The defeat of Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu by Republican Rep. Bill Cassidy in last weekend’s Louisiana runoff ends an election year that has been very successful for Republicans — and has implications for 2016. Some observations:

(1) Democrats relied heavily on legacy candidates — and lost nevertheless. Mary Landrieu’s father Moon Landrieu was elected to the Louisiana legislature in 1960 and as mayor of New Orleans in 1970 and 1974. Her father’s anti-segregationist legacy helped Mary Landrieu appeal to black voters and win narrow victories in 1996, 2002 and 2008. It wasn’t enough in 2014.