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Louisiana
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| LOUISIANA |
Nov. 4,
2014 U.S. Senate Primary and Dec. 6, 2014 Runoff |
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Nov. 4, 2014 Blanket Primary
Dec. 6, 2014 Runoff
Plurality: 151,169 votes (11.87 percentage points) LA
Secretary of State
REPUBLICAN PICK-UP Notes: U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy (R) won in the Dec. 6 runoff, defeating Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) in her bid for a fourth term. The major candidates competing in the Nov. 4 jungle primary were Landrieu, Cassidy and Rob Maness. Landrieu, first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996, previously served two terms as state treasurer and two (four-year) terms in the state House. She came from a prominent political family; her father, Moon Landrieu, was Mayor of New Orleans and served as HUD Secretary in the Carter administration, and her brother Mitch was re-elected Mayor of New Orleans in Feb. 2014 and previously served as lieutenant governor. Cassidy, a gastroenterologist from Baton Rouge, was first elected to the U.S. House in 2008, after serving one term in the state Senate. Col Robert L. Maness, USAF (Ret.) served 32 years in the US Air Force. The three candidates participated in two debates, on Oct. 14 at Centenary College in Shreveport (>) and on Oct. 29 at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge (>). Cassidy drew criticism for skipping debates; Landrieu and Maness participated in a total of five debates. Critics said he was coasting to the runoff and hiding from the voters. Landrieu and Cassidy finished first and second in the primary, advancing to the Dec. 6 runoff. There was one debate in advance of the runoff, on Dec. 1 in Baton Rouge (>). The debate opened with discussion of scandals involving the two candidates. Landrieu answered more questions about charter flights to campaign events billed to her congressional office, attributing the issue to a bookkeeping error. Cassidy addressed reports on an arrangement with LSU which Landrieu said amounted to padding his payroll. On policy issues, through the campaign and in the final debate, Cassidy was relentless in his criticism of Obamacare. Landrieu remarked that, "If he didn't have this issue to talk about, he wouldn't have any issue to talk about. That's all he's talked about this whole campaign. Let me just say again. This law is not perfect. It needs to be fixed. It needs to be improved, but it is better than the system that we had." Cassidy also frequently pointed out that Landrieu "supports Barack Obama 97% of the time." According to the Center for Responsive Politics (>), the Landrieu campaign spent $20.0 million and the Cassidy campaign $15.5 million; outside spending for and against the two candidates totaled $27.4 million. Campaign Managers: Bill Cassidy: Joel M. DiGrado (Mar. 2013) Communications director and press secretary to U.S. Sen. David Vitter, Aug. 2006-Mar. 2013. Radio producer for the Senate Republican Conference, Oct. 2005-Aug. 2006. Staff assistant to Sen. Vitter, Apr.-Oct. 2005. M.A. in American politics from American University, 2006; B.A. in philosophy from College of the Holy Cross, 2003. Mary Landrieu: Ryan Berni (reported Oct. 9, 2014, replacing Sullivan who continued as an advisor) Campaign manager on New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu's 2014 re-election. Chief of staff for political strategist James Carville, where he directed Carville’s media, research, writing, and new business development operations. B.A. in political science from Louisiana State University. Adam Sullivan Campaign manager on Martin Heinrich's 2012 U.S. Senate race in New Mexico. Regional political director (West) for the DCCC in the 2010 cycle. Managed Scott Murphy’s March 31, 2009 special election win for Congress in NY-20 after running U.S. Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand's 2008 re-election campaign in NY-20. Consultant on John Hall's congressional campaign in NY-19. Field director on Bruce Lunsford's campaign for governor in the 2007 Kentucky Democratic primary. |
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