Free Republic

<p>WASHINGTON - Despite trailing in the polls, Democratic candidates in the race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. John Breaux of Louisiana are narrowly favored to win over the only Republican running, political analysts said last week.</p> <p>But that hairline Democratic edge, as one put it, could change in a puff of Louisiana's erratic political wind.</p>

LOUISIANA LOG JAM The sudden interest in a political comeback by Republican former Gov. Buddy Roemer is threatening to deflate high GOP hopes for winning a U.S. Senate seat from Louisiana for the first time since Reconstruction. Polls show Republican Rep. David Vitter leading Democratic Rep. Chris John, retiring Sen. John Breaux's handpicked successor, and Democratic State Treasurer John Kennedy. Roemer, an ex-Democrat who served a controversial hitch for governor (1988-1992), could change all that if he enters the race with better name identification than any other candidate. In Louisiana's non-party free-for-all election, Roemer and Vitter could divide up the...