Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) told NBC News that one of the reasons President Barack Obama is politically unpopular in her state is his race.
“I’ll be very, very honest with you. The South has not always been the friendliest place for African-Americans. It’s been a difficult time for the president to present himself in a very positive light as a leader,” she said.
Landrieu, who faces a very tough reelection battle on Tuesday, also cited Obama’s energy policy as “one of the main reasons” he struggles in Louisiana.
Landrieu’s candid comment was slammed as “remarkably divisive” by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R), who called it a “major insult” and said the Democrat “appears to be living in a different century,” per NBC News.
Landrieu is likely headed to a runoff with Republican Bill Cassidy on December 6, with neither candidate close to the 50 percent threshold required by the state to win on Election Day. In a head-to-head matchup, she trails Cassidy by 6.7 percentage points in the TPM PollTracker average.
A spokesman for Cassidy’s campaign didn’t immediately return a request to respond to Landrieu’s comments.
Watch the video below, via NBC News.
