In today’s primary election in Louisiana, the U.S. Senate seat currently held by David Vitter is up for grabs. Vitter is running for re-election, but has two challengers: Nick Accardo and Chet Traylor. Accardo lacks a campaign web site, and Traylor’s site now features only advertisements for online resources such as “Free Sugar Daddy Dating”. On the Democratic side, U.S. Representative Charles Melancon, a right wing Democrat, is competing only against minor players Cary Deaton and Neeson Chauvin, whose campaigns are so anemic that they lack even the most basic presence on the Internet. It looks like a fair bet that the two party establishments’ choices will win the Senate primary today. Indeed, with about 65 percent of the precincts now reporting, Melancon and Vitter are far, far ahead of their rivals.
The state of Louisiana has seven congressional districts, but there are primary contests in only four of these districts – and only for one political party in some of those. Most Louisiana voters don’t have a choice for who will stand for them in the general election for the U.S. House of Representatives this November. The 1st, 6th, and 7th districts lack competitive primaries. In the 5th, 6th, and 7th districts, there is no Democratic candidate at all. Remember that these districts were never put into play by the Democratic Party when you read stories about the Republicans’ advantage this year. The Democrats certainly can’t win in districts where they don’t even bother to put forward a candidate.
In the 2nd congressional district, incumbent Joseph Cao, who won a special election to his seat just this year, faces no Republican challenger. There are four Democrats competing for the right to challenge Cao in the general election this year, however: Cedric Richmond, Juan LaFonta, Gary Johnson and Eugene Green. At this hour, only one fifth of precincts are reporting in this district, but the vote so far shows Richmond with almost a 45 percent lead over the other Democratic candidates. Update: With 100 percent of the vote counted, Richmond has maintained nearly a 40 point lead.
There is no contest for the Democratic nomination for the 3rd district seat, being vacated by Senate candidate Charles Melancon. Ravi Sangisetty is the only Democrat running. There are three Republicans contending for their party’s nomination in this district, though: Hunt Downer, Jeff Landry and Kristian Magar. 80 percent of 3rd district precincts are now reporting vote tallies, and Landry has a 15 percent lead, with Hunt Downer in second place. Update: Trailing by just over 13 points, Hunt Downer still has gained enough of the vote to take part in a runoff election against Jeff Landry.
Incumbent John Fleming, who has pledged to wage a battle against atheists in order to transform the United States into a “Christian nation, is the only Republican running in the 4th congressional district. Steven Gavi and David Melville are competing for the Democratic nomination. With 73 percent of precincts reporting, Melville seems the certain winner, with a lead of over 60 percent. Update: Melville won, 81 percent to 19 percent.
In the 5th district, incumbent Rodney Alexander, who turned coat several years ago and switched from the Democratic Party to the Republicans, is facing a primary challenge from Todd Slavant. Slavant’s campaign hasn’t gained much traction, however, and with only 92 percent of precincts reporting, has only earned 10.7 percent of the vote. In spite of Alexander’s betrayal of them, the Louisiana Democrats aren’t running a candidate to try to take this seat away from him. That’s a big zero percent for the 5th district Democrats.
