THE EARLY CALL: Jefferson Re-elected

It appears that the shot in the arm from white boxes in Jefferson Parish did not materialize for Representative Karen Carter as Bill Jefferson has been re-elected to Congress in the Second District.

THE EARLY CALL: Cassidy Wins

In a senate district that is largely homogenous, it appears that Dr. William Cassidy has won in the primary a seat in the state Senate.

Precinct numbers indicate strong polling across the district with the sitting Representative trailing in most boxes.

Republicans stay home in Jefferson Parish

Key areas where Republican Joe Lavigne carried are in Jefferson's corner in Jefferson Parish.

The vote totals show a marked boycott by citizens uninterested in voting for either candidate.

Bill Jefferson had a large margin in Jefferson but few votes; Orleans to determine outcome.

(power outage at last work station caused this late report)

Jefferson WIns Absentee in Jeff.

Bill Jefferson carried the Jefferson Parish absentee 205 to 152. As Republican Joe Lavigne won the early voting in the primary, it is safe to assume that Republicans and conservatives heeded Sheriff Harry Lee's advice and stayed home.

Cassidy polling strong with 20% of the precincts in

We could have an upset in Baton Rouge and a possible omen of things to come for future legislators looking to move to another chamber on the advent of term limits.

Dr. Cassidy has maintained his absentee margin over Daniel with a fifth of the numbers in.

Cassidy has strong lead in absentee voting

In the BR Senate race, Dr. Bill Cassidy jumped to a quick lead on absentee voting, with a two-thirds share of the vote.

Generally absentee voting is considered an indication of the overall result of the race, though it should be noted that the last week of the campaign involved extremely personal and negative charges against State Rep. William Daniel that might have caused a backlash.

The Polls Are CLOSED!

Polls in Louisiana have closed. In Baton Rouge there is a contentious Senate election for the remaining time on newly elected Secretary of State Jay Dardenne's unexpired senate term.

The big one with national implications is Congressman Bill Jefferson's re-election bid against State Representative Karen Carter.

While both candidates are black Democrats, the opponents attempted to differentiate themselves by their biggest weaknesses: Carter's liberal voting record on social issues while Jefferson had to contend with bribery allegations and an investigation that recovered 90k of his "take" from his freezer.

Will post the first report at 8:30 PM CST.