Qualifying begins in exactly one week, kicking off Sept. 6, for what promises to be three days of less-than-exciting news. For the most part, the statewide ballot is set, and Gov. Bobby Jindal is perched atop with his unparalleled $9 million war chest. Haynesville school teacher Tara Hollis, who most recently reported having roughly .01% of the cash held by Jindal, may end up being the highest-profile Democrat in the race—that is, unless state Sen. Rob Marionneaux steps up. In late July he told reporters he only needed a couple of weeks to decide, and he commissioned a poll earlier this month.
Today, Democrats are still waiting, but not only on Marionneaux. New Orleans attorney Carolyn Fayard is on the ropes, too. She has reportedly been eyeing the race for secretary of state and deposited a $21,000 personal loan into her campaign account during the first quarter. Interim Secretary of State Tom Schedler has put up $150,000 of his own money to seek the job full-time, and House Speaker Jim Tucker says he plans eventually to raise in excess of $1 million for his bid for the same office. Party sources say both Fayard and Marionneaux are faltering a bit as a GOP sweep during the fall elections becomes more likely.
Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne is standing for re-election as well and facing noisy opposition from Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser. If you take away the $500,000 in personal money Nungesser put into his campaign during the first quarter, you’ll see a tight money race: Both men had raised more than $600,000 this year as of mid-July. Then there’s the race for attorney general, which will be the first election ever in which incumbent Buddy Caldwell faces voters as a registered Republican. He has more than $466,000 in the bank and only one declared opponent in former U.S. Rep. Joseph Cao. To fund his efforts so far, Cao has loaned his campaign $100,000. Still, it’s unknown whether Cao will actually enter the fray. Just last week he suggested himself for the open job of state education superintendent.
As for the remaining statewide incumbents—Treasurer John Kennedy, Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon and Agriculture Commission Mike Strain—they have yet to draw any high-profile challengers.
