"below the acceptable standard of care." In 1992, Melanie Malagarie filed a malpractice suit which resulted in an award of $600,000 in damages. In 1995, Delila Hays filed a medical malpractice suit which resulted in an unspecified settlement. U.S. House of Representatives Elections 2004 In 2004, incumbent Democratic U.S. Congressman Chris John of Louisiana's 7th congressional district decided to retire in order to run for the U.S. Senate. John had held the district for eight years without serious difficulty, even though it had been trending increasingly Republican at the national level. Boustany jumped into the race with another Republican, the late David Thibodaux of Lafayette, Democratic state senator Willie Mount of Lake Charles and Democratic state representative Don Cravins Jr. of Opelousas. In the open primary election, Boustany ranked first with 39 percent, with Mount garnering 25 percent for second place. Under Louisiana's nonpartisan blanket primary system, in the event no candidate wins a "50 percent plus one vote" total, a runoff is conducted between the two top candidates, regardless of party. Vice President Dick Cheney campaigned on behalf of Boustany. In the December 4 run-off election, Boustany defeated Mount 55–45 percent. He was only the second Republican to represent the district, the first having been Jimmy Hayes, who switched from Democratic affiliation in 1995. 2006 Boustany won re-election to a second term with 71 percent of the vote, defeating Democrat Mike Stagg. 2008 Boustany won re-election to a third term defeating Democrat Don Cravins, Jr. and Constitution Party candidate Peter Vidrine. 2010 Boustany won re-election to a fourth term unopposed. 2012 After Louisiana lost a district in redistricting, most of Boustany's territory became the 3rd District. He faced freshman fellow Republican and 3rd District incumbent Jeff Landry of New Iberia. Although the district retained Landry's district number, it was geographically and demographically more Boustany's district. Indeed, the new 3rd contained almost two-thirds of Boustany's former territory, while Landry retained only the western third of his former district. Landry led Boustany in third-quarter 2011 fundraising, $251,000 to $218,000. According to Federal Election Commission, Boustany led in cash-on-hand lead, $1.1 million – $402,000. In addition to Boustany and Landry, a third Republican, state Representative Chris Leopold of Plaquemines Parish, announced via Facebook his candidacy for the seat, but he never filed the paperwork. The Boustany-Landry race attracted most of the political attention in Louisiana in 2012, as it was seen as