Democrat Mary Landrieu loses to Bill Cassidy in Louisiana runoff election Saturday Dec 06,2014

 

Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu has lost her reelection bid to Republican Congressman Bill Cassidy in a post-election season runoff mandated by Louisiana's bylaws.

 

With almost all the votes counted on Saturday night, unofficial returns shows Cassidy with an unassailable lead.

Landrieu, a three-term senator, was long expected to lose the high-profile showdown, as Cassidy polled an average of 17 points ahead of her throughout the last month.

Her defeat, confirmed shortly before 9pm, is a huge blow for one of Louisiana's most famous political families, leaving her brother, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, to carry the banner. 

But surrounded by her relatives at a New Orelans hotel, Landrieu struck an upbeat chord, telling her supporters: 'It's been a fight worth waging. Louisiana will always be worth fighting for.' 

With 66 % of the state's precincts reporting, Bill Cassidy led by over 162,000 votes on Saturday evening, boasting 59%  to Mary Landrieu's 41%

Runoff was mandated by Louisiana law requiring a face-off if one candidate was not able to claim 50 % of the vote on Election Day