Free Republic

South Louisiana voters will replace their two representatives in the U.S. House today during elections in the 3rd and 7th congressional districts, ending rancorous campaigns that drew national attention and millions of dollars from special interest groups and the Republican and Democratic parties.

NEW ORLEANS, Dec. 3 - This year's political campaign, which began in the cold and snow of Iowa and New Hampshire, will come to an end at long last on Saturday in the bayous and Cajun country of South Louisiana. Two Congressional elections in adjoining Gulf Coast districts will determine whether Republicans add to the majority they secured on Nov. 2, when races for national office were decided in the rest of the country. One of the elections will determine whether a familiar name remains in the House. Vice President Dick Cheney has campaigned on behalf of the Republicans ("I...

What a drive. But so worth the time, because the Beatles are playing. Or is it the Stones? Or Outcast? Or Maroon 5? Actually, it’s Cheney’s band. Here in Louisiana, that would be Jindal, Vitter, Boustany, and Cheney, the man. Cheney’s up close and personal, very much in action. It’s hard to explain the phenomenon, but I took some pics that might help…. Because I’m a little horrified to tell you…that in his way…Cheney is…well,…a rock star. Yes. He has that quality. Had I not seen it with my own eyes, felt the heat with my own body, I would...

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Vice President Dick Cheney will stump for Louisiana's two Republican congressional candidates Wednesday, making a morning appearance for Billy Tauzin III in Houma and an afternoon showing for Charles Boustany in Lake Charles. In the final week of campaigning before Saturday's runoff, the races in both the 3rd and 7th Districts are heating up, with a slew of tough ads hitting the airwaves on both sides. The Lake Charles event takes Boustany's fight for the 7th Congressional District seat to the heart of his opponent's home turf — Democrat Willie Mount is the town's former...

Television ads in Louisiana runoff becoming increasingly negative.

Boustany, Mount go on offensive in ads By PATRICK COURREGES pcourreges@theadvocate.com Acadiana bureau The candidate-funded television ads running for the edification of potential voters in Louisiana's 7th Congressional District runoff on Dec. 4 are dedicating an increasing amount of time to blasting the opponent. Lafayette Republican Charles Boustany Jr., a retired heart surgeon, and state Sen. Willie Mount, D-Lake Charles, have been trading increasingly sharp jabs at each other's record over the airwaves. A current Mount ad says that while Boustany's ads show him working in a hospital wearing doctor's scrubs, "He hasn't practiced medicine in quite a while. He...

He have a huge chance to expand our majority in the House of Representatives.The elections are on Saturday, 12/4. Bill Tauzin III (Rep.) vs. Charles Melancon (Dem.)Charles Boustany (Rep.) vs. Willie Landry Mount (Dem.)

Third runner-up endorses Boustany for Congress By PATRICK COURREGES pcourreges@theadvocate.com Acadiana bureau LAFAYETTE -- The last holdout among candidates who finished out of the runoff in the Nov. 2 election for Louisiana's 7th Congressional District seat announced his intentions Friday. David Thibodaux, a Lafayette Republican who finished fourth in the initial race with 10 percent of the vote, announced his endorsement of fellow Lafayette Republican Charles Boustany Jr. who is running against state Sen. Willie Mount, D-Lake Charles on Dec. 4. "For whatever it's worth, whatever I can bring to the table, it's yours, my friend," Thibodaux told Boustany at...

While the Cravins family is making history at the state capitol, the senior of the two is speaking out against the Democratic party. Senator Don Cravins, who has clashed with the party before, suggested last week he doesn't care whether a Democrat or Republican ultimately wins the seat. The senator goes on to say, "There's a large degree of disillusionment with the way the race was conducted and the way the party conducted it. Some traditional Democrat votes are not leaning towards supporting her. I think it's an uphill battle for Willie Mount." Mount is in a December 4th runoff...

