The St. Tammany Republican Parish Executive Committee (RPEC) has endorsed Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) as the challenger who can unseat vulnerable Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA). RPEC voted to endorse Cassidy in a vote that sources close to the Hayride said was a “significant margin.”

Cassidy said the endorsement by RPEC was evidence that support for his campaign is growing across the state, not just in Baton Rouge, La. with Republican Party leaders.

“I am pleased and honored to receive the endorsement of the St. Tammany Republican Parish Executive Parish,” said Bill Cassidy M.D. “Our message of common-sense conservative reform is resonating across the state and I’m thrilled that the momentum is growing so quickly. St. Tammany Parish will be critical in the upcoming election and this endorsement serves as a major building block on our path to victory.”

RPEC Chairman Peter Egan cited Cassidy’s career as a medical doctor and years of charity work, such as co-founding a clinic for the working uninsured, creating a private-public partnership to vaccinate 36,000 school children in a 10 parish area against Hepatitis B and leading a team of volunteers to turn an abandoned K-Mart into a surge hospital to care for Hurricane Katrina evacuees.

“As a physician he is in touch with the neediest of our citizens and has demonstrated generosity and compassion throughout his medical career,”  said RPEC Chairman Peter Egan. “He espouses the highest values of the Republican party in his personal profession of faith, his commitment to life and to family, the 2nd amendment, and the responsible conservative use of the nation’s fiscal resources.”

The endorsement comes as a major defeat for the other Republican candidate in the race, Col. Rob Maness, who is from Madisonville, which is part of St. Tammany Parish and who is also the District 11 member on RPEC. Earlier in the week, Maness touted his fundraising benchmark of $1 million as evidence that his candidacy was growing in support.

It also comes as a blow to State Rep. Paul Hollis (R-Mandeville), who is considered the long-shot candidate against Landrieu, but who currently represents parts of St. Tammany in the Louisiana legislature.