United States Senate election in Louisiana, 2014

United States Senate election in Louisiana, 2014

November 4 and December 6, 2014

Candidate Bill Cassidy Mary Landrieu Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 712,379 561,210 Percentage 55.93% 44.07%

Runoff results by Parish

U.S. Senator before election Mary Landrieu Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy Republican

The 2014 United States Senate election in Louisiana was held on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Louisiana. As no candidate won a majority of the vote, a runoff was held on December 6, 2014.

Incumbent Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu ran for re-election to a fourth term in office against Republican U.S. Representative Bill Cassidy and several other candidates.

Under Louisiana's jungle primary system, all candidates appear on the same ballot, regardless of party and voters may vote for any candidate, regardless of their party affiliation. Louisiana is the only state that has a jungle primary system (California and Washington have a similar "top two primary" system). Since no candidate received a majority of the vote in the primary election, a runoff election was held on December 6 between the top two candidates, Landrieu and Cassidy.^[1]

In the December 6 runoff, Cassidy defeated Landrieu by 56% to 44%, settling the fate of the final Senate seat of the 2014 midterm elections. Cassidy's victory gave the Republicans 54 seats in the 114th Congress.^[2] Cassidy became the first Republican to hold this seat since William P. Kellogg did so in 1883.

Background

Elections in Louisiana, with the exception of U.S. presidential elections, follow a variation of the open primary system called the jungle primary. Candidates of any and all parties are listed on one ballot; voters need not limit themselves to the candidates of one party. Unless one candidate takes more than 50% of the vote in the first round, a run-off election is then held between the top two candidates, who may in fact be members of the same party. This scenario occurred in the 7th District congressional race in 1996, when Democrats Chris John and Hunter Lundy made the runoff for the open seat, and in 1999, when Republicans Suzanne Haik Terrell and Woody Jenkins made the runoff for Commissioner of Elections.

Candidates

Democratic Party

Declared

• Wayne Ables^[3]
• Mary Landrieu, incumbent U.S. Senator^[4]
• Vallian Senegal^[5]
• William Waymire, retired Marine^[3][6]

Withdrew

• Raymond Brown, minister, civil rights activist and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1998 and 2002 (endorsed Landrieu)^[7][8]

Declined

• Edwin Edwards, former Governor of Louisiana and former U.S. Representative (running for LA-06)^[9]

Republican Party

Declared

• Bill Cassidy, U.S. Representative^[10]
• Thomas Clements, small business owner^[11]
• Rob Maness, retired U.S. Air Force Colonel^[12]

Withdrew

• Paul Hollis, State Representative^[13][14]

Declined

• Scott Angelle, member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission and former Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana^[15]
• Charles Boustany, U.S. Representative^[16]
• Jay Dardenne, Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana^[17]
• John Fleming, U.S. Representative^[18]
• Elbert Guillory, State Senator^[19]
• Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana^[20]
• Jeff Landry, former U.S. Representative^[21]
• Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council, former State Representative and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2002^[22]
• Phil Robertson, reality television star^[23]
• Buddy Roemer, former Governor of Louisiana, former U.S. Representative and candidate for President of the United States in 2012^[24]
• Chas Roemer, President of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and son of former Governor Buddy Roemer^[25]
• Steve Scalise, U.S. Representative^[16]
• Alan Seabaugh, State Representative^[26]

Libertarian Party

Declared

• Brannon McMorris, electrical engineer^[27]

Jungle primary

Endorsements

Mary Landrieu
Individuals Boysie Bollinger, former Chair of the Republican Party of Louisiana[28] Joe Canizaro, real estate developer and Republican fundraiser[28] Hillary Clinton, 67th United States Secretary of State, 2008 presidential candidate and then-potential 2016 presidential candidate[29] Organizations United States Chamber of Commerce[30]