Naturally we are all pumped after the President's BIG WIN yesterday, but I wanted to drop a note to let you all know that the 2004 campaign has not ended in Louisiana. We are on a roll here however; Bush outpolled Kerry 57% - 42%, we elected our first Republican Senator since the Reconstruction Era in David Vitter, and we have secured four of five congressional seats that have been decided across the state for the Republican Party, including our newly-elected star Bobby Jindal. But there are still two congressional races that remain to be settled and the leading vote-getters...

U. S. Senator 208 of 4,124 precincts reporting Results by Parish will be available later this evening 1,728 2% Richard M. Fontanesi, O - 642 1% R. A. "Skip" Galan, O - 31,624 32% "Chris" John, D - 15,197 15% John Kennedy, D - 650 1% Sam Houston Melton, Jr., D - 1,291 1% Arthur A. Morrell, D - 47,803 48% David Vitter, R - U. S. Representative, 1st Congressional District 1 of 499 precincts reporting Results by Parish will be available later this evening 0 0% Roy Armstrong, D - 0 0% "Bobby" Jindal, R - 0 0% M....

Colorado District 3: state Rep. Ken Salazar will defeat Greg Walcher, whose past support for transferring water from Western Slope to Denver is an Achilles Heel in this drought-plagued district. Dem. Pickup. Illinois District 8: Congressman Phil Crane has been caught napping, and the collapse of the Illinois G.O.P. will combine to elect Melissa Bean. Dem. Pickup. Kansas Distrcit 3: In a minor surprise, conservative Kris Kobach will very narrowly defeat Congressman Dennis Moore. A recount is possible. Rep. Pickup. Louisiana District 7: There will be a runoff between Lafayette surgeon Charles Boustany and Lake Charles state Senator Willie Mount,...

Republicans hold the lead in Louisiana’s three most competitive races according to new public opinion surveys conducted on Thursday by pollster Verne Kennedy of Pensacola, Florida. U.S. Representative David Vitter continues as the frontrunner in the election for United States Senate with 48% of the vote, just shy of the majority he needs to avoid a December run-off. After enduring repeated attacks from the Democratic Party and his opponents, Vitter is well within striking distance because 14% of the voters remain undecided. U.S. Representative Chris John trails Vitter with 22% of the vote while State Treasurer John Kennedy receives 13%...

I know that most of our attention has been focused on the presidential election - and for good reason - but I thought I might give all of you a quick look at the races for Congress and Senate here in Louisiana, because the news is quite encouraging for the good guys here. To put it in short terms the results likely will be that, while coming into this year with the seven Louisiana congressional seats split four to three between Republicans and Democrats respectively and both Senate seats held by Democrats, we should come out of this fall's campaign...

Boustany driven to enter race Frustration in dealing with issues was spark By PATRICK COURREGES pcourreges@theadvocate.com Acadiana bureau LAFAYETTE -- Retired heart surgeon Charles Boustany Jr. seems to be getting taken seriously in his first run for public office. The Lafayette Republican's candidacy in the Nov. 2 election for Louisiana's open 7th Congressional District seat has gotten the open backing of major figures in the national Republican Party -- including Vice President Dick Cheney -- hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign money and the targeted opposition of national Democrats. A year ago, Boustany, 48, was still a practicing heart...

Boustany On The Move in the Polls Lafayette – The latest polling done in Louisiana’s 7th Congressional District shows Republican candidate Charles Boustany has surged into a three-way, first-place tie with Don Cravins and Willie Mount. The poll of 400 likely voters was conducted by Public Opinion Strategies (POS). POS, a Virginia based firm, was awarded the 2002 "Pollster of the Year" Campaign Excellence Award from the American Association of Political Consultants. “He [Boustany] has vaulted from last place to a dead-heat tie for first place. This has become a two-tier race – Boustany, Mount, and Cravins on the top...

<p>LAFAYETTE — Cardiologist Charles Boustany Jr. is running for Congress.</p> <p>Boustany, 47, is a Republican running on a platform to bring jobs, health care and better education to the district and the state.</p> <p>“Obviously, stemming the tide of out-migration is extremely important, and I think a congressman can help the efforts of the governor in terms of trying to bring jobs to the state,” he said.</p>