Indicted La. congressman facing runoff vote

Jefferson leading 6 primary rivals

NEW ORLEANS - US Representative William Jefferson overcame the stigma of a federal bribery indictment in Louisiana's Democratic primary yesterday, garnering enough votes in his New Orleans-based congressional district to secure a spot in a Nov. 4 runoff.

Jefferson, seeking his 10th term in Congress, faces a December trial on charges that he took bribes, laundered money, and misused his congressional office for business dealings in Africa.

With about 72 percent of the vote counted, Jefferson was leading with 25 percent of the vote and appeared headed toward a runoff, most likely with former broadcaster Helena Moreno.

Jefferson sounded confident as he addressed a few dozen family members and supporters at a restaurant in eastern New Orleans. "We look forward to a rigorous campaign but a successful outcome," Jefferson said.

As he had throughout the campaign, Jefferson insisted he remains an effective member of Congress, and he called questions on whether the indictment has damaged that effectiveness "pointless."

"The work that I do is based on relationships with the members of Congress and it's based on having been there for 18 years. I have walked in the shoes of other members when they have needed things for their areas, and they have walked in my shoes as we need things here. That's the way that Congress works," he said.

A victory the Nov. 4 runoff would put him in a Dec. 6 general election in the heavily Democratic district against a little-known Republican.

Longtime New Orleans pollster Silas Lee said Jefferson, the first black elected to Congress from Louisiana since Reconstruction, remains popular among a strong core of supporters in the district.

"He comes across as someone who the ordinary citizen can relate to," Lee said.

Moreno, the only white candidate on the ballot, said yesterday's election showed voters were ready for a change.

Jefferson, 61, a Harvard law graduate with a professorial manner and a reputation for shrewd political maneuvering, insisted that he remains an effective congressman.

But there was no denying the erosion of his support in Congress and in his home state. It was reflected in slowed fund-raising and a dearth of the usual endorsements from political allies he gathered during 10 years in the state Senate and another 18 in Washington.

Jefferson's low-key campaign stressed his influence in Washington and prominently featured pictures of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other congressional leaders joining him in touring New Orleans, still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

But his clout was already on the wane even before his last election two years ago. By then, news had broken that he was under investigation for alleged bribery, and that federal agents said they found $90,000 hidden in his freezer. He survived, winning reelection easily, but he subsequently was stripped of a seat on the Ways and Means Committee.