(For a full list of candidates, see the Louisiana portal.)
By Congresspedia assistant editor Avelino Maestas
Louisiana finally held their primaries on Saturday, which had been delayed from their original September 6th date by Hurricane Gustav. Under Louisiana's system, only congressional candidates who win 50.1% in the primary move on to the general election. In the 2nd and 4th congressional districts, no one reached that threshold and a run-off primary will be held for their candidates on Election Day, November 4th, with the general election following on December 6th.
The 2nd district is home to Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.), who only won 25% of the vote on Saturday and will now face TV anchorwoman Helena Moreno in the Democratic runoff on November 4. The winner will be up against Republican nominee Anh Cao on December 6th. That may be inconvenient for Jefferson, however, because he is scheduled to head to trial on federal corruption charges on December 2nd (full details here).
In the 4th congressional district, where Rep. Jim McCrery is retiring, two runoffs are required. Republicans John Fleming Jr. and Chris D. Gorman survived the primary, as did Democrats Willie Banks Jr. and Paul Carmouche. Both parties will have runoffs on November 4, with the winners squaring off in December.
In the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th and 7th districts, the parties' nominees gained a majority of the vote and citizens will choose their representative when they cast presidential ballots on November 4.
Also, one of the country’s most closely-watched Senate races is playing out in Louisiana, where Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) is fighting to retain her seat. However, recent trendlines show her pulling ahead with a double-digit lead over Republican nominee and state treasurer John Kennedy (R), once considered the GOP’s best chance for flipping a Senate seat this cycle.
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