Montage opening into Election Night scene “Senator Mary Landrieu.” “If Senator Landrieu were to lose in this election, it would be tragic.” “The Democratic Party is toxic. The State is a shade of fire-engine-red.” “Whoa!” “Does she have a chance at all you think?” WORKING TITLEs: RUNOFF: A Democrat’s Last Stand Act I: Mary Landrieu’s Toughest Race Mary Landrieu, on stage: “We have the race that we want. And, Bill Cassidy, you cannot run, you cannot hide anymore. This race is starting tonight.” Jonathan Martin: MARY LANDRIEU IS THE 3 TERM DEMOCRATIC SENATOR FROM LOUISIANA — WHO IS RUNNING AGAINST GOP CONGRESSMAN BILL CASSIDY. LOUISIANA HAS AN OPEN PRIMARY SYSTEM, AND NEITHER CANDIDATE MANAGED TO GET 50% OF THE VOTE IN NOVEMBER. SO THE RACE HAS COME DOWN TO A RUNOFF ELECTION HELD ON DECEMBER 6, AND LOUISIANA VOTERS ARE ENJOYING AN EXTRA-LONG CAMPAIGN SEASON. TEN YEARS AGO THE STATE WAS CONSIDERED BLUE. BUT THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE THERE HAS SHIFTED - AND IT NOW MIRRORS THE REST OF THE DEEP SOUTH AS A REPUBLICAN STRONGHOLD. THE QUESTION IS: CAN A CANDIDATE LIKE MARY LANDRIEU SURVIVE IN THAT CLIMATE? THIS RUNOFF MAY BE *THE* RACE OF HER CAREER. Mary Landrieu, on stage (fading out): “This race is about the future of Louisiana...[fade out]” Amy Jeffries, WRKF Reporter: “This is inside on WRKF, I am Amy Jeffries. We have gone immediately from a primary campaign to a runoff campaign. Jeremy Alford, publisher of LA Politics Dot Com. How are you holding up? Jeremy Alford: “I am tired. I was ready for the primary to come and go. Now we gotta get through the post game. Amy Jeffries, WRKF Reporter: “No rest for the weary, neither for voters suffering through more ads. Based on what happened on Tuesday, it looks neck-to-neck. But the prevailing wisdom here is that it’s advantage Cassidy in the runoff. Why, why is that?” Jeremy Alford at WRKF: “This is the crest of a conservative wave that has been building for quite some time in Louisiana, and you really gotta wonder when Democrats will be able to resurface, when that pendulum is going to swing. I asked a consultant about it not long ago...[fades out].” Jeremy Alford: “I think we are all eager to see what happens with Mary Landrieu. Not only is she part of this political dynasty that lives in the imagination of the state. She is also the last statewide elected democratic official.” Dean Baquet, Executive Editor of The New York Times: “You could not exaggerate how big of a deal the Landrieu family is in New Orleans. Mary Landrieu’s father Moon Landrieu was elected mayor while I was a high school student in New Orleans. And her brother Mitch Landrieu is now the mayor of New Orleans. Landrieu transformed city government in New Orleans. He was one of the first people to appoint a black executive assistant, the equivalent of black cabinet members. He gave high ranking jobs to blacks, and he gave large contracts to blacks. That was the start of the dynasty. And if you look at the fact that his son is the white mayor of a predominantly black city, I think that shows just how powerfully the name carries even today.” PBS Profile of Mary Landrieu: “She looks like somebody’s kid sister or a page delivering a message to a state representative. But in this case 25-year-old Mary Landrieu is the state representative.” Jeremy Alford: “Mary Landrieu’s elected journey started in 1979. It first lead her through the state house, as treasurer, and eventually to Congress. She has had a very long time to build her brand. Jeremy Alford: “But Katrina was the point where Landrieu stood on her own. she delivered disaster recovery dollars. And I think for folks in that community, folks in New Orleans, she became part of that larger legacy.” Voter Interview NOLA C: “We know what Mary Landrieu can do. She has proven herself. She has been there for us. She has been there with us. She walks hand in hand with us. She cried with us. ‘Cause, you know, we done been through some serious times in New Orleans.” Mary Landrieu, press availability after voting: “I have now worked with three presidents, four majority leaders and six governors. I have worked with presidents that are Republicans and Democrats.” Voter Interview NOLA A: “I think of her as being a very moderate Democrat. She isn’t as progressive as I’d like her to be. On issues of the environment. So find it very baffling that there is so much opposition to her, given that she has been so friendly to the oil industry.” Act II: Bill Cassidy, and Louisiana’s Changing Politics NAT//Crowd shouting: “Bill, Bill, Bill... Bill Cassidy, on election night: “Woah!” MOS 1: “I decided to vote for Dr. Cassidy, because he is a Republican. I felt like Cassidy was in Congress. He was a representative. Move him over for a term or two in the Senate. Maybe we will get some change.” MOS 2: “Hard work. Character. You know, all those kind of things. Traditional values.” MOS 3: “Although I am an independent, I find his fiscal policies in line with mine. I am not too crazy about his social policies, but I am willing to work with him.” Pearson Cross: “As a Congressman