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Even in absentia, Gov. Bobby Jindal has emerged as a star of the Republican National Convention. His in-command handling of Hurricane Gustav has become a point of pride for a party that feared another Hurricane Katrina could wreck their week in Minnesota. "Thank God for Bobby Jindal," said U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson of New Mexico, issuing what has become something like a salutation at the convention this week. Jindal, a first-term governor, was prominently mentioned as a potential running mate for Arizona Sen. John McCain, and before Hurricane Gustav, Jindal was slated for a prime speaking role Wednesday night. But...

As a 37-year-old governor and a rising star of the Republican Party, you are scheduled to speak at the convention on Wednesday night. Is there anything you care to tell us in advance? I’ve actually not been on the floor of a convention. It will be my first time. You oppose abortion and stem-cell research, and just this month, you declined to renew a bill prohibiting discrimination in the workplace. Do you see yourself as an archconservative? I am conservative. No doubt about it. But when you go back to what it means to be a conservative, I also think,...

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate John McCain's trip to Louisiana won't include a visit with GOP Gov. Bobby Jindal, whose mention as a potential McCain running mate has fallen off in recent weeks. McCain is scheduled to arrive in New Orleans on Monday night and plans to visit an oil rig off Louisiana's coast on Tuesday.

Landrieu said she does not know what Pelosi is going to do, but it is a problem for her (Pelosi) Corker, Hannity, Landrieu say drill here drill now.

A Zogby poll shows Republican John Kennedy has taken the lead in the U.S. Senate race against Democrat Mary Landrieu. According to the Zogby International website, "Republican John Kennedy is among the GOP's best hopes to oust a Democratic incumbent. He leads Democrat Sen. Mary Landrieu, 47%-41%." The poll's margin of error is less than 5%. "I wouldn't be surprised if the lead changes a bunch of times," says University of Louisiana Political Scientist Pearson Cross. Pollster John Zogby says, "In Louisiana, Sen. Mary Landrieu faces a strong conservative challenger in John Kennedy. The state was profoundly shaken by Hurricane...

Western oil shale becomes issue in La. Senate race By MELINDA DESLATTE A supply of oil sealed in rock out West is becoming a flash-point in Louisiana's U.S. Senate race, in a bid to gain the attention of drivers feeling the pinch of gasoline prices. Republican candidate John Kennedy said unlocking the energy source from oil shale - as much as 800 billion barrels of oil locked in underground rock in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah - could shrink the nation's dependence on foreign oil and could help ease prices at the pump. Kennedy, the state treasurer, said his Democratic opponent,...

WASHINGTON -- Presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain is expected to be in New Orleans on Wednesday night amid reports that he'll sit down with Gov. Bobby Jindal, who is often mentioned as a possible running mate for the Arizona senator. Jindal said he has no meeting with McCain on his schedule, but McCain staffers told WashingtonPost.com that McCain will be talking to the governor. The New Orleans stopover raised eyebrows in political circles because it broke with McCain's schedule of appearances in battleground states -- he is well ahead in Louisiana -- and provided no details about his agenda...

U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu now attracts 49% of the vote in her bid for re-election while Republican challenger John Kennedy earns 44%. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey shows that, when “leaners” are included, it’s Landrieu 51% Kennedy 45%.

Officials in the Louisiana Secretary of State's office say a recall petition has been filed for Governor Bobby Jindal, making him the fifth elected official to face a recall attempt since the state legislature voted itself a payraise earlier this month. For a recall election to be called, the signatures of one-third of all registered voters in the state must be collected. That would be a total of 960,285 voters. Ryan Fournier of Jefferson submitted the recall petition. Other lawmakers facing recall attempts include House Speaker Jim Tucker (R-Terrytown), Rep. Steve Pugh (R-Ponchatoula), Rep. Joseph Lopinto (R-Metairie) and Rep. Franklin...

Another alleged Democrat Party felon is trying to hold on to any power he has left in Washington. New Orleans congressman William Jefferson(D-New Orleans) who is facing trial on federal corruption charges will seek re-election to a 10th term. In a news release on Tuesday, Democrat William Jefferson touted his experience and portrayed himself as a person who still has power in Congress despite his indictment in the corruption case.

