LA-02: With less than two weeks to go before the all-Democratic April 24 runoff, EMILY’s List has launched what Politico reports is a $341,000 TV buy in support of state Sen. Karen Carter Peterson. This appears to be the first negative TV commercial of the campaign directed against Peterson’s foe, fellow state Sen. Troy Carter, though a pro-Carter PAC recently launched a spot against Peterson. Carter led Peterson by a 36-23 margin during the March 24 all-party primary, but no one has released any polls since then that might indicate whether Carter still has an advantage for the second round of voting.
EMILY’s ad features a jazz band (this is a spot airing in New Orleans, after all) playing as the narrator argues that Carter is “out of tune”—here a saxophonist sounds a discordant note—and only “pretend[s] to be progressive.” The commercial goes on to declare that Carter is “endorsed by Republicans” (a statement that's followed by a harsh piano chord bringing the music to a halt) and that he “doesn’t support the Green New Deal.” By contrast, the narrator says, Peterson is the one who “is on beat with us” and praises her for "fighting for COVID relief and affordable healthcare for our community" as the band plays harmoniously.
Both Carter and Peterson are campaigning as ardent Democrats, but Peterson, who would be the first Black woman to represent Louisiana in Congress, is arguing she's the more liberal of the two. Notably, while Peterson has called for a Green New Deal, Carter merely characterized it as "a good blueprint" that won't be in place for a long time and that he doesn't support. Carter, for his part, has insisted he'd have a far easier time working with Republicans than Peterson, who is a former chair of the state Democratic Party.
Carter, as the EMILY ad points out, does indeed have some prominent Republican backers, including Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng. Those GOP supporters could be an asset to Carter if they can help him appeal to the district's bloc Republican of voters, but only if they don't cost him Democratic support; EMILY is hoping that its advertising will make it tough for Carter to strike that balance.
Both contenders also have some high-profile local Democrats in their corner. Carter is backed by former Rep. Cedric Richmond, who resigned in January to join the Biden administration, as well as East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome and Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams, who was elected last year on a platform emphasizing criminal justice reform. Peterson, for her part, has the support of Gary Chambers, a vocal progressive who took 21% in the first round in March, plus New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell.
Carter is also getting some help from American Jobs and Growth PAC, a conservative group that until now has never supported any Democrats. So far the PAC has reported deploying just $21,000, however, and with early voting already underway, it doesn’t have much time left to ramp up its spending if it wants to make an impact.