Bill Cassidy hasn’t been around that long. His record has not been as conservative as it might be.” TK: Cassidy Campaigning, soundbite: TK Pearson Cross: “People have said about his past that he gave money to Senator Landrieu’s campaign in the past, which of course he did. That he authored his own version of the affordable care act, which could be argued. But in this election climate he has run as a solidly conservative Southern state Republican and made it very clear that he plans to govern that way if elected.” TK: Cassidy campaigning, soundbite: TK Jeremy Alford: “The Republicans did a very good job of crafting a race that is a referendum on Barack Obama. That left Bill Cassidy to tie Mary Landrieu to Barack Obama through things like the Affordable Care Act.” Bill Cassidy, during media-availability prior to voting: “I think we will have more than enough time to ask Senator Landrieu why she supports President Obama 97 percent of the time, would vote for Obamacare again tomorrow, even though it is raising rates most recently by 20 percent on top of many other 20 percents prior to that.” Pearson Cross, teaching class: “Does she have a chance, you think? Anybody think she have a chance?” Pearson Cross: “Louisiana politics has changed a great deal. If you go back 10 years, and you look around the state you would see a state with a democratic controlled house, a democratic controlled senate, most statewide elected officials were Democrats. Pearson Cross: “I am sure that’s what they are thinking up there, ‘How can we change this?‘.” Pearson Cross: “If you move up to the election of Barack Obama and beyond, you see a state that is very quickly moving away from the Democratic party and towards the Republican party. Pearson Cross: “One of the biggest issues has been the migration of French Arcadian Catholic voters to the Republican party. Gradually Catholics started to listen to the abortion message, and that issue started to become a preeminent issue. And as it did, they started to move then they started to move to the Republican party, making Louisiana much more like the rest of the South.” Pearson Cross: “So now you are starting to see a Democratic Party in Louisiana that is majority black and is starting to be majority black and is starting to be very, very less conservative than the Republican party, which is now almost entirely white and is very, very conservative. Jason Williams: “At a time when we have her as our only statewide elected Democrat, it’s very important that we can keep her in place so that she can help us. I know that a lot of the Republicans are very conservative, and they believe that we need less government involvement. But you also need to make sure that you have jobs and opportunity. You want to have a safe place to live, which means creating real opportunities for the people that live in areas that may be impoverished. Which means delivering on economic development opportunities that are going to provide real jobs. And Mary has done that. I think it’s frustrating that someone who has delivered so much is even in a race right now.” Act III: Landrieu’s Hail Mary Jeremy Alford: “Some of the biggest revenue generating measures coming down from the federal government have Mary Landrieu’s fingerprints all over it, from federal recovery money for Hurricane Katrina and Rita to offshore energy royalty sharing programs that we share with other oil producing states. Mary Landrieu, at Pellegrin Energy event: “It is my great joy to represent this industry, to represent the people of this state, and to fight for them in a place where they are not very well understood.” Jonathan Martin: IN MID NOVEMBER, JUST WEEKS BEFORE THE RUNOFF, DEMOCRATS TRIED A HAIL MARY PASS TO SAVE THEIR FELLOW SENATOR, BY PUSHING A VOTE ON THE KEYSTONE PIPELINE, EVEN THOUGH IT’S NEVER BEEN VERY POPULAR WITH THE PARTY. THE GOAL WAS TO EMPOWER SENATOR LANDRIEU, BECAUSE THE PIPELINE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A PASSION OF HERS, AND IT’S OBVIOUSLY WILDLY POPULAR IN THE OIL AND GAS ECONOMY OF LOUISIANA. MY COLLEAGUES REPORTED ABOUT HOW SHE HELD MEETING AFTER MEETING. SOMETIMES EVEN ON THE VERGE OF TEARS, HOPING TO GARNER ENOUGH SUPPORT. THE SENATE VOTE WAS HELD ON NOVEMBER 18. Elizabeth Warren: “... the sixty vote threshold having not been achieved, the bill is not passed.” IT WAS A MAJOR SETBACK. BUT, SENATOR LANDRIEU REMAINS DEFIANT. Mary Landrieu, post Keystone press conference: “My experience is still available. My chairmanship of this committee until the end of this Congress is still very valuable to the people of Louisiana. [Insert text box or fade to black for text while continuing audio:]* Voters in Louisiana will elect their next Senator on Saturday, December 6. The latest polls show Bill Cassidy with a 15 point lead over Mary Landrieu. Mary Landrieu, post Keystone press conference: “And when I get back here as ranking member, with 18 years of experience, having worked with three presidents, six governors and four majority leaders of all different parties, to represent the people of my state is valuable in itself.”