Louisiana’s congressional delegation has a new Million Dollar Man. The title belongs to U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy, who just got into politics four and half years ago via the state Legislature. Today on Capitol Hill, the Baton Rouge Republican is playing on an entirely different field, and his money game is spot on. According to the campaign finance report Cassidy filed Friday with the Federal Election Commission, his war chest has exceeded $1 million. That’s a bigger bank than any other delegation member.
The tally is fueling speculation that Cassidy is looking to challenge U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, a New Orleans Democrat who faces re-election in 2014. Landrieu has nearly $600,000 in the bank and another three years to raise more loot. Gov. Bobby Jindal, who has more than $9 million in his state campaign account, which cannot be used for federal races, is likewise often linked to the contest.
Cassidy, meanwhile, faces voters next fall. And he’ll do so in a new district that stretches south into the Terrebonne-Lafourche area. This coastal expansion helped Cassidy push his second-quarter fund-raising total to about $240,000. He has been spending considerable time in the southern region in recent weeks, meeting with elected officials, local media and civic groups. Read the full story here. —Jeremy Alford
