[StBernard] Melancon Challenges Sen. Vitter in Louisiana

Westley Annis westley at da-parish.com
Fri Aug 28 00:29:16 EDT 2009


Melancon Challenges Sen. Vitter in Louisiana
By Jonathan Allen, CQ Staff
Rep. Charlie Melancon has jumped into Louisiana's 2010 Senate race to
challenge Republican David Vitter , giving Democratic campaign strategists
one of their most sought-after recruits.

Melancon's Senate candidacy appears to ensure a competitive Democratic bid
to oust Vitter - who won the seat in 2004 and is seeking a second term -
though it also puts at risk the Democrats' hold on the strongly conservative
south-central 3rd District that Melancon has represented since 2005.

"I'm announcing my candidacy for the U.S. Senate to replace David Vitter
because Louisiana deserves better," Melancon said in an Internet video
e-mailed to supporters. "Louisiana needs a different approach. More
bi-partisan. More disciplined. More honest and with a whole lot more common
sense."

Democrats have consistently argued that Vitter is vulnerable for 2010, in
part because of the scandal he faced after the 2007 revelation that his name
was in the phone records of a Washington, D.C., escort service associated
with prostitution. And Melancon - a leader of the Blue Dog Coalition of
conservative-leaning House Democrats - provides the party with a formidable
opponent for Vitter.

But the strongly conservative tendencies of Louisiana's voters have given
momentum to the state's Republicans. Vitter, who won the seat with 51
percent of the vote in the strongly Republican year of 2004, led Melancon by
47 percent to 37 percent, in a poll done by the firm that Melancon uses,
Anzalone Liszt Research, this according to a June 12 memo prepared for the
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

The memo argues that poor re-election ratings for Vitter and a
name-recognition advantage that is sure to be closed before November of next
year provide ample opportunity for Melancon to mount a competitive
challenge.

CQ Politics is for now maintaining the "Leans Republican" it has placed on
the race, which already denotes that a competitive contest is expected.

Vitter issued a statement welcoming Melancon to the race and professing to
"look forward to an important, spirited debate."

"Our two very different records - on who we supported for president and
where each of us stands on health care reform and the bailouts, stimulus and
the Obama budget that triples our debt - present a very clear choice,"
Vitter said.

One other potential candidate has expressed an interest in the Senate race:
porn star Stormy Daniels, who earlier this year launched an exploratory
committee but did not say in which party she wanted to run.

Meanwhile, Republican prospects for the 3rd District race have brightened
with Melancon's decision to leave the seat open. The conservative leanings
of the district, which gave Republican presidential nominee John McCain 61
percent of its votes, have prompted CQ Politics to change its rating on the
House race to Leans Republican. The race had been rated Democrat Favored
while the popular Melancon was still considering the possibility of running
for re-election.

The 3rd District seat was long held by W.J. "Billy" Tauzin, a onetime
Democrat who turned Republican after the GOP takeover of the House in 1994
and who now heads the drug industry lobby. Tauzin left to seat open to
retire in 2004 and hoped to hand it to his son, Billy Tauzin Jr., but
Melancon won the race by fewer than 600 votes out of more than 114,000 cast.

Melancon quickly took root, though, winning the seat with 55 percent in 2006
and running unopposed in 2008.

But the strength of the Republican bench in the district - along with the
prospect of a 2012 reapportionment and redistricting process in which state
Republicans could make life tougher for the Democrats in the district - mean
it's an uphill battle both for Democratic recruiters and a Democratic
candidate.

Scott Angelle is coveted by both parties as a candidate to succeed Melancon.
A longtime Democrat and member of former Democratic Gov. Kathleen Babineaux
Blanco's administration, Angelle now serves as natural resources secretary
in current Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal 's Cabinet.

Republicans who could be in the mix include former state House Speaker Hunt
Downer; state Rep. Nickie Monica, who is a former St. John Parish president;
Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser; St. John Parish President Bill
Hubbard; and Lafourche Parish President Charlotte Randolph.

Still, Democrats say they have a strong field of potential contenders,
regardless of what Angelle does. It includes state Reps. Fred Mills, Damon
Baldone and Gary Smith, and Indian-American attorney Ravi Sangisetty.




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