Mary Landrieu: The Senator Who Fought for New Orleans When It Mattered Most

The Senator Who Fought for New Orleans When It Mattered Most

Mary Loretta Landrieu was born on November 23, 1955, in Arlington, Virginia, but she was raised in New Orleans — the eldest daughter of Moon Landrieu, who served as the city's mayor during the transformative 1970s. Growing up in the Landrieu household meant growing up in politics the way other kids grew up in Little League. It was the family business, and Mary was good at it.

She served in the Louisiana Legislature before winning a razor-thin race for the U.S. Senate in 1996, becoming one of the youngest women ever elected to that body. She held the seat for three terms — eighteen years of representing Louisiana in Washington, chairing the Small Business Committee and the Energy Committee, and navigating the increasingly difficult terrain of being a moderate Democrat in an increasingly Republican state.

Katrina's Voice in Washington

When Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, Mary Landrieu became the city's most visible advocate in the federal government. She excoriated the administration's response, co-sponsored a $250 billion relief package, and held the hearings that exposed FEMA's catastrophic failures. She fought for Louisiana's Medicaid funding during the Affordable Care Act negotiations — securing approximately $300 million for the state's healthcare system in a provision that critics called the "Louisiana Purchase" and Landrieu called doing her job.

The Landrieu Legacy

Landrieu lost her 2014 reelection bid as Louisiana's political landscape shifted decisively rightward. But her eighteen years in the Senate coincided with the most challenging period in New Orleans' modern history, and she was there for every fight. With her father Moon as mayor, her brother Mitch as the next mayor, and Mary in the Senate, the Landrieu family shaped New Orleans governance across five decades — a political dynasty as consequential as any in Louisiana history.