All eyes now turn to Saturday where delegates in 4-states are up for grabs including Louisiana. Democratic candidates are vying for Louisiana's 67-delegates.
Only Senator Barack Obama is running television ads in advance of Louisiana's primary on Saturday, February 9. In fact, his first commercial began airing last week. Brad Whitesides, a local political analyst observed, "Louisiana is important because it's there and it's the next one."
Louisiana's 67-democratic delegates accounts for a much smaller prize, compared to a state like Texas with its 228-delegates.
There's also another major factor which has tamped down any excitement about the state primary: The Louisiana Republican Party announced that its 47-delegates will go to the national GOP Convention in Minneapolis this summer uncommitted, regardless of who wins Saturday; Unless one candidate captures at least 50-percent of the vote, which would allow that Republican candidate to claim 'some' state delegates.
Some critics might call the Louisiana Republicans decision that their delegates will go to the party's convention uncommitted a bit crazy. "Could be crazy like a fox. I mean essentially you go to a convention, that's a brokered convention, and they need your vote. That's a smart place to be," described Whitesides.
And such developments will not stop some Republicans from voting, like Keithville resident Shannnon Lewis. We met her on the streets of downtown Shreveport where Lewis offered, "I think Huckabee is one of the good ones. So, I'm pretty sure it'd be him."
Whitesides expects we'll see a trend seen on Super Tuesday to continue in the Deep South on Saturday. "On the democratic side, I think you can expect Mr. Obama to win."
Whitesides credits that prediction, at least to some degree, on the large presence of African Americans registered as democrats in Louisiana. According to LA Democratic Party Communications Director Janet Vezinot, they account for 44-percent of democrats statewide. And, Obama has claimed up to 80-percent of the black vote in other primaries thus far, which could bode well for the Illinois Senator here.
"I'm voting for Obama! Isn't that his name?" asked Shreveport voter Annie Queen Horton, who falls into that big voting block. Horton called it a tough choice, with Obama's message of change finally winning out. "That's it, he offers change and I'm, I'm ready for that."
With turnout expected to be very low for Louisiana's Presidential Primary on Saturday, only die-hard supporters may go to the polls. That would also tell analysts very little about what to expect from state voters in the November general election.
There are no polls for Louisiana's primary. But, analysts say Senator Clinton's camp is trying to paint Obama as the frontrunner here. That way, a win on her part could be be seen as a major victory.
As they say in politics, "it's all about expectations."
Story by Jeff Ferrell