Louisiana: Indicted Lawmaker to Run for Re-electionBy THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: June 18, 2008 Representative William J. Jefferson, a Democrat facing trial on corruption charges, has announced that he will seek re-election to a 10th term. Mr. Jefferson made his announcement in a news release that emphasized his experience and portrayed him as someone who still wielded power in Congress despite the case against him. The last time he ran for re-election was in 2006. The corruption accusations were a persistent problem for him then, but he overcame the odds and won in a landslide. He has since been indicted,...

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is “far and away the best candidate” for John McCain’s running mate on the Republican ticket. Appearing on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday, Gingrich said former congressman Jindal has been a “spectacular” governor and predicted he would be a presidential candidate in the future. Asked if Jindal, 37, would be ready to take over the presidency if he had to replace McCain, Gingrich said Jindal’s “experience in the executive branch and in the legislative branch is greater than” that of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Gingrich opined: “It strikes...

story can't be excerpted due to copyright issues, here's the URL: http://www.thenewsstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080613/NEWS01/806130316/1001/NEWS This is LA-05, which is basically the eastern half of north Louisiana. Rodney Alexander was a Democrat who switched parties, and the Democrats have never forgiven him, but this is the first time they've been able to recruit a serious candidate to challenge him. This is probably a safe sear (although in this climate who knows) but the GOP will have to play defense in a district that they ordinarily wouldn't have to worry about.

WASHINGTON -- On a day that Sen. Barack Obama moved closer to clinching the Democratic presidential nomination, embattled Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, Tuesday became the first of Louisiana's four Democratic congressional members to back his candidacy. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., is expected to join 14 other uncommitted Democratic senators today in announcing support for Obama. -snip-

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Before Sen. John McCain could begin speaking at a town-hall meeting here Wednesday, he first had to quiet a crowd gone wild for Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal -- a politician who not long ago would have been inconceivable in Louisiana. ***** The similarities between the 36-year-old Gov. Jindal and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama are tantalizing to many in the Grand Old Party. After only 143 days as the nation's youngest sitting governor, Gov. Jindal's name is being bandied about as a potential running mate for likely Republican presidential nominee Sen. McCain. ***** Gov. Jindal has done...

KENNER, La. — Senator John McCain marked the unofficial beginning of the general election with a speech here Tuesday in which he sought to distance himself from President Bush and to argue that he has stronger credentials as an independent agent of change than his all-but-certain Democratic rival, Senator Barack Obama. “For all his fine words and all his promise, he has never taken the hard but right course of risking his own interests for yours, of standing against the partisan rancor on his side to stand up for our country,” Mr. McCain said of Mr. Obama in a prime-time...

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in Louisiana shows John McCain with a nine-percentage-point lead over Barack Obama, 50% to 41%. McCain is viewed favorably by 55% of the state’s voters, Obama by 45%. George W. Bush won the state by fifteen points in Election 2004 and by eight points four years earlier. McCain leads among voters over 40, Obama leads among those under 30, and 30-somethings are evenly divided. McCain is supported by 86% of Republicans but Obama has just a 63% to 27% advantage among Democrats. The likely Democratic nominee has a seven-point advantage among unaffiliated voters in...

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in Louisiana shows U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu with a three-percentage point advantage over Republican challenger John Kennedy 47% to 44%.

When I first caught the buzz about Bobby Jindal, I thought it was nothing more than a pipe dream. “Who is this guy anyway?” I wondered. “And who is he to really compete with the likes of Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee for the #2 spot?” I was reading the India Times and thought it just sounded like more of the same “Wouldn’t it be COOL if we had a black president or a woman president?” chatter.However, after closer inspection, there are a few qualifications that’d make him the right McCain VEEP at the right time… He was appointed secretary...

WASHINGTON - New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin endorsed Barack Obama for president today, giving the Illinois Democrat another superdelegate in his battle for the Democratic nomination. "Since the immediate days following the storm, I have been traveling to our nation's capitol to advocate for policies that aid our rebuilding effort," Nagin said in a statement released by the Obama campaign. "I know first hand, we desperately need the leadership of someone committed to changing the system in Washington that can hold us back from moving forward." Obama said he shares Nagin's commitment to "renewing the great city of New Orleans."...

