Politics

Politician Whose Son Is Landrieu’s Chief-Of-Staff Urges Voters To ‘Vote Twice’ [VIDEO]

Chuck Ross Investigative Reporter
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Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu’s chief-of-staff was present at an event held a day before the midterm election in which his father, a Louisiana mayor, urged people to vote twice in order to re-elect Landrieu.

The Black Conservatives Fund published video of the event, recorded on Nov. 3, showing Opelousas mayor Don Cravins Sr. telling a crowd that if they had already cast an early voting ballot in the election that they should vote again.

“If you early voted, go vote again tomorrow,” Cravins Sr. told the crowd which was gathered at the Charcoal Lounge.

Cravins Sr. is a former state senator and Democratic Party operative. He is currently facing a run-off against another Democrat.

The mayor’s son is Don Cravins Jr., Landrieu’s chief-of-staff. According to the Black Conservatives Fund, he was present at the event when his father urged voters to engage in fraud.

“One more time’s not going to hurt,” Cravins Sr. says. “Tomorrow we’re going to elect Earl Taylor as D.A. so he won’t prosecute you if you vote twice.”

Taylor was elected on Nov. 4 as St. Landry parish district attorney.

Landrieu, a three-term incumbent, will face Louisiana Rep. Bill Cassidy in a Dec. 6 run-off election. Neither candidate was able to secure more than 50 percent of the vote on Nov. 4.

The Black Conservatives Fund began teasing the video late last week. In a series of tweets the political action committee suggested that the FBI might want to investigate the voter fraud. According to a press release issued Monday, the group said that it has turned over the video to the FBI, the Louisiana secretary of state and the state’s attorney general.

After the group announced an 11 a.m. Monday morning release of the video, Landrieu scrambled to hold a press conference at the same time.

The Black Conservatives Fund has focused heavily on the Louisiana race. The group published video last week showing Cravins Jr. at the same event in Opelousas that his boss would continue to support President Obama if re-elected.

“He can’t finish his agenda, because he doesn’t have people like Mary Landrieu with him,” Cravins Jr. said. “So I’m asking you to go out and vote tomorrow for Sen. Landrieu.”

“She’s been in office for 18 years, and in the Senate, that’s what you need to get things done,” continued Cravins Jr. “And she will go on to vote with Barack Obama 97 percent of the time!”

Like many Democrats during the mid-term election, Landrieu has distanced herself from Obama, who has a 58 percent disapproval rating in Louisiana.

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