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Vitter has acted as if Melancon had already entered the race. He has posted anti-Melancon videos on his Senate campaign Website and regularly has been critical of Melancon in his town hall meetings on health care, which prompted Louisiana Democratic Party officials to file a complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee.
State Republican Party Chairman Roger Villere said, “Today, Barack Obama and liberal Democrats in Washington got their man, but voters in Louisiana arent looking to send a rubber stamp for Obamas agenda to the U.S. Senate.
He claims Charlie Melancon’s rhetoric doesn’t match his record and he’s too liberal for Louisiana.”
Villeres counterpart, Louisiana Democratic Party Chair Chris Whittington, said, As a proud family man and experienced small business owner, Charlie Melancon represents the best traditions of our party and best hopes for our state. It’s time the people of Louisiana had a senator they could be proud of again, referring to national attention to Vitters relationship with a prostitute.

See the full article from “The Daily Advertiser”

Melancon’s Senate candidacy appears to ensure a competitive Democratic bid to oust Vitter — who won the seat in 2004 and is seeking a second term — though it also puts at risk the Democrats’ hold on the strongly conservative south-central 3rd District that Melancon has represented since 2005.
“I’m announcing my candidacy for the U.S. Senate to replace David Vitter because Louisiana deserves better,” Melancon said in an Internet video e-mailed to supporters. “Louisiana needs a different approach. More bi-partisan. More disciplined. More honest and with a whole lot more common sense.”
Democrats have consistently argued that Vitter is vulnerable for 2010, in part because of the scandal he faced after the 2007 revelation that his name was in the phone records of a Washington, D.C., escort service associated with prostitution. And Melancon — a leader of the Blue Dog Coalition of conservative-leaning House Democrats — provides the party with a formidable opponent for Vitter.

See the full article from “CQPolitics.com”

Three-term Congressman Charlie Melancon, D-Napoleonville, announced today that he’s running for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Republican David Vitter.
Melancon, 61, former president of the American Sugar Cane League, a lobbying group, described himself as “pro-life, pro-gun Southern Democrat.”
The announcement was made in an Internet video mailed this morning to his supporters.
The election will be held in fall 2010.
In the video, Melancon said he’s a “proud family man, the father of two great children,” noting that he and his wife, Peachy, “celebrated our 37th wedding anniversary just last week.” His family ties are likely be an emphasis for Melancon because of Vitter’s 2007 admission that his phone number had appeared on the list of a Washington, D.C., escort service years earlier and that he had committed a “very serious sin.”

See the full article from “The Times-Picayune – NOLA.com”

Melancon’s Senate candidacy appears to ensure a competitive Democratic bid to oust Vitter — who won the seat in 2004 and is seeking a second term — though it also puts at risk the Democrats’ hold on the strongly conservative south-central 3rd District that Melancon has represented since 2005.
“I’m announcing my candidacy for the U.S. Senate to replace David Vitter because Louisiana deserves better,” Melancon said in an Internet video e-mailed to supporters. “Louisiana needs a different approach. More bi-partisan. More disciplined. More honest and with a whole lot more common sense.”
Democrats have consistently argued that Vitter is vulnerable for 2010, in part because of the scandal he faced after the 2007 revelation that his name was in the phone records of a Washington, D.C., escort service associated with prostitution. And Melancon — a leader of the Blue Dog Coalition of conservative-leaning House Democrats — provides the party with a formidable opponent for Vitter.

See the full article from “CQPolitics.com”

FreedomWorks, one of the most active conservative organizations opposing President Obama’s health care reform plan, had him on its shortlist of town hall targets heading into the August recess. On the other side of the spectrum, the congressman was pressured to back the Obama plan in ads from Organizing for America, the president’s campaign arm at the Democratic National Committee, and Health Care for America Now, the coalition of union and other liberal groups that has provided the major third-party support for the proposal.
Vitter, who weathered a very public prostitution scandal earlier in his term, is currently considered to have the edge over any potential Democratic opponent, including Melancon — who won last cycle in a district where six in 10 voters supported John McCain, a fact which may turn his former seat into a likely GOP pickup. In the first half of the year, the Democrat built up a $1.2 million warchest to take on Vitter in 2010.

