Changes

==Political life==

==Political life==

Cortez sought the House seat when the Republican [[Ernie Alexander|Ernest Joseph "Ernie" Alexander, Jr.]], was contemplating seeking a third term, but had made a two-term pledge in his initial election to the House in 1999. Cortez has been allied with former state Senator [[Michael J. Michot]], a son of former Louisiana Education Superintendent [[Louis J. Michot]], a former Democrat who had been Cortez's fraternity brother at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. he was also allied with the then [[Independent]] (since Republican) former District 45 state Representative Joel Craig Robideaux (born 1962), both of whom actively supported Cortez in the race against [[Patrick LeBlanc]] through an organization called "Leadership for Louisiana." In the 2007 House primary, Cortez defeated fellow Republican [[Patrick LeBlanc]], an architect who owned the private-prison company LCS Corrections Services. In the campaign Cortez questioned prison contracts which LeBlanc obtained through sheriffs in Bastrop in Morehouse Parish and [[San Antonio]], [[Texas]]. No charges of wrongdoing by LeBlanc were ever filed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071228215330/http://knoe.com/weblog/archives/00000063.html|date=October 1, 2007|title="Ethics Candidate" Linked to Scandals Involving Louisiana and Texas sheriffs|publisher=KNOETV|accessdate=November 30, 2019}}</ref>​

Cortez sought the House seat when the Republican [[Ernie Alexander|Ernest Joseph "Ernie" Alexander, Jr.]], was contemplating seeking a third term, but had made a two-term pledge in his initial election to the House in 1999. Cortez has been allied with former state Senator [[Michael J. Michot]], a son of former Louisiana Education Superintendent [[Louis J. Michot]], a former Democrat who had been Cortez's fraternity brother at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. he was also allied with the then [[Independent]] (since Republican) former District 45 state Representative [[Joel Robideaux]], both of whom actively supported Cortez in the race against [[Patrick LeBlanc]] through an organization called "Leadership for Louisiana." In the 2007 House primary, Cortez defeated fellow Republican [[Patrick LeBlanc]], an architect who owned the private-prison company LCS Corrections Services. In the campaign Cortez questioned prison contracts which LeBlanc obtained through sheriffs in Bastrop in Morehouse Parish and [[San Antonio]], [[Texas]]. No charges of wrongdoing by LeBlanc were ever filed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071228215330/http://knoe.com/weblog/archives/00000063.html|date=October 1, 2007|title="Ethics Candidate" Linked to Scandals Involving Louisiana and Texas sheriffs|publisher=KNOETV|accessdate=November 30, 2019}}</ref>​

Cortez received 7,742 votes (55.5 percent) compared to LeBlanc's 6,218 ballots (44.5 percent).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 20, 2007.</ref> Less than five months after the election, LeBlanc and his pilot died in a small-craft airplane crash near Abbeville in Vermilion Parish.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theind.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2183&Itemid=93|title=Home – IND Media|publisher=theind.com|accessdate=February 16, 2018; no longer on-line}}</ref>​

Cortez received 7,742 votes (55.5 percent) compared to LeBlanc's 6,218 ballots (44.5 percent).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 20, 2007.</ref> Less than five months after the election, LeBlanc and his pilot died in a small-craft airplane crash near Abbeville in Vermilion Parish.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theind.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2183&Itemid=93|title=Home – IND Media|publisher=theind.com|accessdate=February 16, 2018; no longer on-line}}</ref>​