Bill Cassidy

Politicians Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and candidate for President in 2012[31] Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas and candidate for President in 2008[31] Rick Perry, Governor of Texas and candidate for President in 2012[31] Kelly Ayotte, U.S. Senator (R-NH)[32] John Cornyn, U.S. Senator (R-TX)[31] David Vitter, U.S. Senator (R-LA)[33] Joseph Cao, former U.S. Representative (R-LA)[31] Henson Moore, former U.S. Representative (R-LA)[31] Danny Martiny, State Senate Majority Leader[31] Elbert Guillory, State Senator[31] Jack Donahue, State Senator[31] Robert Kostelka, State Senator[31] Mike Walsworth, State Senator[31] Conrad Appel, State Senator[31] State House Speaker Chuck Kleckley[31] State House Majority Leader Lance Harris[31] State House Assistant Majority Leader Alan Seabaugh[31] Erich Ponti, State Representative[31] Franklin Foil, State Representative[31] J. Rogers Pope, State Representative[31] Chris Broadwater, State Representative[31] Hunter Greene, State Representative[31] Scott Simon, State Representative[31] Joseph Lopinto, State Representative[31] Joe Harrison, State Representative[31] Clay Schexnayder, State Representative[31] Frank A. Hoffmann, State Representative[31] Valarie Hodges, State Representative[31] Sherman Q. Mack, State Representative[31] Cameron Henry, State Representative[31] John Schroder, State Representative[31] Paul Hollis, State Representative[31] Mert Smiley, Ascension Parish Assessor and former State Representative[31] Individuals Skip Bertman, former baseball coach and athletic director at LSU[31] Ben Carson, former neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins University; then-potential candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in the 2016 election[34]

Rob Maness

Politicians Sarah Palin, former Governor of Alaska and Republican nominee for Vice President in 2008[35][36][36] Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council and former State Representative[37] Individuals Phyllis Schlafly, activist[36] Mark Levin, activist[38][39] Organizations Americans for Legal Immigration PAC[36] Combat Veterans for Congress[36] Conservative Campaign Committee[36] Conservative Majority Fund[36] Eagle Forum[36] Family Research Council Action Political Action Committee[36] Madison Project PAC[40] Gun Owners of America[36] Marine Vet for Freedom[36] National Association for Gun Rights[36] National Defense PAC[36] National Pro-Life Alliance[41] Patriot PAC[36] Republican Liberty Caucus[36][42] Restore America's Voices PAC[36] Senate Conservatives Fund[36][43] Special Operations Speaks[36] Tea Party Express[36][44] Tea Party Leadership Fund[36] Western Representation PAC[36]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Mary Landrieu (D)	Bill Cassidy (R)	Paul Hollis (R)	Rob Maness (R)	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	October 30–November 1, 2014	1,003	± 3.1%	43%	35%	—	15%	1%	6%
NBC News/Marist	October 26–30, 2014	630 LV	± 3.9%	44%	36%	—	15%	1%	4%
		961 RV	± 3.2%	42%	35%	—	15%	1%	6%
Suffolk University	October 23–26, 2014	500	± 4%	36.4%	34.8%	—	11.2%	2.6%[45]	15%
University of New Orleans	October 11–24, 2014	590	± 4.1%	38%	33%	—	7%	1%	21%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov	October 16–23, 2014	1,316	± 5%	37%	32%	—	5%	5%[46]	19%
Rasmussen Reports	October 22–23, 2014	988	± 3%	43%	36%	—	13%	3%	6%
Multi-Quest International	October 14–19, 2014	605	± 4%	36%	32%	—	6%	3%	23%
Vox Populi Polling	October 13–14, 2014	546	± 4.2%	38%	38%	—	10%	6%[47]	8%
Rasmussen Reports	October 13–14, 2014	965	± 3%	41%	38%	—	14%	2%	5%
0ptimus	September 30–October 2, 2014	5,711	± 1.3%	37.8%	35.9%	—	17.7%	—	8.6%
Hickman Analytics	September 26–October 2, 2014	502	± 4.4%	39%	30%	—	6%	5%[48]	19%
Public Policy Polling	September 25–28, 2014	1,141	± 2.9%	42%	34%	—	12%	2%	10%
CNN/ORC	September 22–25, 2014	610 LV	± 4%	43%	40%	—	9%	4%	4%
		866 RV	± 3.5%	45%	35%	—	8%	6%	5%
Fox News	September 14–16, 2014	617	± 4%	31%	35%	—	7%	—	16%
Gravis Marketing	September 5–9, 2014	426	± 5%	45%	30%	—	14%	—	12%
Greenberg Quinlan Rosner	August 28–September 2, 2014	600	± 4%	47%	32%	—	13%	—	8%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov	August 18–September 2, 2014	870	± 5%	36%	38%	—	10%	3%[49]	11%
Senate Conservatives Fund	August 16–18, 2014	600	± 4%	43%	32%	—	16%	1%	8%
Public Policy Polling	June 26–29, 2014	664	± 3.8%	44%	27%	5%	8%	—	17%
Greenberg Quinlan Rosner	May 5–8, 2014	600	± 4%	48%	29%	8%	7%	—	8%
Southern Media & Opinion Research	April 28–30, 2014	600	± 4%	36%	35.4%	3.9%	7.1%	—	17.7%
New York Times/Kaiser Family	April 8–15, 2014	946	± ?	42%	18%	5%	4%	3%	27%
Harper Polling	April 7–9, 2014	538	± 4.22%	40%	35%	3%	4%	—	18%
Magellan Strategies	March 24–26, 2014	600	± 4.1%	39.3%	26.3%	3.4%	2.6%	—	28.4%
Public Policy Polling	February 6–9, 2014	635	± 3.9%	43%	25%	5%	3%	—	25%
Harper Polling	January 19–20, 2014	992	± 3.11%	42%	29%	4%	4%	—	20%
Southern Media & Opinion Research	November 6–12, 2013	600	± 4%	41%	33.8%	—	9.8%	—	15.5%
Public Policy Polling	August 16–19, 2013	721	± 3.6%	48%	24%	—	5%	—	23%

