Louisiana Dumps Landrieu

In what Politico calls "Dems' final insult" from Election 2014, Mary Landrieu lost her Senate seat last night, in a convincing defeat that denied a Louisiana political scion a fourth term, gave Republicans a 54th seat, and unceremoniously dumped what ABC News terms the "last vestige of Democratic representation from the Deep South." Landrieu, who had been expected to lose to Rep. Bill Cassidy in the runoff election despite having pulled out all the stops, managed only 43% of the vote, notes the Times-Picayune, due in large part to her inability to shake her ties to President Obama. The daughter of former New Orleans mayor Moon Landrieu and sister of current mayor Mitch Landrieu, the 59-year-old has held office in the state for nearly 35 years. (More Mary Landrieu stories.)