4 GOP congressmen from La. coasting to victory

Baton Rouge Rep. Bill Cassidy and three of his fellow Republican congressmen appear on track for easy re-election victories. They’ve drawn challengers who have raised little money and attracted no organized opposition from the Democratic Party. Along with Cassidy, U.S. Reps. Steve Scalise of Metairie, John Fleming of Minden and Rodney Alexander of Quitman are sitting on healthy campaign accounts for the Nov. 6 election—and they’ve had to spend little on advertising. None of their opponents has attracted enough money to meet the threshold to report fundraising, according to the most recent campaign reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. Most of the opposition is from Libertarians and candidates not registered with a political party, as the state Democratic Party continues to struggle. Republicans have gained significant ground in recent election cycles, and incumbent congressmen are difficult to oust once in office. “Right now, the Republican Party has run the table pretty much in Louisiana,” says Pearson Cross, chair of the political science department at the UL Lafayette. “There’s no other party, so the incumbents are sailing back into office with only token opposition.” The Associated Press has the full story here.