Along with President Obama’s broken promise regarding Americans’ ability to keep their health care plan comes the growing electoral problems for Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu — who ends 2013 on the run more than any other Senate Dem incumbent facing reelection in 2014. Arkansas Senator David Pryor, however, is worse off — he’s already a dead man walking. So the ‘good’ news for Landrieu is that she’s still upright.
Pryor will end up being the first 2014 Senate Dem written off by the DSCC, as he is polling in the low 40’s and has little chance of winning his uphill battle against U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton — a candidate right out of central casting. No need to rehash his stellar resume.
Landrieu is a more interesting case due to the fact she’s a seasoned pol who has been able to survive by cobbling together a reliable coalition of African American voters and just enough white voters — approximately 32% — to win reelection (albeit against relatively weak GOP candidates).
But this time, the Obamacare debacle will likely catch up with her, and her enormous statewide December ad buy of $250k (excluding New Orleans) to defend her Obamacare vote illustrates her problem.
While GOP Rep. Bill Cassidy still needs to show more aggressive fundraising, more robust attacks on Landrieu, and get past a tea party candidate who is not without some merit, Landrieu is right on the bubble as we end the year.
Gordon Hensley