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Mary Landrieu (D-La.)

U.S. Senator (since January 1997)

(Brendan Hoffman/
Getty Images)

Why She Matters

Landrieu, a third term Senator from Louisiana, comes from a powerful political family that includes former New Orleans Mayor Moon Landrieu, her father, and the state's lieutenant governor Mitch Landrieu, her brother.

Landrieu entered politics at the young age of 23 and ascended from state representative to state treasurer to U.S. senator, a position to which she was first elected in 1996.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: Louisiana Treasurer (1987 to 1996); Louisiana House of Representatives (1979 to 1988)
Birthday: November 23, 1955
Hometown: Arlington, Virginia
Alma Mater: Louisiana State University, B.A. 1977
Spouse: Frank Snellings
Religion: Catholic
DC Office: 328 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510-1803 202-224-5824

State Offices: Federal Building, Room 326, 707 Florida StreetBaton Rouge, LA 70801-1713, 225-389-0395; Hibernia Tower, Ste 1260, 1 Lakeshore Drive, Lake Charles, LA 70629, 337-436-6650; U.S. Courthouse, Ste. 2240, 300 Fannin Street, Shreveport, LA 71106, 318-676-3085; Hale Boggs Federal Building, Room 1005, 500 Poydras Street, New Orleans, LA 70130-3319, 504-589-2427
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Path to Power

Born in Arlington, Va., in 1955, Mary Landrieu is one of former New Orleans Mayor Moon Landrieu's nine children. As a child she regularly helped her father campaign and began to develop her leadership skills at New Orleans' Ursuline Academy High School, where she was elected class president. Landrieu graduated from Ursuline in 1973 and from Louisiana State University in 1977.

One year out of college and living back at home, Landrieu was unsure of her future. She considered working in Christian ministry before deciding to enter politics, where she immediately displayed the vigorous campaigning skills her family was known for.

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Landrieu became the youngest woman to be seated in the Louisiana legislature when she was elected to the State House in 1979. She easily won reelection in 1983. In the legislature Landrieu focused on women's issues, pushing through laws cracking down on deadbeat dads and protecting victims of domestic abuse.

In 1987 Landrieu was elected state treasurer. She had no opposition four years later and was reelected. As treasurer she built the support of business executives throughout the state.

In 1995, Landrieu ran for governor but came in third in the Democratic primary. Immediately thereafter she began to campaign for the seat of retiring Sen. Bennett Johnston (D-La.). Landrieu's campaign focused on the need for a balanced budget, a cut in the capital gains tax and a renewed emphasis on education. She edged Republican Woody Jenkins by 5,788 votes, with 50.2 percent of the vote. Jenkins sued, alleging voter fraud, but eventually withdrew his legal challenge.

In the Senate Landrieu began establishing a record as one of the chamber's more conservative Democrats. She supported such bills as Republican Sen. Sam Brownback's (Kan.) proposal to prohibit human cloning and President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act.

When Landrieu came up for re-election in 2002, the GOP had targeted her because of the closeness of her 1996 election and the strength Bush had shown in Louisiana in 2000. At first it appeared Landrieu's Republican opponent would be U.S. Rep. John Cooksey (R). But a week after Sept. 11, 2001, Cooksey ruined his campaign with a comment comparing turbans to diapers. The Bush White House didn't support Cooksey and he received no money from the Republican Party. Then two more Republicans State Rep. Tony Perkins and Elections Commissioner Suzanne Haik Terrell, entered the race in an attempt to force a runoff.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee began running ads that criticized Landrieu for voting to raise taxes. She responded by claiming that she supported the President 74 percent of the time. She won a plurality of votes, 46 percent, but not a majority as Louisiana law requires. The three Republicans combined to win 51 percent of the vote. Landrieu then defeated Terrell in the runoff with 52 percent of the vote.

Conservative Democrat

Landrieu has built a reputation as a conservative Democrat. She voted for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and supported the criminalization of killing unborn children. But she broke from the president and his party after September 2005 when Hurricane Katrina devastated parts of her state. In response to Bush's comment that nobody "anticipated the breach of the levees," she said, "Everybody anticipated the breach of the levees, Mr. President." In the months after the hurricane she became a strong advocate for the people of New Orleans.

