Congressman Jim McCrery endorses Cooksey in LA Senate Election Nov. 5.

Shreveport, LA ,Times | 11-2-02 | Staff Reports

[Theodore R.]

McCrery endorses Cooksey Staff Reports Posted on November 2, 2002

U.S. Rep. John Cooksey of Monroe on Friday made his final sweep through Shreveport before Tuesday's Senate election and picked up the formal endorsement of a congressional colleague.

Fellow Republican Jim McCrery of Shreveport, who represents Northwest Louisiana's 4th Congressional District, endorsed Cooksey over two other GOP candidates. State Elections Commissioner Suzanne Haik Terrell of New Orleans and state Rep. Tony Perkins of Pride also are in the race to unseat Democrat Mary Landrieu of New Orleans.

Cooksey already has been endorsed by Louisiana Gov. Mike Foster. Terrell has enjoyed a significant amount of national GOP support in the form of television spots, mostly aimed against Landrieu. Perkins has been endorsed by the Christian Coalition.

Cooksey was McCrery's finance chairman for Northeast Louisiana during McCrery's 1992 campaign. McCrery, running for his eighth term, faces Democrat John Milkovich of Keithville in Tuesday's election.

[Theodore R.]

Three Republicans hope to hold Mary Landrieu below 50.00001 percent to force her into a Dec. 7 "general election runoff" under LA's jungle primary law.

[Theodore R.]

Here is an article in the Nov. 3 Alexandria Daily Town Talk on the Fifth Congressional District campaign to succeed John Cooksey. The article focuse on former LA Rep. Clyde Holloway, R-Forest Hill.

Clyde Holloway: People want to know you know about their community Robert Morgan Posted on November 3, 2002 Editor's note: This is the fourth in five profiles on candidates in the 5th Congressional District race. BATON ROUGE - "Basically, this has been an 18-month race, or it will be by Nov. 5. That kind of long race gives you a chance to go to the small places," former Congressman Clyde Holloway said. Holloway, who served three terms in the old 8th District before it was erased due to population loss a decade ago, is one of four Republicans running for the open seat in the 5th District. In his earlier campaigns, Holloway established a reputation for campaigning hard, running on a shoestring budget and meeting as many people as possible. He said his campaign style "hasn't changed a bit. And I think it's still our strength. People love to see you and know you know their names." In a congressional district with so many rural parishes, it is rare for voters to ever meet their congressman or see anyone running for Congress outside of one of the bigger towns, he said. "When they see you in Larto, they're happy to see you and know that you know where Larto is," he said, referring to the remote community in the south end of Catahoula Parish. Royal Alexander, Holloway's campaign manager, said, "Clyde is a very robust 58-year-old. When a district is 22 parishes, you're constantly on the road." Campaigning consists of visiting fairs and festivals throughout the district, speaking to civic groups and participating in candidate forums whenever possible, Alexander said. "We have spoken to many, many Rotarys and Kiwanises. We're constantly meeting with farmers," he said. Holloway said the major issue for "most of this district" is the economy and jobs. "I guess agricultural questions would be No. 1," he said, pointing that the widely rural district is dependent upon agriculture. Holloway has operated a plant nursery business in Forest Hill for years. In his campaign speeches, he has stressed his personal relationships with some of the powerful men in Congress, including House Speaker Dennis Hastert, as a way of providing opportunities to attack the problems of the district. "I think it's important that you hit the ground running," he said, suggesting his connections with members of the Republican-controlled House would help him get desirable committee assignments as well as a more favorable reception to pleas for aid to address problems in the district. When he is out campaigning, Holloway said people ask him about a variety of issues and want to know what he can do about perceived problems. "They want to know what can you do to bring jobs to West Carroll Parish or Grant Parish. More even than (protecting) Social Security, I think drug costs are a concern, especially of the elderly," he said. He said voters also want to know what can be done about perceived abuses of the system, such as reports that people are using food stamps to buy illegal items. "I thought we solved all our problems with these cards (electronic debit cards for food stamps) where you couldn't buy alcohol or drugs with them. I guess not," he said.