10/12 Corridor Politics Are Shades Of Red And Blue
by Jeremy Alford (excerpt)

10/12 Weekly

From Calcasieu to Orleans, political ideologies of the 10/12 corridor are all over map, as evidenced by last week’s historic elections. Most notably, the region was split in its selection of a president and U.S. Senator.

The Lake Charles area, for instance, supported GOP nominee John McCain for commander-in-chief, but also propped up incumbent Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Democrat. Lafayette, meanwhile, continues to trend Republican and supported both McCain and state Treasurer John Kennedy.

In Baton Rouge, a surprising surge in Democratic votes has some questioning if the Capital City’s slow evolution to blue is happening faster than expected as it joins New Orleans as a hub for Democrats in Louisiana – both cities backed President-elect Barack Obama. And on the North Shore, St. Tammany and Tangipahoa parishes remain GOP strongholds.