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After 18 years of defying political gravity, Mary Landrieu’s electoral world came crashing down losing badly to a candidate many Republicans considered weak and unelectable statewide. While the political wind and territory were unfavorable to Landrieu, she managed to stay afloat when previous red tides washed out her fellow southern Democratic colleagues. To simply say it was a decidedly red year in an increasingly red state would deny due credit to her Republican challenger and would absolve well-deserved blame for Landrieu’s missteps and a national party that crawfished on her candidacy. An Eroded Base and A Bad Wave: There was...

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) lobbed a barb at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Tuesday, saying they effectively abandoned her after the Nov. 4 midterm election. "I am extremely disappointed in the Democratic Senatorial [Campaign] Committee. I've said that. You know, they just walked away from this race," Landrieu said in response to a Washington Post question about Democratic groups mainly staying on the sidelines during the runoff. She made her remarks after a rally here just steps from City Hall. The DSCC canceled its television ad reservations shortly after the Nov. 4 midterm election in which...

Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu is in the political fight of her life. So why doesn’t the Democratic Party have her back? Sen. Mary Landrieu did everything she could Monday night to salvage the shards of her bid for a fourth term in the U.S. Senate. In her only debate against her Republican opponent, Rep. Bill Cassidy, Landrieu lit into the congressman as untrustworthy and dishonest, at one point accusing him of telling a “blatant lie.” She also spoke repeatedly of her Catholic faith, called abortion “in almost every case immoral,” and described Cassidy as “disrespectful to the president and the...

In a conference call today, President Barack Obama endorsed Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) in her bid to win her Senate seat, which she has held for more than a decade, against Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-LA). The endorsement will most likely serve as a burden for Landrieu, rather than an asset, as a majority of Louisiana voters do not approve of Obama’s agenda and the way he has handled Obamacare or the economy. Landrieu has spent her entire re-election avoiding Obama and his policies, which she has largely supported. Exit polling in the November Senate race, showed that there are 5...

The number of people who cast their ballots early in Louisiana dropped off from the Nov. 4 primary election to the Dec. 6 runoff election in every statewide category except one: registered Republican voters. About 85,900 registered Republicans took advantage of early voting for the Dec. 6 runoff. That's almost 3,000 more than voted early for the Nov. 4 election, and amounts to a 4 percent bump in early voting overall from a month ago. The jump in early Republican voters is noteworthy, given that early voting overall dropped by 10 percent from the November primary to the December runoff....

Today is the last day Louisiana residents can vote early before election day on Dec. 6. The polls are open until 6 p.m. snip With one day left in the early voting period, Louisiana residents don't appear to be casting their ballots early as frequently as they were before the Nov. 4. primary. Around 174,700 people have voted early so far, compared to 236,000 overall before the primary election. The Dec. 6 early voting period has included fewer days than the Nov. 4 early voting period because of the Thanksgiving holiday, which could have affected turnout. Louisiana has not had...

WASHINGTON -- Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is hosting a New York City fundraiser for Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., on Monday. snip Clinton, who campaigned at a New Orleans rally for Landrieu before just before the Nov. 4 primary, is hosting the Landrieu fundraiser at the home of long-time Clinton supporters Sarah and Victory Kovner. Tickets range from $1,000 to $12,600, with proceeds going to Landrieu's Senate campaign, the Louisiana Democratic Party and Landrieu's political action committee. Clinton, the former First Lady and New York senator, is the current frontrunner for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination. snip

Speaking of our buddy John Couvillon, whose polls of the 6th District and Senate races we posted about yesterday, here was an interesting email he circulated after analyzing the voting patterns from SaturdayÂ’s early voting results (Saturday was the first day of early voting in advance of the Dec. 6 runoffs)Â… Republicans started off early voting on a good note yesterday: (1) 49263 early voted yesterday (28% more than the early vote on the first day of primary early voting), and the racial breakdown was 72-26% white/black (it was 67-31% on Day 1 in the primary); (2) The partisan breakdown...

Our buddy John Couvillon was the pollster for Paul Dietzel’s campaign, so he counts as an independent, if Republican, pollster when he reports some fresh numbers in the 6th District runoff. Couvillon released the results of his survey, which was conducted on Nov. 17, on Friday. The sample included 793 respondents from households which had voted in the Nov. 4 primary, and it matches the electorate from that primary about as closely as possible. The demographic breakdown of the respondents was 76-20% white/black, while the party registration of respondents was 42-39% Democratic (19% Independents) – in the November primary, the...

Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) has opened up a 15-point lead over incumbent Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) in their runoff race, according to a new poll from conservative-leaning Rasmussen. Cassidy takes 56 percent support in the poll to Landrieu’s 41. It’s the second poll released this week by a conservative outlet to show Cassidy with a double-digit lead. A Vox Populi poll released on Wednesday showed Cassidy with an 11-point lead. The Rasmussen survey shows that Landrieu’s efforts to pass a bill authorizing the Keystone pipeline may have done little to sway voters in the energy-rich state. While 70 percent of...

When it came time for the US Senate to vote on the Keystone XL Pipeline, Sen. Mary Landrieu’s (D-LA) “clout” did not have much of an impact on fellow Democrat senators. In fact, 35 of the senators who voted against the project were given campaign cash by Landrieu since the 2008 election cycle. Take a look here at the list of senators who don’t seem to acknowledge Landrieu’s “clout.” Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) $10,000 Sen. Richard Blumenthal (R-CT) $5,000 Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) $10,000 Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) $7,000 Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) $10,000 Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) $3,500 Sen....

