Word: landrieu
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...been more than 70 years since a sitting Senator lost an election in Louisiana. It has been almost 120 years since a Republican senatorial candidate in Louisiana won one. Both those streaks are safe--for now. On Saturday, Senator Mary Landrieu successfully defended her seat against challenger Suzanne Haik Terrell, by 51% to 49%, in a nasty, narrow runoff election that gives dazed Democrats a silver lining to their dark midterm cloud...
...victories go, it was an ugly one. Landrieu came into this race as the favorite. But Louisiana's idiosyncratic electoral system requires that candidates get 50% of the vote or face a runoff, and on Nov. 5 Landrieu came up just short, with 46%. That opened the door for Terrell, and she charged through it with a parade of Republican heavyweights right behind her: George Bush, Trent Lott and Dick Cheney all stumped for her. Meanwhile, Landrieu scrambled to put distance between herself and her crippled party, pointing out that this year she voted with Bush 74% of the time...
...Landrieu managed to galvanize just enough of her crucial African-American base to break ahead. Her victory leaves the Republicans with a slim majority in the Senate and Democrats with a key lesson. If they're going to have a chance in 2004, Democrats will have to crack Bush's hold on the South. Landrieu just might be able to teach them how. --By Lev Grossman
...Landrieu, who narrowly won election to a first term six years ago, ranks among the Senate's more conservative Democrats, which is considered a plus in this year's election. Her voting record has essentially disabled many Republican criticisms; she has sided with the Bush Administration on issues ranging from oil drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife reserve to the use of force against Iraq. One key departure from the right has sparked the fiercest attacks from Republicans; Landrieu is pro-choice, a stand that has made her a target among the traditionally Democratic Louisiana electorate - which is comprised...
...fact that this runoff is taking place at all is a sign that Landrieu may be in trouble. After all, if she had managed to bring in more than 50 percent of the votes in the November election, she'd be settling in for a second term in D.C. rather than wrangling with Terrell in increasingly heated debates. Nevertheless, despite the incumbent's lackluster performance last month, oddsmakers still give her a slight edge. Landrieu is from a respected political family; she has the advantage of incumbency and name recognition; her record is established. Most important of all in this...