IT'S OFFICIAL

GOP Rival Beats Louisiana's Landrieu

Bill Cassidy makes it 54 Republicans in the Senate.

To rub extra salt in the Democrats' midterm wounds, Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana officially lost her Senate seat to her Republican challenger, Bill Cassidy, on Saturday. Landrieu, who served in the Senate for 18 years, had a small edge over Cassidy in the November midterm multicandidate primary. However, Saturday's runoff was not particularly close. With 96 percent of precincts reporting, the Times-Picayune said Cassidy nabbed 57 percent of the vote. Cassidy hammered Landrieu by tying her to the Obama administration, especially with the Affordable Care Act. "A vote for her is a vote for him" and "Remember: Mary Landrieu... Barack Obama... 97 percent” were repeated Cassidy campaign messages. Landrieu's loss means that for the the first time Louisiana will not have a single serving Democratic senator in 138 years.