GOP, Democrats battle in Louisiana for last open U.S. Senate seat

BATON ROUGE, La., Dec. 9 (UPI) — After a year full of campaign trips, attack ads and endless rhetoric that culminated in a bitterly divisive election, Republicans and Democrats are still making one last push for the final undecided race of 2016.

Voters in Louisiana will decide in a runoff who will take the state’s final open U.S. Senate seat — Democrat Foster Campbell or Republican John Neely Kennedy.

Kennedy and Campbell finished first and second, respectively, in the blanket primary on Nov. 8, which sent the two up for a runoff vote, scheduled for Saturday. Kennedy won 25 percent of the vote and Campbell 17.5 percent.

Democratic and GOP leaders are working to claim the seat for their party — and it’s the last chance for Democrats to snag a seat following an election that saw them soundly defeated in most U.S. congressional races.

President-elect Donald Trump traveled to Baton Rouge on Friday to back Kennedy.

“If you go to the polls, he’s going to win. If you don’t go to the polls, he’s not gonna win,” Trump said. “If he doesn’t win, I’ve got myself a problem in Washington.

“We need John in Washington, not only for a vote but for his leadership.”

Kennedy vacated his Senate seat in an unsuccessful bid to become Louisiana governor last year.

Democrats are also doing what they can to win the final political race of 2016.

Pollsters and experts expect Kennedy to win Saturday’s runoff vote, but it could be a close call.

“It’s close or [Kennedy] wouldn’t have Mr. Trump coming here,” Campbell said at one of three rallies he held Friday. “They want to win, I understand that. They think Mr. Trump is very popular in Louisiana, so they’ve asked him to come down to make sure they win.”

Republicans occupy 51 seats in the Senate, compared to 48 for the Democrats. A win in Louisiana wouldn’t give Democrats control, but it would sway some power and close the gap in a town where one vote can sometimes make a difference in congressional matters.

Louisiana decides their congressional races later than other states due to its “jungle primary” system, which treats the general election as a nonpartisan primary and sends the top two candidates, regardless of party affiliation, to a final vote in December.