Donald Trump got a big boost in Louisiana yesterday when 5 term state treasurer John Kennedy easily won his run off race for the Senate against Democrat Foster Campbell.

Both Trump and Vice President-elect Pence had campaigned for Kennedy and the national GOP poured staffers and money into the race. Except for Hollywood liberals who saw the race as a way to make Trump's job more difficult, Campbell was left on an island by the national party who largely refused to make any effort in a race.

Associated Press:

"I believe that our future can be better than our present, but not if we keep going in the direction the Washington insiders have taken us the last eight years," he said. "That's about to change, folks."

Voters also filled two open U.S. House seats Saturday, choosing Republican Clay Higgins, a former sheriff's captain known as the "Cajun John Wayne," in the 3rd District representing southwest and south central Louisiana and Republican state Rep. Mike Johnson in the 4th District covering northwest Louisiana.

Louisiana has an open primary system in which all candidates run against each other. In the contests for the open congressional seats, the November primary ballots were packed with contenders, so the top two vote-getters advanced to Saturday's runoff.

The Senate runoff drew national attention, with President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence each traveling to Louisiana to rally for Kennedy. The national GOP provided resources and staff to assist Kennedy's campaign, while national Democratic organizations largely abandoned Campbell, assuming an easy Republican win.

Though Campbell's chance appeared slim, donations had poured in from around the country, and several Hollywood celebrities championed his candidacy aiming to bolster resistance to the Trump presidency. Campbell said the support he received across the country was "phenomenal."

"We worked as hard as possible. We left no stone unturned," Campbell said in his concession speech. "I make no excuses. We did everything humanly possible."

The co-chair of the Republican National Committee, Sharon Day, described Kennedy's win as capping "a year of historic Republican wins up and down the ballot.

"With 52 seats in the U.S. Senate, we are excited for Republicans to confirm a conservative Supreme Court justice and begin working with President-elect Trump to pass an agenda of change for the American people," Day said in a statement.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat and ardent Campbell supporter, congratulated Kennedy and pledged to work with him to "deliver great things for the people of Louisiana."

Kennedy is a Trump man through and through and will be a reliable vote to enact the new president's agenda. That the Democrats refused to give Campbell even a minimum of support shows just how far the Dems have fallen in the old south. Ordinarily, Campbell's moderate Democratic positions on issues would have made the race more competitive. But the image of the Democratic party in Louisiana and elsewhere in the south is that of Hillary Clinton and Harry Reid - two of the most toxic politicians in America.

Might the GOP build it's 52-48 advantage by luring Joe Manchin to switch parties? Manchin was under consideration (and still may be) for a Trump cabinet post. The West Virginia Senator is at war with his own party over their job killing policies on coal and is also more conservative on some social issues. Manchin's switch wouldn't come cheap; he might want the chairmanship of a major committee. Majority Leader McConnell would have to weigh how badly the GOP wants that 53rd vote before agreeing to pass over ranking Republicans to give a former Democrat a job.