Results

Jungle primary results by parish

United States Senate election jungle primary in Louisiana, 2014^[50]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mary Landrieu (Incumbent)	619,402	42.08
	Republican	Bill Cassidy	603,048	40.97
	Republican	Rob Maness	202,556	13.76
	Republican	Thomas Clements	14,173	0.96
	Libertarian	Brannon McMorris	13,034	0.89
	Democratic	Wayne Ables	11,323	0.77
	Democratic	William Waymire	4,673	0.32
	Democratic	Vallian Senegal	3,835	0.26
Total votes			1,473,826	100

Runoff

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Mary Landrieu (D)	Bill Cassidy (R)	Other	Undecided
Rasmussen Reports	December 2–4, 2014	1,000	± 3%	40%	56%	—	4%
WPA Opinion Research	November 24–25, 2014	500	± 4.4%	33%	57%	—	10%
GEB International	November 20, 2014	850	± 3.36%	33.9%	59.8%	—	6.4%
JJMC Analytics	November 20, 2014	754	± 3.6%	40%	55%	—	5%
Rasmussen Reports	November 16–19, 2014	1,000	± 3%	41%	56%	—	3%
Vox Populi Polling	November 16–17, 2014	761	± 3.55%	42%	53%	—	5%
Gravis Marketing	November 12–14, 2014	643	± 4%	38%	59%	—	3%
Public Policy Polling	October 30–November 1, 2014	1,003	± 3.1%	47%	48%	—	5%
NBC News/Marist	October 26–30, 2014	630 LV	± 3.9%	45%	50%	1%	5%
		961 RV	± 3.2%	44%	49%	2%	6%
Suffolk University	October 23–26, 2014	500	± 4%	40.6%	48%	—	11.4%
University of New Orleans	October 11–24, 2014	590	± 4.1%	43%	51%	—	6%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov	October 16–23, 2014	1,316	± 5%	42%	46%	0%	12%
Rasmussen Reports	October 22–23, 2014	988	± 3%	46%	50%	—	4%
Multi-Quest International	October 14–19, 2014	605	± 4%	40%	43%	—	17%
Vox Populi Polling	October 13–14, 2014	546	± 4.2%	44%	48%	—	8%
Rasmussen Reports	October 13–14, 2014	965	± 3%	43%	52%	—	5%
Hickman Analytics	September 26–October 2, 2014	502	± 4.4%	45%	46%	—	9%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov	September 20–October 1, 2014	2,187	± 2%	41%	47%	0%	13%
Public Policy Polling	September 25–28, 2014	1,141	± 2.9%	45%	48%	—	7%
CNN/ORC	September 22–25, 2014	610 LV	± 4%	47%	50%	—	3%
		866 RV	± 3.5%	51%	45%	—	4%
Fox News	September 14–16, 2014	617	± 4%	38%	51%	—	9%
Gravis Marketing	September 5–9, 2014	426	± 5%	45%	45%	—	10%
Rasmussen Reports	September 2–3, 2014	800	± 3.5%	41%	44%	9%	6%
Greenberg Quinlan Rosner	August 28–September 2, 2014	600	± 4%	48%	46%	—	6%
Senate Conservatives Fund	August 16–18, 2014	600	± 4%	49%	43%	—	8%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov	July 5–24, 2014	1,456	± 3.5%	46%	47%	6%	2%
Rasmussen Reports	July 8–9, 2014	750	± 4%	46%	43%	5%	6%
Public Policy Polling	June 26–29, 2014	664	± 3.8%	47%	47%	—	6%
Magellan Strategies	June 5–8, 2014	719	± 3.65%	44%	50%	5%	1%
Greenberg Quinlan Rosner	May 5–8, 2014	600	± 4%	49%	49%	—	2%
Magellan Strategies	April 14–15, 2014	775	± 3.52%	42%	44%	10%	4%
Harper Polling	April 7–9, 2014	538	± 4.22%	43%	47%	—	10%
Voter/Consumer Research	February 20–25, 2014	600	± 4%	45%	44%	1%	9%
Hickman Analytics	February 17–24, 2014	404	± 4.9%	42%	46%	—	11%
Public Policy Polling	February 6–9, 2014	635	± 3.9%	45%	44%	—	10%
Rasmussen Reports	January 28–29, 2014	500	± 4.5%	40%	44%	5%	11%
Harper Polling	January 19–20, 2014	992	± 3.11%	44%	45%	—	11%
Public Policy Polling	October 14–15, 2013	632	± 3.9%	48%	41%	—	11%
Harper Polling	September 22–23, 2013	561	± 4.14%	46%	44%	—	10%
Public Policy Polling	August 16–19, 2013	721	± 3.6%	50%	40%	—	10%
Harper Polling	August 14–15, 2013	596	± 4.01%	45%	47%	—	8%
On Message Inc.	August 13–15, 2013	600	± 4.0%	45%	43%	—	12%
Harper Polling	April 6–7, 2013	541	± 4.21%	46%	41%	—	13%
Public Policy Polling	February 8–12, 2013	603	± 4%	50%	40%	—	10%

