The 2016 Senate race cycle comes to a close Saturday when Louisiana holds its run-off election between Republican state Treasurer John Kennedy and Democratic Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell. The run-off has been so quiet and free of conflict that it’s easy to forget that it is on the calendar. Given the unwieldy field of candidates, a run-off was inevitable. In fact, strategists in both parties referred to this race as the November 9 problem, meaning it wasn’t a contest they planned to think about until the day after the election. On Election Day, Kennedy finished first in the 24-candidate field with 25 percent, a long way from the 50-percent he would need to avoid a run-off. Campbell placed second with 17 percent. Even by Louisiana political standards, the run-off has been relatively tame. There have been plenty of television and radio ads, but the back-and-forth between the candidates has largely featured the issues that fire up each party’s base. Kennedy has aired ads about his support for President-Elect Donald Trump and his desire to help Trump “drain the swamp,”

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