Landrieu warns against Cantwell leading Energy Dems

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) warned Louisiana voters in a campaign speech against allowing Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) to take a top position in the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Landrieu told Louisianans that if Cantwell were the top Democrat on the panel, she would not be nearly as friendly to the oil and natural gas industry that is important to the state, Bloomberg News reported.

{mosads}If Landrieu is not reelected in this weekend’s runoff election, “we’re gonna have a woman who I like very much, [but] I’m not sure Louisiana’s going to think very much of a senator from Washington state who’s all for windmills and alternative energy, and doesn’t support the oil and gas industry,” she said.

If Landrieu loses the runoff, Cantwell would likely become the committee’s ranking member.

Landrieu told Bloomberg that the remarks were meant to highlight that a candidate’s party affiliation isn’t the most important qualification in the election.

“There is still significant value in having the ranking member of the Energy Committee from Louisiana, as opposed to Washington state,” she said.

In October, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) told reporters that energy states would be “dead” if Cantwell became the top Democrat on the energy panel.