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CNN Sunday Morning
Landrieu Wins Louisiana Runoff
Aired December 08, 2002 - 08:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The battle of the bayou is over, and Democrats won. Senator Mary Landrieu keeps her Louisiana Senate seat after a bitter race that saw the White House launch an all-out campaign for Republican Suzanne Terrell. Landrieu's victory dashed Republican hopes of adding another seat to the Senate majority they hold. CNN's Candy Crowley has more from New Orleans.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give it up for Mary Landrieu!
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The good time roll of the Bush White House went only so far as Louisiana.
SEN. MARY LANDRIEU (D), LOUISIANA: The light has shown that the Democratic Party is alive and well and united.
CROWLEY: In a December runoff election, Democrat Mary Landrieu won another six years in the U.S. Senate, turning back a well-funded, sharp-edged campaign by Republican Suzy Terrell.
SUZY TERRELL: This election was not about me. It was not about Mary Landrieu. It was about the people of Louisiana.
CROWLEY: And it was about George Bush, the president, with the political Midas touch. Looking to pad the Senate majority he won last month, the president was hands on again in the bayou race. Playing off his 60-plus approval rating in the state, Bush raised money and dispatched family, staff and friends in hopes of sending a Louisiana Republican to the U.S. Senate for the first time in more than a century.
But no history making this night.
LANDRIEU: Labels is not what we send to Washington. We send leaders to Washington.
CROWLEY: One of the few Democrats to successfully swim upstream against the 2002 Republican tide, Landrieu won with occasional reminders that she has often backed the president, a focus on local issues and a healthy assist from her core base of black voters.
In fact, the president's November success likely contributed to his December disappointment, stirring up Democrats wanting to knock him back, as much as Republicans looking to hold him up. (on camera): Clearly Landrieu has given Democrats good reason for holiday cheer, but there is a new year' reality that hasn't changed. Come January, Republicans will still take control of the U.S. Senate.
Candy Crowley, CNN, New Orleans.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 8, 2002 - 08:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The battle of the bayou is over, and Democrats won. Senator Mary Landrieu keeps her Louisiana Senate seat after a bitter race that saw the White House launch an all-out campaign for Republican Suzanne Terrell. Landrieu's victory dashed Republican hopes of adding another seat to the Senate majority they hold. CNN's Candy Crowley has more from New Orleans.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give it up for Mary Landrieu!
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The good time roll of the Bush White House went only so far as Louisiana.
SEN. MARY LANDRIEU (D), LOUISIANA: The light has shown that the Democratic Party is alive and well and united.
CROWLEY: In a December runoff election, Democrat Mary Landrieu won another six years in the U.S. Senate, turning back a well-funded, sharp-edged campaign by Republican Suzy Terrell.
SUZY TERRELL: This election was not about me. It was not about Mary Landrieu. It was about the people of Louisiana.
CROWLEY: And it was about George Bush, the president, with the political Midas touch. Looking to pad the Senate majority he won last month, the president was hands on again in the bayou race. Playing off his 60-plus approval rating in the state, Bush raised money and dispatched family, staff and friends in hopes of sending a Louisiana Republican to the U.S. Senate for the first time in more than a century.
But no history making this night.
LANDRIEU: Labels is not what we send to Washington. We send leaders to Washington.
CROWLEY: One of the few Democrats to successfully swim upstream against the 2002 Republican tide, Landrieu won with occasional reminders that she has often backed the president, a focus on local issues and a healthy assist from her core base of black voters.
In fact, the president's November success likely contributed to his December disappointment, stirring up Democrats wanting to knock him back, as much as Republicans looking to hold him up. (on camera): Clearly Landrieu has given Democrats good reason for holiday cheer, but there is a new year' reality that hasn't changed. Come January, Republicans will still take control of the U.S. Senate.
Candy Crowley, CNN, New Orleans.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
