Voters in Louisiana elected Republican state Treasurer John Kennedy to the Senate on Saturday, strengthening the party’s control of the next Congress.
According to the Associated Press, Kennedy beat Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell, a Democrat, with more than 60 percent of the vote.
One day before voters headed to the ballots, Kennedy campaigned in the state with President-elect Donald Trump, who said a loss in Louisiana would pose “a problem in Washington” as he prepares to advance his agenda.
Trump secured nearly 60 percent of the vote in Louisiana last month, and Kennedy’s allies sought to tie the two together in paid messaging.
Saturday’s vote ended a runoff to replace outgoing Sen. David Vitter. Neither of them had received more than half of the vote on Nov. 8. in a race that had included two-dozen candidates, including Republican Reps. Charles Boustany and John Fleming.
With Louisiana’s Senate race complete, Republicans will carry a 52-48 majority into the 115th Congress.
