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Louisianas U.S. Senator-elect Mary Landrieu gets a big hug from her father MoonLandrieu and mother Verna at a news conference in New Orleans Wednesday Nov. 6, 1996. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)

Several red-state Democratic Senate candidates share more than the pressure of helping Harry Reid keep his job title.

They are all heirs to the family business: politics.

Its difficult to be a Democrat in a conservative state, but it seems to help a whole lot if your name is also a brand. Sens. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Mark Pryor of Arkansas, and Mark Begich of Alaska are in difficult reelection fights, but are buoyed, in part, because of the legacy of their family names.

Then theres Michelle Nunn in Georgia, a newcomer to public office, but who likewise benefits from a well-regarded surname.

And even one of the few potential Democratic House pickups is the offspring of a famous political father Gwen Graham, running in a Florida swing district.

Its a coincidence that so many Democrats with family ties are in neck-and-neck fights this fall. But what is not a coincidence is the advantage it gives them in states that might otherwise be unwinnable for a Democrat today.

Mark Mellman, CEO of Mellman Group, the Democratic polling firm with big-league clients such asHarry Reid and Landrieu, said having a well-known last name helps give those politicians staying power.

Its true that in these red states, Democrats need every advantage they can get, he told the Loop. Having that strong brand name that is appealing to people, that has a real track record, its a real advantage.

John Anzalone, who runs another high-profile Democratic polling outfit and has poll-tested the impact of the candidates political dads in some of the aforementioned races, said it helps cut away at the Republican attack that Democrats are all rubber stamps for President Obama.

Excerpt from:
In the Loop: What do these red-state Democratic Senate candidates have in common? Their dads.