Tug-of-war was a close battle to the end

Associated Press Writer

Though Hurricane Katrina disturbed life for thousands of Louisiana residents and shredded miles of property, the storm wasn’t expected to shake up the political scene in most of Louisiana’s congressional districts.

Five of the state’s seven incumbent congressmen weathered Katrina with what appears to be little more than token opposition. And the only two congressmen who were considered at all vulnerable in the Nov. 7 election couldn’t really point to the hurricane for their problems.

One, U.S. Rep. Charlie Melancon, is a first-term congressman who squeaked into his post two years ago and was expected to face a tough re-election from the start. The other, U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, is embroiled in a grand jury investigation involving bribery.

The main challenger to Melancon, D-Napoleonville, again was state Sen. Craig Romero, a Republican from New Iberia who narrowly missed the runoff for the 3rd District seat in 2004. Melancon won by fewer than 600 votes in the conservative district that year.

The race in the Katrina-devastated area turned bitter, with Romero and Melancon accusing each other of dishonesty and unethical behavior. Romero also painted Melancon’s record as one of little success.

Romero seems to have campaigned nearly since Melancon was elected, but he didn’t built much traction, said Glenn Antizzo, a political scientist at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, in the heart of the 3rd District.

“I don’t think he’s been able to break away since last time around,” Antizzo said a week before Tuesday’s election.

Melancon has had a significant cushion in polls released by both campaigns last week, but Baton Rouge pollster Bernie Pinsonat said Melancon’s fight was to keep lesser-known candidates from winning enough support to force a Dec. 9 run-off.

Melancon’s worries had less to do with Romero and more to do with ties to the national Democratic Party, said Pinsonat, who isn’t involved in the congressional campaigns.

“You don’t want the national Democrats down here campaigning for you. They’re more unpopular down here than President Bush,” Pinsonat said.

Romero’s campaign talked of family values and conservatism while trying to tie Melancon to “liberal” Democrats. But Melancon’s voting record is more like that of a moderate Republican, according to Antizzo. The congressman recently was endorsed by the National Rifle Association.

“I have a record of voting, and a bipartisan record of voting, and voting sometimes for the other side when my party would rather me vote for them,” Melancon said.

In many ways, Melancon, a former sugar cane lobbyist, gained a stronger identity and presence after Katrina devastated large stretches of the mainly rural district that covers all or part of 13 parishes in south Louisiana.

The district ranges from fishing hamlets wiped out by Katrina to Cajun country in south-central Louisiana. And Melancon was visible after the storm, bringing supplies and fighting for recovery dollars, images he showed in his campaign ads.

“Melancon has proven to a lot of people’s satisfaction that he is capable of delivering the goods,” Antizzo said.

But Romero said Melancon spent too much time laying blame and not enough time working to improve emergency response and repair Louisiana’s coast; Romero considered that the most critical issue for the district.

“He’s not a team player, and we’re suffering as a result,” Romero said of Melancon.

Romero said his experience as Iberia Parish President after Hurricane Andrew more than a decade ago gave him a background in hurricane response and recovery efforts. He touted his working relationship with Louisiana’s popular U.S. Sen. David Vitter, a Republican, as a way to improve hurricane recovery.