Dropped: U.S. Senate candidate Troy Hebert has ended his lawsuit against a Baton Rouge polling firm. The Associated Press reports that Hebert, a former state Alcohol and Tobacco Control commissioner who is running without party affiliation, announced last month he was suing Southern Media and Opinion Research and pollster Bernie Pinsonat. Hebert says the firm’s May survey kept him out of two Senate race forums, but was flawed because it incorrectly described him as a Republican. Southern Media released a new poll last week that identified Hebert as an independent—and Hebert says that nullified the need for his lawsuit. The latest poll likely won’t help Hebert get invited to forums, however. It showed him with less than 1% support of voters surveyed. Twenty-four candidates are on the ballot for the Nov. 8 election.
Getting nowhere: The Senate today stumbled over a must-do bill to prevent the government from shutting down this weekend and to fund the flood recovery in Louisiana. As The Associated Press reports, Democrats, demanding money so that Flint, Michigan, can address its man-made water crisis, overwhelmingly opposed the measure, as did a host of the chamber’s most conservative members. Democrats say it’s unfair that the water crisis in Flint has gone on for more than a year with no assistance, while Louisiana and other states are getting $500 million for floods that occurred just last month.The 45-55 vote stalls the stopgap funding bill—for now at least—and is exasperating top Republicans like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who made several concessions to Democrats in weeks of negotiations over the measure. Read the full story.
Quick stop: The Republican Party is criticizing Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards for attending a fundraiser for his re-election campaign while on a Washington trip lobbying Congress for flood aid. The Associated Press reports the fundraiser was held at a lobbying firm office, hosted by former U.S. Sens. John Breaux, J. Bennett Johnston and Mary Landrieu, all Democrats. Jason Doré, state GOP executive director, says the fundraiser “took precious time” away from a trip aimed at building support for disaster relief. Edwards spokesman Richard Carbo says the Thursday evening fundraiser didn’t disrupt any of the governor’s meetings. The trip was originally planned for Edwards to speak at an education event, and the congressional talks were added after the flood. Carbo says the Edwards campaign, not the state, paid for hotel rooms the night of the fundraiser.