No, not the lesson the national press is pushing, that Mr. Jenkins's loss is a sign of GOP disaster this fall, or that it demonstrates how difficult it will be for Republicans to link local competitors to the liberal Mr. Obama. Republicans face tough odds, yes. But that's because they've yet to prove they've learned a lesson, as they demonstrated again with Mr. Jenkins. By the lazy standards of the GOP, Mr. Jenkins should've been a cinch to win a Baton Rouge district in Republican hands for 34 years, and that President Bush won with 59% in 2004. Their candidate...

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Even as Democrats rejoiced Sunday at having snatched a Louisiana congressional seat long held by Republicans, an observer warned it doesn't mean voters are spurning the GOP and said the victor's hold on the seat is shaky. State Rep. Don Cazayoux polled 49 percent Saturday to beat Republican publisher Woody Jenkins, who received 46 percent, for the 6th District seat in the U.S. House. Cazayoux and Jenkins share conservative positions on gun rights and abortion, but interest groups' ads attacked the Democrat as a tax-happy liberal and accused the Republican of tax evasion. Some ads...

State Representative Don Cazayoux defeated a former state legislator in Louisiana's Sixth Congressional District last night, marking the second time in two months that Democrats have won a special election seat previously held by Republicans. Cazayoux took 49% of the vote to newspaper publisher and longtime political hand Woody Jenkins' 46%. Cazayoux won Baton Rouge, the southern and western suburbs and most of West Feliciana and St. Helena Parishes, as well as the precincts surrounding Lake Pontchartrain. Jenkins took more traditionally Republican territory south and east of the city, as well as most of Livingston Parish. The two candidates split...

Nagin Picked As Superdelegate Hasn't said if he will support Obama or Clinton Saturday, May 3, 2008 New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has been elected a superdelegate to the Democratic Party's presidential nominating convention. The state party's central committee picked Nagin over four other candidates, including Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu, who unsuccessfully challenged Nagin for mayor in 2006. Nagin won 83 votes in voting Saturday, Jerry McKernan of Baton Rouge had 50 and Landrieu had 28. Nagin is one of 11 Louisiana superdelegates who will go to the convention and do not need to pledge their support to a candidate...

Democrat Don Cazayoux has won a special congressional election, bolstering his party's majority status on Capitol Hill and taking a seat held by Republicans since 1974. Cazayoux, a state lawmaker, beat Republican Woody Jenkins to cap a campaign that drew attention and cash from the national parties and from interest groups in Washington. 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 to 46 percent for Jenkins, a community newspaper publisher.

U. S. Representative, 6th Congressional District 508 of 512 precincts reporting Click here for Results by Parish 49,312 49.24% "Don" Cazayoux, D - 46,282 46.22% Louis "Woody" Jenkins, R - 443 .44% Peter J. Aranyosi, N - 3,705 3.70% Ashley Casey, N - 397 .40% Randall T. Hayes, O -

Polls have closed in Louisiana. The big interest is in the sixth congressional district, where Democrats think they can snatch an open seat.

Poll: Democrat Ahead In Louisiana Special Election A new SurveyUSA poll in Louisiana shows Democrats on track to win this Saturday's special election to fill the vacancy of former Rep. Richard Baker (R), who resigned in February to become a lobbyist. The poll shows conservative Democrat Don Cazayoux with 50% support, with 41% for GOP candidate Woody Jenkins, a longtime controversial fixture in Louisiana politics. This seat has not been held by a Democrat since the 1970s, and the district voted 59% for President Bush in 2004, so a Dem win here would be big news indeed.

Senator John McCain took direct aim at the Bush administration on Thursday as he stood in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, the area hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and declared the handling of the disaster “terrible and disgraceful” and pledged that it would never happen again. “I am for doing what is necessary — $4.2 billion, $10.5 billion, $50.5 billion,” Mr. McCain said at the time. “The $4.2 billion is not the end of the requirement.”