There’s a very simple way for her to get beyond the embarrassment of yesterday’s failed vote to authorize the Keystone XL pipeline, where 41 of her 54 Senate Democrat colleagues essentially flipped her the bird and voted against it despite being told ad nauseam that either they did so or they’d be consigning her to electoral demise in Louisiana’s Dec. 6 runoff. The answer is to get out of the race, and concede it to Bill Cassidy. The sooner the better. The fact is, the Keystone XL vote had very little to do with Landrieu’s electability. The idea that getting...

The Republican unity tour with former rivals Rep. Bill Cassidy and Rob Maness will continue Saturday (Nov. 15) afternoon with a rally featuring the two of them, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and "Duck Dynasty" star Phil Robertson. Maness drew 14 percent of the vote in the primary, and Cassidy needs that to defeat Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu. Though Palin and Robertson are sometimes controversial figures outside the most conservative circles, political observers believe Cassidy is doing the right thing by aligning himself with the right wing of the party to earn that support. LSU political scientist Robert Hogan said...

Poll commissioned by GOP candidate's campaign shows massive advantage leading up to Dec. 6 runoff Win by GOP Rep. Bill Cassidy would bring total Republican pickup to a whopping 10 seats Landrieu is hoping a long-awaited vote on the Keystone XL pipeline will improve her fortunes Poll was leaked in Washington to send a message to energy lobbyists who think she can prevail Survey is an 'automated' phone poll that Landrieu's campaign considers less credible than traditional surveys conducted by voice 'Her campaign is running on fumes,' the pollster told MailOnline Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu is trailing her Republican challenger...

We’ve talked in the past about John Diez, the Prairieville-based polling guru of Magellan Strategies Baton Rouge, and the solid reputation his firm has put togther among politicos around the state. What our readers might not know is that Diez, who did the internal polling for the Garret Graves campaign, had a frighteningly-accurate forecast of the 6th District race a week before election night. Diez had that race as follows: Edwards 29 (finished with 30) Graves 24 (finished with 27) Dietzel 13 (finished with 14) Claitor 10 (finished with 10) Whitney 6 (finished with 7) That’s what’s known as one...

Just as the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee decided last week to scrap plans for its television ads for U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu’s re-election bid, the Republican National Committee announced that it was sending an extra 200+ people to the state to help Bill Cassidy, following the Nov. 4 primary. Cassidy is leading most polls three weeks out from the Dec. 6 primary. “We predicted the turnout within a couple hundred votes so we feel really good about how well we know these voters,” RNC spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski told Politico.com. “We are literally buying up hotels and car rentals and sending...

Republicans of every stripe staged a united front to help Rep. Bill Cassidy in his quest to unseat Sen. Mary Landrieu, the last statewide elected Democrat, during a rally Monday at Huey's Bar in downtown Baton Rouge. The rally was headlined by Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Rob Maness, a sign the far-right is ready to embrace Cassidy. Paul echoed the Republican theme of the 2014 midterms by denouncing President Barack Obama's positions and the Democrats that support them. He spoke at length about Obama and called Landrieu a rubber stamp for his policies. Perhaps more important for Cassidy than...

Retired Air Force Col. Rob Maness is joining forces with Rep. Bill Cassidy in an effort to seal a win for Republicans over Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu. Maness will formally endorse Cassidy during a star-studded Republican rally in Baton Rouge on Monday that will feature presumed presidential candidates Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Gov. Bobby Jindal. U.S. Sen. David Vitter, state Sen. Elbert Guillory, state Rep. Paul Hollis, 6th Congressional District candidate Garret Graves, former U.S. Rep. Jeff Landry, and LAGOP chairman Roger Villere will also attend the "Unity Rally." Maness finished third behind Landrieu and Cassidy in Tuesday's primary. He...

MEDIA ADVISORY: LAGOP Unity Rally What: LAGOP Unity Rally featuring special guest Sen. Rand Paul, Dr. Bill Cassidy, Col. Rob Maness (USAF, ret.), Gov. Bobby Jindal, Sen. David Vitter and Rep. Jeff Landry, along with Sen. Elbert Guillory, Rep. Paul Hollis, LAGOP Chairman Roger Villere and Garret Graves When: Monday, Nov. 10 – 12:30 p.m. CT Where: Huey’s Bar, 350 3rd St, Baton Rouge, LA 70801 About: Sen. Rand Paul will join Louisiana Republicans for a unity rally to build momentum for the final weeks of the runoff election in the race for the U.S. Senate.

Same-sex proposal falls short in Senate By MARSHA SHULER mshuler@theadvocate.com Capitol news bureau A proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages in Louisiana fell one vote shy of passage Wednesday in the state Senate.Six senators were missing in action for the vote. Proponents said the loss was a setback but they expect to win Senate passage when the legislation comes up for another vote later. Some pro-amendment senators were absent Wednesday. The Senate voted 25 to 8. But 26 yeas -- a two-thirds majority of the 39-member body --- is required to pass any proposed constitutional amendment. If the measure passes...