Redstate

By Vladimir Posted in $90000 | 2008 | IN HIS FREEZER! | LA | William Jefferson — Comments (5) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Well, this should be entertaining.

Odds facing Rep. Jefferson's re-election bid grow longer

In a nutshell, in the district, Democrats have a 6-1 edge. This is the first time 'round for closed primaries and a Dem vs Repub runoff in the general. The three day qualifying period closes July 11.

State Sen. Karen Carter (D), who Jefferson narrowly beat in the last election, may or may not run. State Sen. Derrick Shepherd (D), who ran third, is facing Federal money-laundering charges and will not run.

The fallout [from the scandals revolving around Jefferson, his entire extended family, his political machine, and everyone in Orleans Parish named "Jefferson"] appears to have put a serious crimp in William Jefferson's fundraising. Heading into the 2006 election, he had a $325,000 war chest. Jefferson's latest finance report shows that as of March 31, he had $57,000 in the bank, plus more than $255,000 in debt. The latter sum included nearly $190,000 of his own money loaned to the 2006 campaign.

[snip]

With Jefferson enmeshed in controversy, challengers have begun to eye his seat, which represents most of New Orleans, most of Jefferson Parish's West Bank and parts of south Kenner. Though nearly a month remains before the July 9 start of the three-day qualifying period, state Rep. Cedric Richmond of New Orleans and Jefferson Parish Councilman Byron Lee announced last week that they are running. Former WDSU-TV news anchor Helena Moreno is expected to declare her candidacy July 8. All three are Democrats.

New Orleans political consultant Ron Nabonne said he expects Jefferson to recycle the 2006 script, reminding voters repeatedly that he has not been convicted of anything.

"If I were he (sic), I would say, 'Look at the Bush Justice Department and how they have gone after Democrats across the nation and gone after their own U.S. attorneys,' " Nabonne said. "I would say that these charges are baseless and politically motivated."

But pollster Bernie Pinsonat questioned whether the innocent-until-proven-guilty argument will be as effective this time around. "He's going to have to ask voters to buy in that his whole family should be presumed innocent of all these different charges," Pinsonat said. "Boy, that's a lot of people."