Louisiana and Mississippi may be getting a preview of what the national Republican Party has in store for the November presidential election. According to a story today on Politico.com , The National Republican Congressional Committee recently spent approximately $500,000 on ads painting Barack Obama as a tax and spend liberal and linking him to Don Cazayoux and Travis Childers, Democratic contenders in special Congressional elections being held in La. and Miss.
Polls have shown Cazayoux and Childers with a slight edge in the two races and the NRCC is betting that the Obama ads can help Republican contenders Woody Jenkins and Greg Davis close the gap. One ad features Cazayoux alongside Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and aks, “Is Obama right for Louisiana? Is Pelosi? You decide.” Democrats have questioned the guilt-by-association tactic, also noting that Obama remains highly popular among African American voters, which make up 30 percent of Louisiana's 6th District. At a briefing yesterday, NRCC Chairman Tom Cole told reporters that their polling shows only 37 percent of 6th District voters in Louisiana view Obama favorably, while 50 percent view him unfavorably. The NRCC has just commissioned a new poll to gauge what affect its Obama ads are having on the Congressional race.
Cazayoux and Jenkins have been engaged in a heated campaign to replace Congressman Richard Baker in the Baton Rouge-area 6th District, with heavy spending from national Republican and Democratic groups. The election is this Saturday.