BATON ROUGE, La., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu said the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee "walked away" from her underdog fight for a fourth term.
Landrieu and Republican Rep. Bill Cassidy face off in Saturday's runoff election. During a campaign stop Tuesday, Landrieu suggested the DSCC has given up on her, while she credited some of her Democratic colleagues with helping her.
"I am extremely disappointed in the Democratic Senatorial Committee. I've said that. You know, they just walked away from this race," she said.
Landrieu came in first in the Nov. 4 primary with 42 percent of the vote. But Republicans, split between two candidates in the primary, are expected to unite behind Cassidy.
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In another good sign for Republicans, the Louisiana Secretary of State's Office reported this week that the number of people taking advantage of early voting dropped about 10 percent from the primary to the runoff, but the number of Republicans voting early was up 4 percent.
About 106,000 Democrats voted early, down from 129,000 for the November election. The Republican early vote went from 83,000 to 86,000.
"The turnout differential is now working against Landrieu because Republicans are headed to the polls even heavier than they did in the primary," Bernie Pinsonat, an independent pollster, told the Hill. "If you're looking for some layer of hope ... there's nothing out there."
Since the primary, Republicans have spent millions on Cassidy's campaign. The DSCC, instead, canceled ads already in the works.
If Landrieu loses, the Republicans will pick up a ninth Senate seat, adding to the party's victories in the midterms.
Landrieu, the daughter of former New Orleans Mayor Moon Landrieu and sister of the current mayor, appears to be a late victim of changing politics in the South. The region switched in a generation from being the most strongly Democratic area in the country to the most strongly Republican.
On Tuesday, Landrieu spoke to reporters after a rally in Baton Rouge. She praised senators like Cory Booker of New Jersey and Joe Donnelly of Indiana for campaigning in her state.
"My colleagues have not abandoned me," she said.
