When Republican U.S. Sen. David Vitter lost the Louisiana governor’s race and subsequently announced he would not run for re-election during his concession speech, all eyes turned toward what will be Vitter’s open Senate seat.
But as Gannett Louisiana reports, Vitter’s retirement also opens up Louisiana’s U.S. House District 3 and 4 seats—one-third of the state’s Congressional allotment—after 3rd District U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette, and 4th District U.S. Rep. John Fleming, R-Shreveport, announced they would give up their posts to run for the Senate next fall.
In the 3rd Congressional District, Republican Lafayette School Board member Erick Knezek, a U.S. Navy veteran and owner of a technology company specializing in ocean engineering, told Gannett Louisiana he’s in.
“I am running,” Knezek says. “I have the skills needed to be effective and it’s an opportunity to continue serving my country on a higher level.”
Others like state Reps. Stuart Bishop, R-Lafayette, and Brett Geymann, R-Lake Charles, are considering the race and say they will make their final decisions in January. Geymann, who will be leaving the Capitol in January after being term-limited, is a likely candidate.
Geymann and Knezek say they also believe Lafayette Republican businessman Greg Ellison, a landman and partner in an energy firm, plans to run. Ellison couldn’t be reached for comment.
All of them are waiting to see what Republican Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle, who finished third in the governor’s race, will do.
Angelle would likely be the early favorite in the House race coming off of his strong showing in the governor’s race, University of Louisiana at Lafayette political scientist Pearson Cross says.
“This race is all about what Scott Angelle decides to do,” Cross says. “If he runs for the House seat, some of the other potential candidates will probably stand down.”
But Angelle is also a potential candidate for the Senate seat, which would leave the House race wide open. Angelle told Gannett Louisiana he will make his decision in January.