Results

United States Senate election runoff in Louisiana, 2014^[51]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Cassidy	712,379	55.93
	Democratic	Mary Landrieu (Incumbent)	561,210	44.07
Total votes			1,273,589	100
	Republican gain from Democratic

See also

• United States Senate elections, 2014
• United States elections, 2014

References

1. Jeremy Diamond, CNN (November 5, 2014). "Louisiana Senate race going to runoff - CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
2. Reid J. Epstein (December 7, 2014). "Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu Ousted in Louisiana Election by Republican Rep. Bill Cassidy". WSJ. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
3. "A look at candidates signed up for Nov. 4 election". KPLC. August 21, 2014. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
4. "Sen. Mary Landrieu plans to seek a fourth Senate term". NOLA. February 5, 2011.
5. "Senate race just getting started". Bayou Buzz. September 3, 2014. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
6. "Louisiana's long shot Senate candidates fight system for votes". nola.com. October 14, 2014. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
7. "Louisiana US Senate race: An online debate for the future". Bayou Buzz. August 28, 2014. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
8. "New Orleans preacher Raymond Brown disqualified from U.S. Senate race". nola.com. September 17, 2014. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
9. "It's official: Edwin Edwards is running for Congress". NOLA.com. March 17, 2014. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
10. Trygstad, Kyle (April 2, 2013). "Louisiana: Cassidy Challenging Landrieu". Roll Call. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
11. "Thomas Clements Announces Run for U.S. Senate in 2014". KATC. December 7, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
12. Trygstad, Kyle (May 15, 2013). "DeMint-Linked Group Eyes Louisiana Senate Candidate". Roll Call. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
13. "LOUISIANA". Politics1. December 23, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
14. Cahn, Emily (July 14, 2014). "Louisiana Senate Race Has One Fewer Republican". Roll Call. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
15. Gibson, Ginger (March 29, 2013). "Mary Landrieu's 2014 Playbook is Her Own". Retrieved March 31, 2013.
16. Alpert, Bruce (March 5, 2013). "Boustany and Scalise won't run against Landrieu in 2014, but others keep options open". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
17. Tagean Goddard (15 March 2013). "Dardenne Will Not Challenge Landrieu". Political Wire. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
18. Mimms, Sarah (April 4, 2013). "Fleming Won't Join Cassidy In La. Senate Run". National Journal. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
19. Alpert, Bruce (December 2, 2013). "State Sen. Guillory rules out run for U.S Senate, endorses Bill Cassidy". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
20. Catanese, Dave (November 11, 2012). "In 2014, GOP gets third crack at Senate". Politico. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
21. Kevin Allman (April 9, 2013). "Former La. Rep. Jeff Landry forms SuperPAC". Best of New Orleans. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
22. Mollie Reilly (January 22, 2013). "Tony Perkins Suggests He May Run For David Vitter's Senate Seat: 'I Never Say Never'". The Huffington Post. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
23. Jaffe, Alexandra (February 12, 2014). "'Duck Dynasty' patriarch rules out Senate run". The Hill. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
24. Meredith, Locke (February 6, 2013). "Buddy Roemer, Former Louisiana Governor, discusses how money has corrupted our political systems". YouTube. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
