In a diary this morning, UpstateDem bemoaned the first Democratic loss in this year's state House and Senate races in Louisiana. In the comment section, Annie Spell brought up the District 94 race for state rep, in which Deborah Langhoff has a chance to change a seat from red to blue.
I've already written diaries about the state GOP's hopes to flip the state legislature to Republic for the first time since Reconstruction (2/05/07) and Langhoff's candidacy for the 94th District seat (2/07/07).
Today, I want to ask for your specific help in this race. Join me la bas. . .
Okay, if you've come this far, I assume that a Blue Bayou State is important to you, and that you recognize this race could be pivotal in keeping the legislature Democratic. Here's step 1: go read Mike Stagg's MyDD diary from Thursday on the race. It's not too long and it gives good background on Deborah and an inkling of what the Bruneau dynasty is really working toward (hint: it's not the best interests of the flood victims of Lakeview, Lake Vista and Mid-City).
Go ahead, read Mike's diary. I'll wait. (Whistling. . .)
Finished? Good. For those who didn't read Mike's great summary, the gist is this: Deborah is a long-time, progressive, True Democrat, who's worked on campaigns the netroots cares about. Her chief opponent, Jeb Bruneau, is the son of the 32-year Republic incumbent, who, instead of concentrating on the dire needs of his flooded House district, surprised his constituents by announcing, on the eve of the legislative session, that he would retire and that we should all simply assign our loyalties to Jeb.
Now, here's step 2: Please help Deborah's campaign with a contribution, however small. The goal here is modest--just $3,000 to pay for a direct-mailing--and every little bit helps. We're up against an incredibly well-funded, incument-built machine over 30 years in the making, but, with the help of the netroots, we can leverage this one state house race into a narrow lock on a Democratic Louisiana legislature.
If you live in the New Orleans area, whether or not you're a resident of the district, please volunteer to canvas, phone bank, sign-wave, etc. Any help you can offer is deeply appreciated.
And, even if you can't get here, please consider contributing to this genuine, hard-working, progressive Democrat. Our Blue Bayou needs you!
More information, including a vital contributions page, can be found at ElectDeborah.com.