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METAIRIE – House Majority Whip Steve Scalise is cruising to an easy victory in the midterm elections.

Taking the podium at Drago’s in Metairie an hour and a half after the polls closed, Scalise began his victory speech by thanking everyone who has supported him over the years.

“I want to thank the voters of southeast Louisiana for giving me the opportunity and the honor to represent you in the United States Congress again for another two years,” Scalise said.

Scalise took a commanding lead as soon as the voting booths opened, and he was leading all his challengers by a huge margin with almost 72 percent of the vote at the time he gave his speech.

“I can’t thank all of you enough,” Scalise said. “There’s still a lot more that we’re going to be waiting to find out later on tonight and the days ahead, but tonight, I just want to thank all of you for giving me this opportunity and this honor for another two years.”