rep. charles boustany endorsed state treasurer john kennedy in his state's senate runoff election. | getty by kevin robillard and burgess everett 11/15/16 01:21 pm est louisiana republican rep. charles boustany is endorsing state treasurer john kennedy ahead of a december runoff for the state's senate seat, a move that could help the senate gop lock down 52 seats next year. the republican louisiana congressman narrowly missed the two-way runoff, coming in third behind kennedy and democrat foster campbell. republicans had been worried that boustany wouldn't endorse kennedy, given how important the seat is for enacting the gop's agenda. story continued below "republicans who care about the future of our country need a republican in the senate who will work with donald trump to roll back the failed liberal policies of president obama," boustany said. "i endorse john kennedy and urge all my supporters to cast their vote for him." at a closed-door fundraiser in washington on tuesday morning attended by senate majority leader mitch mcconnell, kennedy told attendees that boustany is a <u+201c>good man<u+201d> and that he is working on an endorsement from the longtime house member. boustany's delayed endorsement stands in stark contrast to rep. john fleming (r-la.), an outspoken conservative who was also drummed from the senate race. but fleming is helping kennedy raise money, republicans said. in louisiana<u+2019>s 2015 gubernatorial race, centrist candidate jay dardenne was defeated in the primary but refused to endorse sen. david vitter (r-la.), whose retirement from the senate sparked this year's battle for his seat. dardenne endorsed democrat and eventual winner john bel edwards, raising alarm in the deep red state that republicans may not be as safe as they<u+2019>ve often seemed. senate republicans remain confident that they are favored to win louisiana, but they are taking no chances, opening 10 offices in the state, according to the advocate, a louisiana-based newspaper. thus far, national republicans seem unlikely to run ads there. national democrats are also signaling little interest in spending in bayou state. campbell's campaign was hoping to woo boustany. <u+201c>mr. boustany showed great character and integrity throughout the primary election, and it<u+2019>s not a surprise that he may wish to distance himself from the corrupt pay-to-play politics of john kennedy, david vitter, and bobby jindal,<u+201d> said mary patricia wray, a spokeswoman for campbell. the stakes for mcconnell are high: if his majority is only 51 seats, just two gop defectors could cripple his and trump<u+2019>s agenda <u+2013> particularly on controversial confirmations. by michael grunwald by bill scher by thomas wright by joshua zeitz
rep. boustany endorses kennedy in louisiana senate runoff - politico
kevin robillard burgess everett michael grunwald