She joined with fellow Louisiana Sen. David Vitter (R) to introduce the Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief and Economic Recovery Act of 2005, which asked Congress for $250 billion to rebuild New Orleans and surrounding areas. The act died in committee. Landrieu also vowed to block every one of the president's appointments in 2006 until he agreed to provide $6 billion to reconstruct levees. The Senate eventually approved the money.

When Democrats took over the Senate in 2007, Landrieu became chairman of the Disaster Recovery subcommittee of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. She also joined Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) as co-chair of the newly formed bipartisan Common Ground Coalition.

Again in 2006 the Republican party saw Landrieu as one of the most vulnerable Democrats. Her opponent was state Treasurer John Kennedy,who switched his party affiliation from Democrat in 2007. Landrieu painted Kennedy as a flip-flopper,unable to decide on party or position. She talked frequently about how her seniority would help her bring money to the state and used a $4 million advantage in campaign spending to blanket the state with ads.Landrieu won 52 percent to 46 percent.

The Issues

In the Senate, Landrieu is consistently ranked among the most conservative Democrats. In the 110th Congress, she voted with her party 83 percent of the time. Only Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) broke with Democrats more often. In March 2008 National Journal wrote that she was at the ideological center of the Senate.

Though Landrieu initially supported the war in Iraq, she has said that she would not have voted for it had she known in 2003 what she knows now. In 2007 she supported a resolution opposing the troop surge in Iraq.

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As an advocate for the oil industry operating out of her state, Landrieu has been called the "the most-fervent pro-drilling Democrat in the Senate." But her efforts in this area have also landed her on the League of Conservation Voters' "Dirty Dozen" list.

The Economy

In October 2008, Landrieu joined 24 other Senators in voting against the government's $700 billion bailout of Wall Street because she thought that it provided protection to Wall Street without helping ordinary Americans. "We need to make sure that any bill Congress passes not only protects Wall Street, but communities throughout the country, including rural communities, hard hit by these latest disasters," she said.

In February 2009, Landrieu supported President Obama's economic stimulus package after joining a group of five Republicans and 11 Democrats to craft a bill that would get the three Republican votes needed to prevent filibuster. After the bill passed, Landrieu praised it because she said, "The legislation directs billions of dollars to Louisiana projects and programs, and the state will benefit from additional tax relief for individuals and small businesses."

Gulf Coast Recovery

In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Landrieu fought to get the federal government involved in the reconstruction of the Gulf Coast. In 2006 she was partially responsible for landing $12 billion in hurricane relief. In 2008 the Senator's efforts led to $300 million in tax savings for businesses that invest in areas affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Landrieu has been a severe critic of FEMA. In July 2008 she denounced the agency for failing to meet Congressional deadlines to develop a disaster-housing plan She said it was a sign that FEMA wasn't prepared to respond to a major disaster any better than it was in 2005.This followed the Senator's efforts to require FEMA to test the trailers provided to hurricane victims for formaldehyde after complaints from residents.

Adoption

Before hurricane recovery was a concern, Landrieu's pet issue was adoption. Her first bill in the Senate was for a $5 million block grant for adoption services. She supports adoption tax credits and higher tax breaks for those who adopt special needs or foster children. She was also a key co-sponsor of a bill that provided citizenship for foreign-born children adopted by U.S. citizens.

Landrieu is co-chair of the Congressional Adoption Coalition and the mother of two adopted children.

The Network

As one of the Senate's more centrist members, Landrieu often works closely with other more moderate lawmakers, including Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), with whom Landrieu co-chairs the Common Ground Coalition, a group dedicated to improving communication between Senate Democrats and Republicans.

In 2005 Landrieu joined a Senate group called the Gang of 14 that helped forge a compromise on the use of judicial filibusters. The other members of that group were Snowe and Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Mike DeWine (R-Ohio), John McCain (R-Ariz.), Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), Ken Salazar (D-Colo.), and former Sens. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) and John Warner (R-Va.).

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Additional Resources