In what could be a significant blow to Sen. Mary Landrieu’s re-election campaign, the National Federation of Independent Business on Wednesday endorsed Louisiana’s Republican Senate nominee Rep. Bill Cassidy.
The small business advocacy group has praised Landrieu, a Democrat, in the past, touting its work with her and then-Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, on protecting small businesses from the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s oversight. The group also gave Landrieu its Guardian of Small Business Award a few weeks before the 2008 Senate elections.
But this year, it’s going all-in for Cassidy. The group has put up radio and Internet ads in support of the Republican, as well as a website touting his candidacy.
The endorsement is a coup for Cassidy, who has a slim lead over Landrieu in recent polls. And Obamacare seems to play an outsize role in the group’s move. Lisa Goeas, the group’s vice president for Political and Grassroots, cited Landrieu’s vote for the president’s healthcare overhaul in the press release about their decision to back Cassidy. The NFIB was the plaintiff in the 2012 Supreme Court case that resulted in a 5-4 ruling to uphold the individual mandate.
“Louisiana’s Main Street communities, businesses and families are tired of empty campaign promises, and simply can’t afford six more years of Mary Landrieu,” she said in the statement.
