NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden is praising Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu as a “relentless advocate for the people of Louisiana” who voters should return to office in 2014.

Biden made the remarks during an appearance at a New Orleans fundraiser for the Louisiana Democrat on Saturday evening.

Biden said his former Senate colleague “always puts Louisiana first…She will not stop until Louisiana’s interests are served.”

He said she was instrumental in winning federal funds for the state after Hurricane Katrina, and in passing a federal law requiring that most of the money paid by BP in reparations for the 2010 Gulf oil spill go to the affected Gulf states. The vice president also told the crowd of about 450 that Landrieu is “not an absolutist, not an ideologue.”

Biden said he is confident she’ll win what is expected to be a tough re-election fight.

Vice President Joe Biden. (Associated Press)