Republican David Vitter

Republican David Vitter

On Saturday, New Orleans-based investigative reporter Jason Berry published a new interview with Wendy Ellis, a former prostitute who had previously claimed to have had a relationship with Republican Sen. David Vitter. In her sit-down with Berry, Ellis now says that in 2000, she became pregnant by Vitter, who she alleges told her to have an abortion. Ellis, who says she is coming forward because she is terminally ill, says she refused and put the child up for adoption. Vitter's gubernatorial campaign, unsurprisingly, flatly denies the allegations . There are also a number of inconsistencies in Ellis' story, as outlined by's Clancy DuBos, and Ellis has also offered no proof of her claims.

This story comes just days before the Oct. 24 jungle primary. Polls show Vitter and Democrat John Bel Edwards grabbing the two spots that would send them to a Nov. 21 runoff. Republicans Scott Angelle and Jay Dardenne lag behind Vitter, and they're very unlikely to catch up to Vitter unless he loses a significant amount of support by Saturday.

But whether this story is enough to damage his prospects is unclear, to say the least. Among other things, early voting began a week ago (and has now concluded), so the universe of voters who might be swayed by this interview is now more limited. And given the unsubstantiated nature of Ellis' charges, it's even possible they could boomerang and generate sympathy for Vitter, though no candidate for office enjoys questions like this. We'll know in a week whether Ellis' claims wind up having an impact on the race.

