By Byron York | December 6, 2014

If federal dollars could buy a Senate seat, Louisiana's Mary Landrieu would have been celebrating re-election rather than conceding defeat Saturday night.

Much has been written about the national Democratic Party's decision to abandon Landrieu in her runoff against Republican Rep. Bill Cassidy. There's been a lot of talk about Landrieu's futile struggle to distance herself from President Obama. And her lonely role as a disappearing southern Democrat.

But there's been less attention paid to something that was absolutely central to Landrieu's re-election bid: Her effort to shower Louisiana in election-year federal largesse. As polls showed her in a difficult race, Landrieu tossed taxpayer dollars right and left, looking to buy enough support to get herself over the finish line one more time.

Landrieu's fundamental argument for her re-election was that she "delivers" for Louisiana. Everybody knew what that meant. And in case they didn't, month after month, Landrieu's Senate website announced the awarding of new federal grants to her constituents. Here is a selection from just the last six weeks of the campaign:


Landrieu Delivers $19 Million for La. Crawfish Industry; largest single payout ever received by crawfish farmers and fisherman.

Landrieu Announces $9M to Improve New Orleans Roads Damaged During Katrina.

Landrieu Announces $1.37M Grant for the New Orleans Family Center of Hope.

Landrieu Announces Start of Flood Insurance Refunds to La. Homeowners.

Landrieu Announces $200K USDA Grant for Coastal Communities Consulting, Inc.

Landrieu Announces $1.8M For NOPD.

Landrieu Announces $2.4M Job Training Grant for Delgado Community College.

Landrieu Announces $2.4M Job Training Grant for BPCC.

Landrieu Announces $22M Grant to LSU for National Homeland Security Preparedness Training.

Landrieu Announces $83M For North Terminal Project at New Orleans International Airport.

Landrieu Announces $1.8 Million Grant For GEAR UP Program in Lafayette.

Landrieu Announces $59K Grant to Support Hammond Firefighters.

Landrieu Announces $500K for Four Louisiana Parishes Supporting Drug-Free Programs.

Landrieu Announces More than $18M for La. Airports.

That went on for month after month. And it wasn't just handouts of money. Many municipalities in Louisiana still had outstanding Federal Emergency Management Agency loans dating back to Hurricane Katrina. As Landrieu saw a tough re-election race approaching, she worked loan forgiveness into a Homeland Security bill. And then she crowed about debts being forgiven all around the state, courtesy of Louisiana's senior senator.

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