The first day of qualifying for the fall elections began with a flurry. The second day, not so much.
Candidates looking to run for public office on Nov. 8 began qualifying on Wednesday, with the three-day period to wrap up on Friday.
With many of the well-known candidates marking their names down Wednesday, today featured only one major name—former Metro Councilman and business owner R.J. “Smokie” Bourgeois is now officially in the mayor’s race.
He becomes the eighth candidate to qualify as of 3 p.m. today. The only candidate yet to qualify after publicly announcing interest in the seat is former Southern University Athletic Director Greg Lafleur.
Other candidates to qualify since 3 p.m. Wednesday are Metro Council members Trae Welch in District 1 and Erika Green in District 5.
The lone current Metro Council member who has yet to qualify is Lamont Cole in District 7. Cole has said he plans to run for the seat he was appointed to earlier this year.
Meanwhile, the total number of candidates vying to take Sen. David Vitter’s seat now stands at 21. That number is expected to grow by at least one more once Rob Maness, a Tea Party favorite who has been campaigning for several months, qualifies.
In the 6th Congressional District race, a third Democrat joined incumbent Rep. Cedric Richmond and Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden. Kenneth Cutno, a Southern University graduate who has run for public office before, entered the race today.
Republican U.S. Rep. Garret Graves also drew one more challenger, with no party candidate Devin Lance Graham, of Prairieville.
See the full list of candidates who have qualified for local races. Check back with Daily Report on Friday for that day’s recap of qualifying.
