THE NEW LOUISIANA POLITICS

Young, black and liberal Rep. Cleo Fields (D-La.) will face millionaire Democrat-turned-Republican state Senator Mike Foster, 65, in a race that will determine the next governor of Louisiana. "In many ways this race is a quintessential example of Southern politics today," reports TIME's Adam Cohen. "The Democratic Party is becoming increasingly black, while moderate and conservative white democrats run to the Republicans. The challenge for the Democratic Party is to hold on to its strong black base without losing those white Democrats. They haven't been very successful so far. And Fields is a decided underdog in the race." If he wins the November 18 runoff, the 32-year-old Fields will become the state's first black governor since Reconstruction.