Congressional Race Runoff Rivals Work To Shore Up Support
by Frank Donze and Michelle Krupa - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

After laying low for more than a week, the Democratic Party runoff candidates in the 2nd Congressional District are revving up their campaigns with high-profile events that reflect their bases of support.

Incumbent William Jefferson made the first move Monday, when he appeared at a Central City banquet hall surrounded by more than two dozen influential African-American ministers who pledged their support for the congressman's effort to win a 10th term even as he awaits trial on federal bribery charges.

Former TV news anchor Helena Moreno, the first-time candidate who finished second in the Oct. 4 primary, will follow suit today, when a group of prominent business executives, all of them white, hosts a $1,000-a-plate fundraiser for her at Palace Cafe in the French Quarter.

Jefferson and Moreno will square off in a Nov. 4 runoff, with the winner advancing to a Dec. 6 general election. With two-thirds of the district's voters registered as Democrats, the winner on Nov. 4 will be considered the prohibitive favorite against four political unknowns.