Posted on 11/06/2002 5:33:52 AM PST by Theodore R.
Landrieu vs. Terrell Louisiana voters to make final decision in Dec. 7 runoff; balance of power in U.S. Senate remains uncertain
John Hill / Louisiana Gannett News Posted on November 6, 2002
BATON ROUGE - Sounding themes likely to be heard in their runoff campaigns, Democratic U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu and Republican state Elections Commissioner Suzanne Haik Terrell greeted supporters ready for one last month of campaigning.
Landrieu spoke from her election night party at the Fairmont Hotel in New Orleans shortly after 10 p.m. when she acknowledged Louisiana's U.S Senate race appeared headed to a runoff. Terrell, appearing from the Sheraton in Baton Rouge, said she was ready to hit the road this morning to fight what is expected to be a close race.
What remained unclear into the night Tuesday was what role Louisiana's runoff will play in the balance of power in the Senate. Several races remained too close to call as of press time and it may be days before some results are finalized. Early indications showed, however, that most seats stayed with their party, meaning Louisi-ana's Dec. 7 runoff election could be the deciding factor in the Republican-Democrat balance of power in the nation's upper chamber.
Either way, millions of dollars are expected to pour into the state during the next month as the national parties focus their attention here.
"This is economic development," said U.S. Sen. John Breaux, who predicted as much as $15 million could be spent on the runoff race.
Landrieu, who had 46 percent of the vote, according to complete but unofficial results, told her supporters she was proud of her campaign and ready to hit the ground running today.
We ran "on real issues that count," Landrieu said.
"Louisiana does not need a rubber stamp, we need a senator," she said referring to Terrell's support of President George W. Bush. "When the president is right, we say OK. When he's not we go our own way."
A jubilant Terrell - who had 27 percent of the vote unofficially - wished Landrieu "good luck" and thanked her Republican opponents U.S. Rep. John Cooksey and state Rep. Tony Perkins.
"We are so optimistic not just about tonight but about our future. The people of Louisiana have crossed party lines, they crossed racial lines, and they heard our message," Terrell said. "I look forward to engaging (Landrieu) from Shreveport to Grand Isle, city by city, town by town, person by person. Tomorrow, we're going to go out and win this thing."
Cooksey, with 14 percent of the vote, trailed Terrell.
"What happened was Suzie and Mary ran negative campaigns and Suzie basically became the anti-Mary vote," Cooksey said from Monroe on Tuesday night.
At the time of his comment, Cooksey had not conceded the other runoff spot to Terrell. However, later in the night, Terrell said she had spoken with Cooksey, who pledged his support to her.
Perkins, who said earlier in the day that his campaign had gained steam, came in third with 10 percent of the vote.
And because Mary will be asking Louisiana to send her to the Senate to be in the minority-- a tough sell.
|
U. S. Senator 3,912 of 3,912 precincts reporting Click here for Results by Parish |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| 23,776 | 2% | Raymond Brown | - |
| 171,706 | 14% | John Cooksey | - |
| 572,679 | 46% | Mary Landrieu | - |
| 10,426 | 1% | Patrick E. "Live Wire" Landry | - |
| 3,865 | 0% | James Lemann | - |
| 119,765 | 10% | "Tony" Perkins | - |
| 2,614 | 0% | Gary D. Robbins | - |
| 1,668 | 0% | Ernest Edward Skillman, Jr. | - |
| 339,163 | 27% | Suzanne Haik Terrell | - |
This ain't rocket science... approximately 54% of the voters cast their ballots AGAINST Landrieu. I'll have to see final voter turnout numbers, parish by parish, so say whether the Republicans will muster a better showing on Pearl Harbor Day. The weather helped them a bit yesterday, so it could go either way. Landrieu is far from having it in the bag; it depends on how effective the GOP is at bringing the supporters of *all* of the Republican candidates together behind Terrell.
In Louisana you more often vote against someone than for someone as all the candidates they put up are assumed to be crooks. And more often than not you are proven right.
The election system is designed to keep incumbents in office by splitting the oponents vote. The only way around that is to vote against the incumbent to get down to a two person election and then vote for the one you really wanted. Just because someone voted for Terrell on 11/5 doesn't mean they will vote for her on 12/7. Forcing a runoff is an insurance policy to see how the other races came out across the nation first, then deciding.
Apparently, it is. Applying your reasoning, 74% of voters voted against the nearest Republican candidate. I'm asking because I'm sure some freepers familiar with the process in Louisiana can explain why Republicans are so hopeful.
Call it what you like but in effect it's a runoff...... A General election allows all parties to have a representative in the race, but in this case it's the top two votes getters of the previous 'non partisan' primary...
How is your glass now that the Texas election is over... still 1/2 full and predicitng grand results for the Democrats and dire consequences for the Republicans? Teddy you worried too much.......
Based on observations and experience, Cooksey attracted a more staunchly conservative crowd than Terrell did - and there was no squabbling amongst the GOP candidates that would lead to some staying home in protest on Dec. 7th. The Cooksey voters will most likely turn out for Terrell, which puts Suzy and Mary in a fairly close race. Perkins, as a younger, pleasant-looking fellow, probably drew more of the soccer mom vote than did Cooksey. How that shakes out in a runoff between two women is hard to call. As far as the also-rans' 3%, I have no idea where those voters will lend their support.
We may not be able to say with confidence that Terrell will win, but it's going to be a competitive runoff. Advertising and public appearances by the political power-brokers will be important, no doubt about it. Also, as someone mentioned further up in the thread, Landrieu is now campaigning for the minority party. Terrell will make sure to point that out, many times.
This could even come down to Clinton vs. Bush, via proxy. If Clinton appears for Mary Landrieu and President Bush does likewise for Suzy Terrell, I do believe that Mary will feel "the Thud".
It's going to be *interesting*, no doubt about it.
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