-profile races:

* Johnson, a lawmaker since 1980, won 49 percent of the vote against three opponents Oct. 4. Today, he faces second-place finisher Ann Duplessis, a member of the New Orleans Business and Industrial District Board who has been critical of Johnson for failing to secure state money for the board.

* Twenty-seven-year House veteran Juba Diez's recent switch to the Republican Party in District 59, a suburban and rural area east of Baton Rouge, wasn't enough to fend off GOP opposition. Diez, of Gonzales, was forced into a runoff with Eddie Lambert of Prairieville, who has blamed Diez, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, for the poor state of Louisiana roads.

* Rep. Pat Swilling, a popular former linebacker for the New Orleans Saints, won a House seat four years ago and now is battling to keep it. His runoff opponent is Austin Badon Jr. Both are Democrats.

* Rep. Rosalind Peychaud won a special election to fill a New Orleans House seat last year, defeating Jalila Jefferson, daughter of Congressman William Jefferson. Today brings a rematch. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin backed Peychaud last time but is in Jefferson's corner this time in a race pitting Democrats against each other.

* In another New Orleans race, House District 99 Rep. Leonard Lucas faces a runoff with another Democrat, Charmaine Marchand. Lucas won the seat from powerful House veteran Sherman Copelin four years ago.

In other runoffs involving incumbents

* Rep. James Fanin, D-Jonesboro, is in a rematch of a 2002 special election against challenger Todd Culpepper, also D-Jonesboro

* Rep. Lelon Kenney, D-Columbia, faces fellow Democrat Roger Beall of Winnsboro

* Rep. Tommy Wright, D-Jena, faces Republican challenger Tony K. Owens of Winnfield.

* Rep. Israel Curtis, D-Alexandria, faces fellow Democrat Herbert Dixon, also of Alexandria.

* Rep. Emma Devillier, D-Plaquemine, has a challenge from another Democrat, Karen Gaudet St. Germain of Pierre Part.

Not all of the races involve incumbents. Another Senate veteran, Louis Lambert, D-Prairieville, has departed for the LSU Board of Supervisors. Business interests hope to replace the longtime labor ally with Jeff Diez, who is running against Jody Amedee. Both are Democrats.

Sen. Greg Tarver, D-Shreveport and a longtime veteran of the Legislative Black Caucus, is retiring from the Senate and will be replaced by state Rep. Lydia Jackson or Theron Jackson, both Democrats.