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - John McCain toured still hurricane-damaged areas of New Orleans and declared that if the disaster had happened on his watch, he would have immediately landed his plane at the nearest Air Force base. The Republican presidential candidate is campaigning this week in what he calls forgotten areas of the country. He offered a pledge Thursday to New Orleans residents that their situation will not be forgotten and that such a botched disaster response will never happen again. McCain was unsparing in his criticism of the Bush administration. He said Congress must share some of the blame,...

NEW ORLEANS — Senator John McCain took direct aim at the Bush administration on Thursday as he stood in the lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, the area hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and declared that “never again will a disaster of this nature be handled in the terrible and disgraceful way that it was handled.”

WWL-TV political consultant Greg Rigamer projects that Steve Scalise will win the GOP Primary in the First Congressional District of Louisiana. With 95 percent of the vote in, Steve Scalise has 58% of the vote. Tim Burns has 42%.

After barely winning her initial Senate race in 1996 and surviving a serious challenge in 2002, Republican strategists targeted U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu as the most vulnerable Senate Democrat in this fall’s election. Unfortunately for Republicans defeating Landrieu will not be an easy task. Just look at what she has done in recent weeks in lining up endorsements from a most unusual group, Northshore Republicans. While Landrieu is considered a staunch Democrat, her voting record is notably moderate. Several months ago, GOP St. Tammany Parish President Kevin Davis surprised many political observers by endorsing Landrieu. Davis cited his close working...

Numbers for Congressional races are for all parishes in each congressional district. U. S. Representative, 6th Congressional District-Democratic Party 13 of 512 precincts reporting 1,247 52% "Don" Cazayoux, D - 264 11% Jason DeCuir, D - 81 3% Joe Delatte, D - 463 19% Michael Jackson, D - 347 14% "Andy" Kopplin, D - U. S. Representative, 6th Congressional District-Republican Party 20 of 512 precincts reporting 288 24% Laurinda L. Calongne, R - 17 1% Michael Cloonan, R - 631 53% Louis "Woody" Jenkins, R - 265 22% Paul Sawyer, R - U. S. Representative, 1st Congressional District-Democratic Party 13...

U.S. Sen. John McCain sought support among conservative true believers here Friday, reaching to enlist them in his campaign just days after securing the Republican presidential nomination. "We've got to get our base moving again," he told a meeting of the Council for National Policy at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. The Arizona senator on Tuesday effectively secured the nomination without the support of conservatism's biggest voices, like Focus on the Family leader James Dobson, and talk radio host Rush Limbaugh. McCain sketched himself as one of them: an anti-abortion candidate who would defend traditional marriage curtail federal spending support strict-constructionist...

McCain will not ask me to be his running mate: Jindal 18 Feb 2008, 0909 hrs IST WASHINGTON: Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has said Republican front-runner and presumptive presidential nominee Senator John McCain will not ask him to be his vice-presidential mate even though his name was circulating in some conservative circles. "He's not going to ask me," Jindal said when asked what his response would be if Senator McCain asked him to be his running mate. "Look, he's not going to ask me. But, no, my focus is on Louisiana. I've been elected. I've told the people of Louisiana,...

Republican presidential frontrunner John McCain walked away with commitments Saturday of an overwhelming majority of Louisiana delegates to the party’s September nominating convention. The development shuts out former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who finished first in Republican balloting in Louisiana’s Feb. 9 presidential preference primary. Huckabee, a former Baptist minister, is guaranteed no delegates, although he won the popular vote. He earlier called Louisiana’s delegate selection process, “goofy.”

McCain Gains Louisiana Delegates Saturday, February 16, 2008 4:26 PM A majority of Louisiana's 47 Republican National Convention delegates tell The Associated Press they intend to back for Senator John McCain for president. Louisiana Republicans met Saturday to divvy up 44 of the state's delegates to the national convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul in September. Louisiana's Feb. 9 presidential primary would have pledged 20 at-large delegates had a candidate received at least 50 percent of the ballots cast. With Huckabee winning with 43 percent and McCain right behind with 42 percent, no at-large delegates were awarded.

LANSING, Mich. - Sen. John McCain, the presumed Republican presidential nominee, picked up a total of 50 GOP national convention delegates from Michigan and Louisiana Saturday. Republicans met in both states to resolve how to divvy up delegates to the national convention in September. Thirty-two of Louisiana's 47 delegates told The Associated Press they intend to vote for McCain, and three others also are expected to back him. Likewise, a majority of Michigan's presidential delegates also say they'll back the Arizona senator now that primary winner Mitt Romney is out of the race, although it's still unclear how many will...