See the full article from “CNN Political Ticker”

Melancon, the only Democratic member of Louisiana’s House delegation, is in his third two-year term in the House. He is a former state legislator and a businessman whose resume includes a stint as president and general manager of the American Sugar Cane League, which lobbies on behalf of sugar cane farmers and processors.
Vitter, also a former member of the Louisiana Legislature, is an attorney. He succeeded Rep. Bob Livingston in the House and moved on to the Senate in 2004. He was the state’s first Republican senator since Reconstruction, having won on a platform stressing his conservatism on fiscal and social issues.
He looked vulnerable after news broke in 2007 that his phone number was among the records of a Washington prostitution ring. Admitting only to an unspecified “serious sin,” Vitter refused to answer questions about the scandal and has denied other allegations of involvement with prostitutes.

See the full article from “The Times-Picayune – NOLA.com”

Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-LA), a leading Blue Dog in the House, has officially his announced his much-expected Senate campaign against Sen. David Vitter, the Republican and staunch conservative whose career became mired in the D.C. Madam prostitution scandal.
This race could end up as a top-tier battle, with lots of money and lots of attacks between the two camps. A survey from a month ago by Public Policy Polling (D) put Vitter ahead of Melancon 44%-32% — that is, the incumbent is below 50%, and the challenger lacking in name recognition. At the same time, the Republicans could be favored to pick up Melancon’s House seat, as John McCain carried it by 61%-37% in 2008.
Here’s Melancon’s announcement video:
“I’m announcing my candidacy for the U.S. Senate to replace David Vitter, because Louisiana deserves better,” Melancon said, taking a shot at the incumbent. “Louisiana needs a different approach: More bipartisan, more disciplined, more honest, and with a whole lot more common sense.”

See the full article from “TPMDC”

Louisiana Rep. Charlie Melancon (D) announced Thursday morning that he will challenge Sen. David Vitter (R) in 2010, setting up a key Senate showdown in the Bayou State.
While local media had reported that Melancon made a final decision on the Senate race in June, Melancon delivered his official announcement in a video e-mailed to supporters.
Im announcing my candidacy for the U.S. Senate to replace David Vitter because Louisiana deserves better, Melancon said. Louisiana needs a different approach. More bipartisan. More disciplined. More honest and with a whole lot more common sense.
Melancon is considered by many analysts to be the Democrats best chance of knocking off Vitter in a state that has trended more Republican in recent years. Vitters vulnerability in the state is tied solely to his connection to the D.C. Madam prostitution scandal in 2007, and state Democrats have been working hard to keep Vitters involvement in that scandal fresh in voters minds.

See the full article from “Roll Call (subscription)”

Melancon, a Blue Dog Democrat who touts his opposition to abortion rights and strong ratings from the National Rifle Association, will be holding campaign events later in the year.
Melancon’s decision to run is a recruiting coup for Senate Democrats, who believe he is one of the few Democratic officials who could seriously challenge Vitter. The three-term congressman has shown political strength in a reliably Republican Cajun country district. Last year, he faced no GOP opposition even as John McCain carried 61 percent of the district-wide vote at the top of the ticket.
Vitter took a political hit in 2007 when he acknowledged that he committed “a very serious sin” with a prostitute. But despite the controversy, few Democrats were initially interested in challenging Vitter in the solidly-Republican Bayou State.

See the full article from “Politico”

… I’m a pro-life, pro-gun, Southern Democrat,” he said. “I have an ‘A’ rating with the NRA, and I have been an avid hunter and fisherman my entire life. I am a proud centrist – a Blue Dog – a straight-up-the-middle fighter for the little guy who is struggling to make ends meet.”
The congressman has been expected to make the bid ever since he said in June that he was looking at the race. However, he wouldn’t confirm a report at the time that said he had decided to run, and he has been quiet ever since.
Melancon occupies one of the most tenuous Democratic House districts in the country, and his candidacy gives Democrats what is perhaps their top potential recruit for the Senate race.
Vitter’s race was put on the map in 2007 when the senator acknowledged committing “a very serious sin” with a prostitute. National and local Democrats have been making an issue of Vitter’s foibles ever since, but, until now, they lacked a candidate to potentially take advantage.

See the full article from “The Hill”