25. "Politics in 6th Congressional District already intense". HoumaToday.com. December 24, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
26. Kyle Trygstad (November 4, 2013). "Potential Senate Opponent Instead Backs Cassidy in Louisiana". Roll Call. Retrieved November 4, 2013.
27. Blum, Jordan (January 24, 2014). "Senate race now deemed a tossup". The Advocate. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
28. Parmentel, Lamar (April 11, 2013). "Mary Landrieu Lands Impressive Fundraising Quarter". The Daily Kingfish. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
29. O'Donoghue, Julia (October 28, 2014). "Hillary Clinton campaigns for Mary Landrieu on Nov. 1". Nola.com. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
30. Joe Nocera (July 25, 2014). "Chamber of Commerce Lost Its Way in Right Turn". The New York Times. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
31. "Endorsements". Bill Cassidy For Senate. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
32. "Senator Kelly Ayotte endorses Bill Cassidy". billcassidy.com. March 26, 2014. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
33. Deslatte, Melinda (August 24, 2013). "Bill Cassidy's ability to oust Mary Landrieu questioned". Shreveport Times. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
34. "Timeline Photos - National Draft Ben Carson for President Committee - Facebook". Retrieved December 17, 2014.
35. "Sarah Palin endorses Rob Maness for Louisiana U.S. Senate seat". NOLA.com. Retrieved 2014-07-26.
36. "Endorsements". Rob Maness for Senate. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
37. O'Donoghue, Julia (July 28, 2014). "Tony Perkins endorses Rob Maness in Louisiana's Senate race". NOLA.com. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
38. Levin, Mark (October 13, 2014). "Mark Levin endorses Rob Maness for Senate". Retrieved October 14, 2014.
39. Levin, Mark (October 13, 2014). "Rob Maness for Senate, Louisiana!". Retrieved October 14, 2014.
40. Jaffe, Alexandra (November 18, 2013). "Madison Project endorses Maness in Louisiana". The Hill. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
41. Harris, J. D. "Louisiana U.S. Senate Jungle Primary Election—November 4, 2014". National Pro–Life Alliance (MPLFCS14 9213686574). Springfield, Virginia: National Pro-Life Alliance.
42. Fri, 02/14/2014 - 20:39 (2014-02-14). "RLC Endorses Col. Rob Maness for U.S. Senate in Louisiana | Republican Liberty Caucus". Rlc.org. Retrieved 2014-07-26.
43. Glueck, Katie (October 28, 2013). "Louisiana Senate race 2014: Senate Conservatives Fund endorses Bill Cassidy challenger". Politico. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
44. "Cassidy edges closer to Landrieu in campaign cash in the bank for Louisiana's US Senate race". Daily Journal. 2014-07-15. Retrieved 2014-07-26.
45. Wayne Ables (D) 0.8%, Thomas Clements (R) 0.8%, Brannon McMorris (L) 0.6%, Vallian Senegal (D) 0.2%, William Waymire (D) 0.2%
46. Wayne Ables (D) 0%, Raymond Brown (D) 1%, Thomas Clements (R) 1%, Brannon McMorris (L) 3%, Vallian Senegal (D) 0%, William Waymire (D) 0%, Other 0%
47. Brannon McMorris (L) 2%, Other 4%
48. Wayne Ables (D) 0%, Thomas Clements (R) 1%, Brannon McMorris (L) 3%, Vallian Senegal (D) 0%, William Waymire (D) 1%
49. Thomas Clements 2%, Brannon McMorris 1%, Other 0%
50. "Official Election Results Results for Election Date: 11/4/2014". Louisiana Secretary of State. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
51. "Official Election Results Results for Election Date: 12/6/2014". Louisiana Secretary of State. Retrieved February 21, 2015.

External links

• Elections Division from the Louisiana Secretary of State
• U.S. Senate elections in Louisiana, 2014 at Ballotpedia
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org