New York: A popular radio talk show host has said that Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal would make the best running mate for John McCain, the likely Republican Presidential nominee. Talking about the names for the Vice-President nominee floating around in Republican circles, Rush Limbaugh said on his show that airs on 600 radio stations nationwide, "I'm going to give you a name that would make me jump for joy — Bobby Jindal. I did an interview with Bobby Jindal. He is the next Ronald Reagan if he does not change."

6,173 2% Biden, "Joe" - 136,927 36% Clinton, Hillary - 1,925 1% Dodd, Christopher J. - 13,028 3% Edwards, John - 1,405 0% Kucinich, Dennis J. - 220,501 57% Obama, Barack - 4,253 1% Richardson, William "Bill" Very bad.

NEW ORLEANS, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee won the Louisiana Republican primary on Saturday, notching up another Southern victory in his bid to become the party's presidential candidate in the November general election, CNN projected early Sunday. Front-running Arizona Sen. John McCain leads the race for the Republican nomination and is almost certain to win after his chief rival, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, dropped out on Thursday. Huckabee is his chief remaining challenger and is running a distant second. The Baptist minister, whose appeal to social conservatives has kept his shoestring campaign alive, won four...

Barack Obama beat Hillary Rodham Clinton in Democratic contests in Louisiana, Nebraska and Washington State as Mike Huckabee showed that he is still attracting Republican voters.

Barack Obama pummeled Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the latest round of their battle for the White House nomination on Saturday, earning momentum and valuable delegates with big wins in Washington and Nebraska caucuses. Obama registered comfortable victories in both states, outscoring Clinton by margins of roughly 2 to 1, according to media projections. His triumphs will boost the Illinois senator's campaign to be the country's first black president, after a fierce Super Tuesday duel that saw the two share the honors. It was not immediately clear how many delegates Obama picked up from his victories on Saturday, with the...

(CNN) — The more likely a Louisiana Democratic presidential primary voter was to have been affected by Hurricane Katrina, the more likely they were to support Democrat Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton.

OBAMA TAKES ALL 3; AS HILLARY CRIES AGAIN

Louisiana Secretary of StateUnofficial Election Results Inquiry Results for Election Date: 2/09/08 02/09/2008 20.19.24 Presidential Nominee, Democratic Party 7 of 3,966 precincts reporting Click here for Results by Parish 86 2% Biden, "Joe" - 1,973 39% Clinton, Hillary - 43 1% Dodd, Christopher J. - 709 14% Edwards, John - 35 1% Kucinich, Dennis J. - 2,038 41% Obama, Barack - 122 2% Richardson, William "Bill" - Presidential Nominee, Republican Party 7 of 3,966 precincts reporting Click here for Results by Parish 3 0% Curry, Jerry - 2 0% Gilbert, Daniel - 92 3% Giuliani, Rudolph W. - 681 25%...

Follow link above. Results are just starting to come in.

Obama campaign claims "irregularities" in Louisiana Per the campaign's blog, under the headline: "After Widespread Reports of Voting Irregularities Obama Campaign Submits Urgent Request for Assistance:" BATON ROUGE, LA -- The Obama campaign submitted an urgent request for assistance to the Secretary of State’s Division of Elections today, after receiving widespread reports from Democrats across Louisiana who reported that they were not allowed to vote because their party affiliation had been switched. Hundreds of Louisiana democrats went to the polls to vote in today’s presidential primary and found that they were now on registration lists as Independent or Unaffiliated voters....

Heavy black-voter turnout is expected to result in victory for Sen. Barack Obama in today's Louisiana primary election, a factor analysts say makes the state one of the Democrats' best Southern chances in November if the Illinois senator tops the ticket. Pearson Cross, a professor of political science at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, called Louisiana "neither a red state or a blue state. We"re more of a purple state," noting that the state backed President Clinton in 1992 and 1996 but went for President Bush in 2000 and 2004. “Really I would say, in terms of a Southern state, we...