Few things go better with Louisiana politics than red beans, biscuits and fried chicken, says Jeremy Alford.
“Well, other than money,” Alford writes in his latest column. “And for $1,000 per head, donors can learn later this month at a D.C. townhouse whether the state’s two U.S. senators take their Popeyes spicy or mild.”
The clever fundraising invite went out Monday morning, Alford notes.
“Supporters were asked to pony up for Sen. David Vitter’s gubernatorial campaign and catering from Popeyes (the latter received top billing),” he writes. “But it’s the third line listed in bold on the invite that really batters and deep-fries the whole push: ‘With Special Guest Senator Bill Cassidy.’
Alford acknowledges that it’s no big secret that Vitter, a Metairie attorney, was a serious force in Cassidy’s campaign last year, and says the junior senator very much owes his senior senator.
“From loaning a longtime staffer to run Cassidy’s campaign to helping recruit national influencers and forcing out competitors, Vitter’s payback is unlikely to end with a chicken dinner,” Alford writes. “The real question is just how far Cassidy is willing to go to help Vitter, specifically in his hometown of Baton Rouge.”
The race for governor currently is playing out on the back of an envelope, Alford says. And the numbers in Baton Rouge favor the native son, Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne, a fellow Republican running for governor.
“Red Stick has long been Dardenne’s base; he was LSU student body president, a city councilman, a staple on local MDA telethons and later a state senator,” Alford writes. “Cassidy doesn’t have the same kind of political roots in the city as Dardenne, but his old congressional district covered a lot of ground. So it could become more of a regional strategy. If Cassidy is successful in breaking up Dardenne’s base, which is no easy task, the big winner will be Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle, the Republican candidate for governor from Breaux Bridge. He shares the middle ground with Dardenne and they’re targeting similar voters.”
Jeremy Alford publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter, or on Facebook. He can be reached at JJA@LaPolitics.com.
