As Louisiana goes...

Politics | . . . So go the Democrats' hopes of winning | Bob Jones

President Bush's coattails will get a test on Dec. 4 when voters in two Louisiana congressional districts head to the polls, officially ending the long campaign season of 2004. National party leaders see the year's final two races as a chance for bragging rights—and, more importantly, as a barometer of the Democrats' future in the Southeast.

Louisiana's 7th Congressional District has never sent a Republican to Congress, so a GOP takeover there would make national headlines. The party's standard-bearer, Charles Boustany, is a wealthy heart surgeon who took 39 percent of the vote in a five-way primary on Nov. 2. But state Sen. Willie Mount kept the race close enough to force a head-to-head runoff. The Democratic candidate is touting her long government experience—and her traditional values—in attempting to win back Catholic voters who just weeks ago turned out overwhelmingly for President Bush.